23 Insights from 100 Episodes of The Disruptors

23 Insights from 100 Episodes of The Disruptors

Editor’s note: CPA Trendlines Research is celebrating the 100th episode of The Disruptors, hosted by Liz Farr. Here, Liz reflects on the lessons learned and what they portend for the profession.

The Disruptors
By Liz Farr
For CPA Trendlines

When this show began, the goal was to disseminate ideas that would improve accounting. We wanted the world to know more about people doing things differently than their parents’ or grandparents’ accountants. Maybe a firm owner would hear something they could experiment with. Or a manager would hear something that the ownership group might be willing to implement. Someone with just a few years of experience – or even no experience – would learn about firms that are great places to work. Or someone at any level would be inspired to hang out their shingle because of the many examples of people just like them who have done just that.

CPA TRENDLINES CELEBRATES: The 100th Episode of The Disruptors

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MORE STREAMING: Paul Dunn: From Standard, to Stand Out, to Stand For | Jacob Schroeder: AI Won’t Replace Accountants—But It Will Reveal Who’s Replaceable | Ditching Corporate America: The Bold Story Behind PBS Accounting’s Rapid Rise | Jean Zick: Happy Team = Happy Clients | Breslin & Greathead: Be a Client Advocate | Dominic Piscopo: Clear Pay=Bargaining Power | Debbie Kilsheimer: Stop Thinking Small | Dave Kersting: Collaborate with Co-Firming | Ashley Francis: AI’s a Partner, Not a Replacement | Richard Roppa-Roberts: Collaboration Over Competition | Ira Rosenbloom: M&A Numbers Are Easy – Culture Fit Is Hard | Roman Villard: Ditch the Suit & Shine | Monique Swansen: Align Firm Values with Services | Tina McGill: How to Create Lasting Client Impact | Stefan van Duyvendijk: Develop Operational Mindset | Steve Evans: Why Traditional Hiring Methods Fail | Roger Knecht: Can You Be an Accountrepreneur? | Beth Whitworth: Focus on Outcomes Not Hours |Mike Sylvester: Learn to Say No | Salim Omar: Identify Your Client’s $100,000 Problem | Jackie Meyer: Earn More with Fewer Clients

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Accounting is changing, thanks to the willingness of firm owners, consultants, coaches, innovators, and thought leaders who have generously shared their intellectual capital. Over the last several years, it’s been a privilege to tap into the collective wisdom of The Disruptors of this profession.

These conversations provide hope and guidance for the profession. While far too many firms still operate the way they have for decades, with long hours, nonexistent work-life balance, toxic culture, terrible clients, difficult co-workers, and micro-managing bosses, there are many, many firms out there that do not operate that way. We’ve heard through the grapevine that being a guest on this show is a badge of honor. However, we feel even more honored by all the amazing guests and their willingness to openly share their struggles, hopes, and ideas for making accounting better for future generations.

Here are 23 of the most important insights from 100 conversations with Disruptors.

Posted on June 19, 2025

Liz Farr

About the Author

Liz Farr, CPA, is a special contributor to CPA Trendlines, bringing an insider's clear-eyed view of the tax and accounting business and a passion for advancing the profession.

She's the host of the hit CPA Trendlines podcast series "The Disruptors," available everywhere: Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music and Audible, Player FM, Audacy, Gaana (India), and Boomplay (Africa).

As founder and proprietor of Farr Communications, she is the secret weapon that her clients use to get their messages out. She has written blog posts, web content, articles, white papers, case studies and books for accountants and accounting tech companies. Her specialty is ghostwriting for coaches and consultants who want to move accountants into the future. She can bridge the gap between the dream these visionaries have for the future and the mindset and reality that today’s accountants are living in.

Five of her past and current clients have been named to Accounting Today’s annual list of 100 most influential in accounting. She has written under her name for the Journal of Accountancy, Intuit’s Firm of the Future blog and AccountingWEB. She has also appeared in Forbes, CFO.com, and Accounting Today.

Farr has a broad educational background, studying biochemistry at the University of Munster, Germany, and obtained her bachelor's degree as a double major in biochemistry and German at the University of New Mexico. She also studied German, Spanish, computer science and linguistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and continued her studies in linguistics at the University of Washington. She earned her master's degree in accounting in 2004 from the Robert O. Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico, qualifying as a licensed CPA in 2005.

Professionally, Liz began as a tax preparer at H&R Block before working at several local CPA firms in the Albuquerque, N.M. area. At her last assignment as a tax manager, she helped a team develop streamlined processes for getting tax returns out faster and more accurately.

After spending 15 years working as an accountant in the Albuquerque, N.M., area, she traded in her ten-key for a pen and has been writing full time since 2018.

She can be contacted at Farr Communications.

When she’s not writing or studying the accounting business, she’s hiking or skiing in the mountains of New Mexico.

Click here for more by Liz Farr

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