Thought Leadership Attracts Clients Like a Magnet

Demonstrate your specialized expertise and become their first choice.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

Thought leadership is where you are really going to reap success. You want to be that person who everybody will come to.

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I just got off a call with a prospective client who had never met me or even seen me speak, but discovered us through a web search and saw that we are thought leaders in the industry. That discovery brought her directly to us, and it was important to her that the CFO she hires fully understands her industry.

Posted on April 10, 2026

Jody Grunden

About the Author

Jody Grunden is CEO & Co-Founder of Summit CPA Group—perhaps the first virtual CFO firm and the largest distributed-model accounting firm in the nation.

He is the author of Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud.

Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud, is available exclusively from CPA Trendlines here.

He started Summit CPA Group in 2002, bringing more than 23 years of public and corporate accounting leadership, tax expertise, and executive management experience to his role with the company. Grunden is a member of the Forbes Finance Council, American Institute of Public Accountants (AICPA), and the Indiana CPA Society.

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Direction and Strategy Grunden oversees the corporate direction and strategy of Summit CPA Group, focusing on leadership, innovation, and marketing. Jody takes great pride in helping business owners strive in all economic conditions. He says, "A well-run company will excel in both a good and bad economy.” Since starting the Summit CPA Group, Grunden has worked with clients and partners to share Summit CPA Group’s strategy and mission. Unlike many others in the business of accounting who focus on historic financial statements and tax returns, Summit CPA Group operates under the profit-focused model, using dynamic forecasting models and key performance indicators with their clients to help them transcend simply “being in the black” and to focus on longer-term financial health and wealth.

Career History Before joining Summit CPA Group Grunden served as a tax professional at the regional accounting firms Crowe, formerly Crowe Chizek and Company, and BKD formerly Geo S. Olive, where his focus was on small business taxation. Jody then worked as the tax manager Rea Magnet Wire Company, Inc-- a $250 million international, multi-state, manufacturing company --where he stood before the Taxation and Revenue Department of the State of New Mexico and won an appeal for a $300,000 investment credit that was earlier denied by the department. The appeal was a published decision.

Mission Summit CPA Group’s mission is to change the way people think about accounting. To achieve this, Jody regularly speaks and leads discussions with groups of creative service professionals including web development, design, marketing firms, and branding agencies. Jody helps his clients apply key metrics to their business. There are thousands of financial metrics that are important to the health of a business. Many times as an owner it can be overwhelming. Jody identifies the top four metrics—Money in the Bank, Production, Net Income, and Pipeline—and shows his customers how to use them in guiding their business. When he’s not meeting with clients or team members, he’s a nice guy who likes hockey, golf, and his family. Jody graduated from Indiana University and is writing his latest book. If you’d like to learn more about Jody, hear him speak, or understand how Summit CPA can change the way you think about accounting, contact Jody today:

Follow Jody Grunden on Twitter: @jgrunden
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To join Summit's CFO Community for Accounting Firms click here.

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