How to Win the Talent Battle

portrait of John Fenton
Fenton
John Fenton, CPA, MBA is the CEO of John J. Fenton Executive Coaching, which he launched following a successful 30+ year career as a managing partner and CPA. He is a Certified Success Principles™ Trainer, an award-winning speaker, best-selling author and leading authority in leadership.

Cue purpose, vision and culture as you pursue excellence.

By John Fenton
The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

Some call it a battle, some call it a war. Whatever you call it, there’s no arguing that competition for talent in our industry is fierce. Accounting firms, like most other businesses, are struggling to find qualified workers to meet the growing needs of their clients and customers. At the same time, opportunities to grow revenue are abundant.

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According to McKinsey data, voluntary “quit rates” are 25 percent higher than they were before the pandemic. At some firms, attrition rates have been as high as 20 percent to 25 percent. Meanwhile, a recent Gallup survey found that only one-third of employees (32%) felt “engaged” in their jobs. Meanwhile, mid-level professionals who would normally be on track for long careers at their employer are leaving in droves to pursue something else.

The aforementioned McKinsey report identified the motivating factors that keep people in their jobs and the demotivating factors that drive them away.
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AI Can Be Your Ally or Your Competitor

portrait of Davyde Wachell
Wachell
Davyde “Day” Wachell is the co-founder and CEO of Responsive AI. He studied AI in the SymSys program at Stanford and Film at Columbia. Their innovative thinking drives the company’s success by bridging technology and the arts, leading to a culture of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.

Six steps to using it to grow and protect revenue.

By Davyde Wachell
The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” – Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Lenin’s quip resonates deeply with any seasoned advice professional. Black Friday, 9/11, the Great Recession and COVID-19 kept us on our toes when it came to the markets and our clients. Big outlier events that disrupt “business as usual” can arise at any moment. These moments can change the lives of our clients, and as a result, the growth and stability of our businesses. Our clients can lose their trust in us in the blink of an eye if we haven’t positioned those clients correctly, or if we do not respond effectively to changes in the market.

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How we prepare our business for the unexpected determines our ability to respond to outlier events. How we respond to those events determines how we perform under pressure. Staying competitive isn’t about performing well when the sun is shining; it’s about executing and gaining clarity in the fog of war.
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Student Loans After OBBBA: What Advisors Need to Know Now | Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

New repayment rules and borrowing caps are forcing a rethink of long-term planning.

Originally published Oct. 2025
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By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™
For CPA Trendlines

Student loan debt has quietly outgrown its stereotype.

What was once viewed as a challenge for early-career professionals is now showing up in family balance sheets, tax returns, and retirement plans. Parents nearing retirement—and retirees themselves—are increasingly carrying education debt, often on behalf of their children. For CPAs and financial advisors, student loans are no longer a niche planning issue. They’re a multigenerational one.

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With more than $1.8 trillion in federal student loan debt spread across 42.5 million borrowers, the scale alone demands attention. But it’s the shifting who—not just the how much—that makes this moment critical for advisors.

That shift is the focus of this episode of Holistic Guide to Wealth Management, featuring Alex Bottom, CEO of Finology, and Ryan Galiotto, CFP®, CSLP®, founder of the Student Loan Help Network. Their conversation unpacks how legislation, demographics, and delayed life milestones are reshaping student loan planning—and why advisors can’t afford to sit this one out.

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Five Areas to Make Inroads with WealthTech

portrait of David Knoch
Knoch
David Knoch has 20+ years of high-profile leadership in the financial advice industry. He joined Docupace as CEO in April 2020 and has spearheaded the company’s strategic transformation – marked by double-digit revenue growth, product/capability expansion, multiple acquisitions and numerous industry accolades.

It’s reshaping the future of holistic advice.

By David Knoch and Ryan George
The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

Leveraging the power of technology has never been more accessible, or more important, for wealth management firms. As client priorities and goals shift, old delivery models and outdated tools are no longer enough to keep up in the current market.

So how does a wealth management firm differentiate itself? They lean toward technology and embrace the right WealthTech solutions to deliver holistic advice.

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portrait of Ryan George
George
Ryan George is the chief marketing officer at Docupace and a leader in both financial services and marketing communications. He is a member of the Forbes Communications Council, an invitation-only, fee-based organization of senior-level communications and public relations executives and the CMO Council.

 

Read on as we break down the context, problems and solutions of WealthTech in the financial services space.

Why WealthTech?

The last few years have brought a world of change to the financial advice and investment industry. Between volatile markets, shifting client demands and an ever-growing technology landscape, the entire wealth management ecosystem is evolving. READ MORE →

Whitman: New Firm Deals: Flexibility, Culture, and the Rise of “31 Flavors” | Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

Firms that prioritize, listen, and align position themselves for better long-term outcomes.  

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By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™
For CPA Trendlines

Phil Whitman, President and CEO of Whitman Advisory, works with hundreds of CPA firms and more than 230 strategic investors across private equity, family offices, wealth management aggregators, and publicly traded consolidators. He sees a profession undergoing unprecedented transformation, and Whitman has a front-row seat.

In this episode of Holistic Guide to Wealth Management, Whitman shares his observations with me from his unique vantage point.  

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Whitman points to 2021 as the inflection point for the profession’s transition. That’s when EisnerAmper became the first major CPA firm to accept private equity (PE) investment, followed shortly by Citrin and Cherry Bekaert. Those deals opened the gates for capital providers and ignited a wave of consolidation across firms of all sizes. The profession hasn’t looked back since. 

Transaction activity has since accelerated, creating unprecedented competition for deals and pushing accounting firm valuations into territory the profession has never seen before.

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