Gear Up for Growth

Jen Cryder: Collapse of the CPA Firm Pyramid | Gear Up for Growth

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Relationships, Not Technology, Will Define Success.
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Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher

“More than anything else, I think CPAs have this incredible opportunity right now to redefine our relevance in the future,” Jennifer Cryder, CEO of the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs, says in the new episode of Gear Up for Growth with host Jean Caragher. “What CPA meant for the last hundred years was relatively static. All of that has changed.”

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Cryder says that the profession is at a pivotal moment. While artificial intelligence and new market entrants are transforming service delivery, Cryder stressed that the profession’s true competitive advantage lies in human connection.

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Ellen Choi: It’s ‘Go Time’ for AI | Gear Up for Growth

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AI Readiness Gap Threatens CPA Firm Competitiveness.

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Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher

“This is a make-or-break year for AI in accounting,” says Ellen Choi, a co-founder of Aiwyn.ai, the AI-powered practice management platform. “Firms that don’t move now will start to see a widening gap between themselves and competitors who have already begun building these capabilities,” Choi tells Jean Caragher in the new episode of Gear Up for Growth.

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The serial entrepreneur and early-stage investor warns that timing is critical: Firms that delay risk falling behind. With even basic AI tools capable of delivering immediate productivity gains, firms that act quickly can improve efficiency, enhance client experience, and create capacity for growth. Choi identifies two additional critical issues firms must address now to remain competitive: AI readiness and workforce upskilling.

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Geof Brown: The Three Things You Can’t Ignore | Gear Up for Growth

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Illinois CPA Society CEO lays out the three big challenges.

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Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
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“What got you to this point is not going to be what gets your firm to its next major milestone,” says Geoffrey Brown, president and CEO of the Illinois CPA Society.

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“Be flexible. Be nimble,” he tells Jean Caragher in this episode of Gear Up for Growth. “Surround yourself with the right people and take advantage of opportunities that help you lead into the future.”  READ MORE →

Kane Polakoff: What You’re Still Getting Wrong About CAS | Gear Up for Growth

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Too many potential clients, not enough staff or capacity.

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The step-by-step operating guide for firms building, pricing, and scaling advisory services that clients value—and pay for.

Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

“CAS is kicking CASS right now,” says Kane Polakoff, principal and CAS practice leader at CohnReznick, in the new episode of Gear Up for Growth, hosted by Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing.

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“It’s on fire, especially over the last five or six years. The demand is incredible, but the key is having a strong delivery mechanism and the right capacity to provide real value to clients.”  READ MORE →

Alan Whitman: Why the Next Big CPA Firms Won’t Look Like CPA Firms | Gear Up for Growth

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And why culture matters more than ever.

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Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

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Alan Whitman isn’t trying to build a better CPA firm. He’s trying to replace it.

At Nichols Cauley, the former Baker Tilly CEO is recasting the traditional accounting practice as a “financial services company”—a structure that blends tax, insurance, risk, and transaction advisory into a single, continuous client relationship.

MORE ALAN WHITMAN: PE Deal Tracker Update: Alan Whitman Plants a Flag in the Private Equity Landscape | Breaking the Mold with PE Backing | Build Culture on ‘Progress,’ Not Change | Moss Adams-Baker Tilly Merger: Bigger Isn’t Better. Better Is Better.| Unlocking the Secrets to Smart Growth 

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The goal, he tells Jean Caragher in this episode of Gear Up for Growth, is not to expand services around the edges, but to collapse them into one integrated model designed to “manage, protect, and grow” client wealth in a recurring loop.

The shift reflects a broader rethinking across the profession, in which private equity capital, client demand for one-stop advisory services, and advances in AI are pushing firms beyond the partnership model that has defined accounting for decades.

Having previously led transformational growth at Baker Tilly, Whitman rejects the notion that rapid growth damages culture.

“That’s hogwash,” he says. “Culture comes down to one word: trust.” READ MORE →