Allan Koltin: What Elite CPA Firms Do Differently | Gear Up for Growth
The best firm build accountability cultures, develop climbers, and make tough calls.
Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines
PODCAST
What Happens to Your Firm If You Don’t Come Back Monday? | ARC
After a near-fatal skiing accident, three accounting leaders confront the uncomfortable questions every firm owner should answer before a crisis strikes.
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Originally published March 26, 2026
Accounting ARC
With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation
Business continuity planning often lives in the realm of “someday.”
Until it doesn’t.
In the latest episode of Accounting ARC, hosts Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP; and Liz Mason, CPA, tackle a topic many professionals avoid: what happens when the unexpected actually happens.
The conversation opens not with theory, but with a moment that makes the stakes unmistakably real.
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Mason, CEO of High Rock Accounting, recounts a recent skiing accident in which she fell roughly 200 yards and collided with a tree at high speed. She survived with a broken leg—but the incident forced a sobering question: What would have happened to her firm if she hadn’t?
Art Werner: Just Don’t Call it a Trump Account | Quick Tax Tip
Trump accounts can be “one of the best” long-term planning options, despite their name, says Werner.
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Quick Tax Tip
With Art Werner
CPE Today
Trump accounts are “one of the best provisions that we have seen,” tax expert Art Werner says in this Quick Tax Tip.
Acknowledging that the name itself may create resistance among some taxpayers, he says that for people who are not fond of President Trump, “when they hear the name Trump account, it turns them off.” But if they dismiss the account because of its name, he adds, “they are walking away from a tremendous opportunity.”
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Werner explains that funds in a Trump Account are effectively locked away until the child reaches age 18. Once the beneficiary reaches adulthood, the money can be used for specific purposes that he describes as major life milestones, including higher education, purchasing a first home, starting a business, and ultimately retirement planning.
Doug Slaybaugh: How to Define “Values in Motion” | The Disruptors
Are your firm’s stated values consistent with its behavior?
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The Disruptors
With Liz Farr
For CPA Trendlines
How does your firm define culture? Is your culture consistent with the values posted on the breakroom wall? Doug Slaybaugh, founder of CPA Coach, defines culture as “values in motion.” According to this definition, a firm’s stated values must be evident in the ways a firm actually behaves.
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A firm with the value of philanthropy, for example, should give team members the ability to volunteer or sponsor nonprofit events. “There should be evidence,” Slaybaugh explains. “Otherwise, there’s no evidence of that value. It’s really not your culture.”
Slaybaugh’s previous firm had the often-clichéd value of “people first,” but actually executed on that. Team members were offered the option to buy an additional month of PTO, prorated from their salaries, resulting in an 11-month year with nearly two months of vacation.
Art Werner: Trump Accounts Launch July 4 | Quick Tax Tip
Trump Accounts for children launch on July 4, 2026.
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Trump accounts officially launch July 4. Advisors should scan their client lists, keeping in mind that eligibility is determined by the child beneficiary rather than the person funding the account.
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“The eligibility rules are going to be based on what we’ll refer to as the beneficiary, the child that we’re establishing these for,” Werner says.