PODCAST

David Cristello: Growth Breaks Things – and That’s Normal | The Disruptors

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Build the firm you want by hiring only the best.

Sponsored by True Advisor: The Definitive Success Guide for Client Advisory Services by Hitendra Patil
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The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

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When David Cristello launched Jetpack Workflow in 2016, the market already had plenty of solutions. “Are we too late?” he wondered. But he launched anyway, “and the only reason we launched is because we interviewed so many firms.” These firms told him about the problems with other solutions, and with his founders’ group, he was able to co-create a product that worked.

MORE DISRUPTORS: Candy Bellau: The $350 Pricing Mistake that Nearly Broke this Boutique Firm | The Disruptors | Poe: What P.E. Really Wants from Firms | The Disruptors  | Blake Oliver: Build a Biz that Runs Without You | Daiber: Use Succession as a Growth Strategy | Cannon: Busy Season is Self-Inflicted | Carroll: When One Person Can Break the Firm | Rampe: Build a Roadmap Even When the Road’s Not There | Chang: Killing SALY, One Agent at a Time |

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Back then, firms were tracking work on spreadsheets, as many firms today still do, and things were falling through the cracks. However, today’s users have more sophisticated demands. “What used to be just checklists and task lists is now about, what’s the operating system for the firm?” says Cristello.

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Nicholson, Fox: Exit Planning and the Psychology of Letting Go | Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

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“No one wants to leave the IRS more than they have to.”

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By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™
For CPA Trendlines

An estimated 10 to 12 million Boomer-owned businesses are expected to transition over the next decade. That’s a massive wave of planning, liquidity events, and legacy questions. Yet experts say most owners don’t engage advisors until they’re well into the deal process.

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“By the time they come to us, they’ve often already signed a letter of intent,” laments Randy A. Fox, CFP, AEP, founder of Two Hawks Family Office Services, on a recent panel discussion for contributors to my new book, Holistic Guide to Wealth Management. “That shuts the door on a lot of the strategies that could have helped them keep more of what they built,” Fox added. 

Fellow contributor and panel discussion guest Christine Nicholson, author, business consultant, and exit planning specialist, has worked with hundreds of owners. She sees the same distorted view of reality cloud their thinking — owners mistakenly assume their kids will take over and believe their business is worth far more than it really is. READ MORE →

Marketing Success Depends on Curiosity, Collaboration, and Client Experience | Capstone Conversations

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Understanding the full picture delivers higher ROI.

This is a preview. The complete video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
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Capstone Conversations
By Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

In this episode of Capstone Conversations with Jean Caragher of Capstone Marketing, Alex Miller, marketing manager at Lanigan Ryan and the Association for Accounting Marketing’s 2025 Volunteer of the Year, shares powerful insights about the evolving role of marketers in accounting firms. Her two top takeaways? Curiosity and collaboration drive career success, and client experience and artificial intelligence (AI) offer the profession’s biggest opportunities and challenges.

Follow Jean Caragher on CPA Trendlines here. | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | Catch Jean Caragher’s other show, Gear Up for Growth, here. | And browse all the shows in the CPA Trendlines broadcast network here

“Curiosity has opened so many doors for me,” says Miller. “You have to ask questions – about your firm’s services, your teammates’ work, and your goals. When you understand the full picture, you can market more effectively and bring real value to your team.”

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True Grit: Recognizing Struggles That Shape Our Successes | ARC

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The ARC team spills their messiest moments and why grit—not perfection—matters most. 

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Accounting ARC
With Byron Patrick, Liz Mason, and Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

More ARC: Analysis, Reaction, Comedy

In the latest episode of Accounting ARC, hosts Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Liz Mason, CPA; and Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA, lay down their professional armor to explore one central theme: grit—what it means, when it matters, and how it shows up in real life. 

MORE Accounting ARC: More Admins, Fewer Students, No Plan | What Career Advice Gets Wrong for Gen Z – And How to Fix It |Your Identity is Not a Liability | What Happens in Vegas… Gets Reported on a Tax Return | Burnout, Be Gone: Accounting Needs a Boundary Breakthrough | The Ultimate Business Hack You’re Probably Ignoring | Resilience, Real Talk, and the Road to Mental Wellness | Blockchain Could Still Reshape Accounting | What Gen Z Wants from Business | Firm Differentiation Depends Upon Client Service |

“This episode was about being honest,” says Patrick, CEO of VERIFYiQ and co-founder of TB Academy. “There are moments in everyone’s career where it all feels like too much.”  READ MORE →

Ellison-Taylor: Small Firms’ Fix for Talent Crisis | Gear Up For Growth

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They’re not leaving the firm. They’re leaving you.

Originally published Jan. 10, 2025.
Sponsored by MAX: Maximize Productivity, Profitability, and Client Retention by August J. Aquila  – See Today’s Special Offer

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Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

What’s driving talent out of accounting firms? According to Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, CPA, CGMA, CITP, CISA, everything from outdated leadership to untold success stories is pushing promising professionals away. In this episode of Gear Up for Growth, powered by CPA Trendlines, host Jean Caragher sits down with the powerhouse behind KET Solutions to explore how the profession can—and must—change to attract and retain the next generation.

Gear Up for Growth spotlights the best strategies for smart and efficient growth in today’s competitive landscape. More Gear Up for Growth | More Capstone Conversations with Jean Caragher | More Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | More CPA Trendlines videos and podcasts here

Ellison-Taylor, former chair of both the AICPA and the Maryland Association of CPAs, started her journey into accounting as a third grader inspired by a career-day presentation. That spark led to decades of leadership—and now, a mission to transform the narrative around what it means to be a CPA.

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