Put an Accountability Chart in Play

Three questions to ask about each role.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

“Getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats – these are all crucial steps in the early stages of buildup…” – Jim Collins, “Good to Great”

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When Adam and I first started the company, we didn’t have much organizational structure. We didn’t need it. But as the company grew, it became necessary to develop an organizational structure. There’s a great quote by Michael E. Gerber in his book “The E-Myth Revisited” that says, “Without the Organization Chart, confusion, discord and conflict become the order of the day.”
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Accounting Enrollment Surges as Profession Rebuilds Its Talent Pipeline

chart
Trends in the number of college accounting majors compared to salaries in the industry. Enrollments are up 5.7 percent so far this year and so is pay. (CPA Trendlines Research)

 

56,000 new accounting majors since 2023.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Accounting programs at U.S. colleges and universities are seeing a resurgence after years of decline, providing fresh evidence that the profession’s talent shortage may be easing.

MORE The Fastest-Growing Jobs in Accounting Are Not Accounting Jobs | Crowdsourced Salary Data Sparks Accounting Change | Retention Isn’t About Perks or Paychecks Anymore | Why CPAs Quit Public Accounting | Students Who Get Ahead Don’t Wait for Graduation | The Staffing Problem Nobody Talks About | New CPA Licensure Pathway Opens Doors to Talent |  | Gen Z Surges into Accounting for All the Reasons Your Mother Told You

MORE in Pay & Comp | Staffing & Recruiting

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New data from the National Student Clearinghouse and the AICPA show that accounting is now outperforming most other business disciplines in attracting undergraduate students.
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Give Your Leaders Time to Lead

people gathering in the shape of an arrowPut the right people in the right seats. You might have to create some seats.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

As our team was growing and we reached over 30 team members, we recognized the need to establish a formal leadership team. When we were smaller, it worked fine for Adam and me to be the primary decision makers, but as our client base and workload grew, we realized we would become a bottleneck and slow things down.

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At that point, we made a conscious effort to transition our daily tasks and client responsibilities to other team members so we could remove ourselves from the weeds and focus on the higher-level view of the company.
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Dominic Piscopo: Crowdsourced Salary Data Sparks Accounting Change | Accounting Conversations

Unpack how market gaps and transparency revise the recruiting game.

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Accounting Conversations
With Chayton Farlee
Center for Accounting Transformation

In the latest episode of Accounting Conversations, host Chayton Farlee sits down with Dominic Piscopo, CPA, founder of The Big Four Transparency, to unpack compensation transparency and the accounting pipeline — two stubborn bottlenecks many firms still struggle to fix. The conversation centers on how accessible salary data and real-world experiences can illuminate a path toward fairer pay and clearer career ladders for accountants at all levels.

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Piscopo, a Canadian CPA now leading The Big Four Transparency, describes a career that reveals both the promise and the pain points of the industry. He starts in a Big Four firm in tax and quickly encounters a supportive leadership dynamic and a stellar coach, experiences that underscore what’s possible in a healthy culture. Yet even with that backdrop, he confronts a truth many early-career professionals feel but few talk about openly: compensation does not always align with effort or market realities, especially for younger staff trying to break in and prove their value.

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Why CPAs Leave to Work for a Client

Money tree growing in the middle of green meadow

Is that grass really greener?

By Ed Mendlowitz
Call Me Before You Do Anything: The Art of Accounting

I know many CPAs who left public accountancy to take a “better” job. For many of them this was a mistake. For some it worked out, so if you are one of the lucky few, you can stop reading what I have to say.

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There are basically three types of companies the accountant could work for – a small client that does not have an in-house controller or CFO, one whose controller will be replaced by the departing CPA, or a large company that has an entire accounting staff already in place. Let’s talk about working for the small companies that do not have a controller.
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