The Job Crisis Is a Myth; the Job Remix Is Not | Accounting Voices
Automation deletes tasks, then dares accountants to create new value on purpose.
Accounting Voices
With Rob Brown
TALENT & CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Students Redefine “Career Readiness” | ARC – SLC
…And it has less to do with technical skills than firms expect.
Accounting ARC
With Arpan Grewal and Harshita Multani
Center for Accounting Transformation
Being Good at the Job Is No Longer Enough | Accounting Voices
Influence is becoming career insurance for professionals.
Accounting Voices
With Rob Brown
New 20-Year Low in College Accounting Graduates
But are trends already on the upswing again?
By CPA Trendlines
Kwaiser: The Real Reason People Stay—or Leave | MOVE Like This
Culture isn’t an initiative—it’s a strategy that drives retention and results.
Originally published Oct. 13, 2025
This is a preview. The complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
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MOVE Like This
With Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk
For CPA Trendlines
In this episode of MOVE Like This, host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk talks with Stacie Kwaiser, CPA and CEO of Rehmann, about the firm’s nearly three-decade journey toward building a culture where people stay, grow, and lead.
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Kwaiser began her career in public accounting at Coopers & Lybrand before joining Rehmann, a firm that now employs more than 1,100 professionals across 22 offices. She rose through the audit practice and into firmwide leadership roles, ultimately becoming CEO in 2023. Along the way, she experienced—and helped shape—Rehmann’s evolution into one of the profession’s most recognized firms for women and equity leadership.
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Why Leaders Should Focus on Talent
Are you acquiring or recruiting? There’s a difference.
By Anthony Zecca
Leading From the Edge
In my recently published book, “Leading From the Edge – Creating a Standout, High-Performing Organization,” I focus on the leadership accounting firms need to succeed in a future driven by seismic disruptors.
MORE by Anthony Zecca
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Leadership has a responsibility and impact on creating the standout, high-performing talent necessary to drive the firm’s long-term strategy. We all understand and believe that at the end of each day, the firm’s greatest asset walks out the door (or in today’s world, disconnects). The quality of a firm’s talent directly relates to the success and performance of the firm.
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Why Do You Want to Be Partner?
Our expert council weighs in on preparation.
By Martin Bissett
Passport to Partnership
The skill in producing financial reports is limited by the quality of the information presented to the CPA by the client. The motivation of the client to influence that financial information comes in many forms, some intentional and some unintentional. Competence comes first in being able to resist pressure and present a true and accurate position of the client’s organization.
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Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But there’s a twist.
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How Niches Lead to Growth
It’s all about your ideal client.
By Jackie Meyer
The Balanced Millionaire: Advisor Edition
Trying to be everything to everyone is a recipe for burnout and mediocrity. That’s why one of the fastest ways to scale up your practice is to niche down and find your ideal client profile (ICP). It might feel counterintuitive to narrow your focus, but trust me, specialization is powerful.
MORE: Vision vs. Mission, and Why You Need One | Ten Questions to Check Your Entrepreneurship | More Revenue in Fewer Hours
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The Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)
Before we dive in, let’s address the elephant in the room: the fear that by niching, you’ll lose opportunities. Many advisors hesitate to niche down because they worry, “What if I turn away someone and regret it? What if I limit my opportunities and my phone stops ringing?” It’s a valid emotional concern, but let’s bust the myth:
- Serving everyone dilutes your expertise and makes it harder to stand out.
Sroczynski: What Every Employer Should Know About DEI Law | MOVE Like This
“A knee-jerk pullback can actually increase legal risk.”
This is a preview. The complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
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MOVE Like This
With Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk
For CPA Trendlines
In a climate where diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs have become political flashpoints, employment attorney Aislinn Sroczynski of Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld joins host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk on MOVE Like This to unpack the facts behind the fear. The result is a grounded, no-nonsense discussion on how firms can remain inclusive, compliant, and confident—without compromising their values.
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Despite the noise, Sroczynski reminds us that the legal foundation of DEI hasn’t budged. Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, and the Equal Pay Act still form the bedrock of U.S. anti-discrimination law. “What’s changed,” she explains, “is the level of scrutiny.”
That means employers should revisit—not rewrite—their programs to ensure they focus on fairness regardless of protected characteristics, not because of them.
Barnes: Redefine Your Career from Within | Gear Up For Growth
Growth doesn’t always mean moving on—it can mean moving deeper.
This is a preview. The complete episode is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
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Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines
“I love Smith + Howard, and I loved marketing, but I didn’t think I was the person for that role anymore,” says Julie Barnes, chief of staff of Smith + Howard, during her appearance on Gear Up for Growth, powered by CPA Trendlines, and hosted by Jean Caragher of Capstone Marketing. “I didn’t want to leave; I wanted to do something different. I wanted to be valuable to the firm and create value in whatever role I landed in.”
More Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | More Gear Up for Growth
Barnes shares how her 30-year journey at the firm has evolved through initiative, transparency, and a culture that supports growth from within.
How to Fix the Broken Education Systems | Accounting Influencers
“The classroom is no longer a pipeline for work-ready professionals.”
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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Accounting Influencers
With Rob Brown
Today’s accounting leaders are facing an alarming truth: the next generation of recruits may be the least “work-ready” in decades.
They know their algebra, their Shakespeare, and their chemistry formulas—but not how to introduce themselves in a job interview, meet a deadline, or handle feedback. That’s the provocative premise explored in the latest episode of Accounting Influencers Podcast, where host Rob Brown tackles the widening gap between what schools teach and what firms need.
“The classroom is no longer a pipeline for work-ready professionals,” Brown warns. “And accounting firms are starting to feel the pain.”
Brown, a former high school math teacher, speaks from experience. He spent years coaching students to pass tests—not preparing them for the real world. “The curriculum is built for exams, not for the workplace,” he says. “No one’s teaching children how to build trust, handle tough feedback, or develop emotional intelligence.”
Ten Questions to Check Your Entrepreneurship
Your biggest enemies: procrastination and questioning advice before you’ve even tried it.
By Jackie Meyer
“If your business depends on you, you don’t own a business – you have a job. And it’s the worst job in the world because you’re working for a lunatic!” – Michael E. Gerber, “The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It”
October 2010. The day is etched in my memory – cold and sharp, like the sting of betrayal. I was sitting in my car, gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. Just moments before, I had been fired. Fired from a job I thought was secure, on a career path I believed I was destined for. The words from my boss were still ringing in my ears: “We’re going in a different direction.” I was stunned. What did that mean for my direction?
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It felt like the bottom had dropped out of my life. Years of studying, late nights, and climbing what I thought was the “right” ladder had led to this: humiliation, anger and a terrifying sense of … nothingness. But as I sat there, eyes burning with tears I refused to let fall, something unexpected began to stir beneath the surface of those raw emotions. A spark. A flicker of defiance. And the faintest whisper of an idea.
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Belonging or Bust: Talent Crisis Deepens as Firms Retreat from DEI
Belonging, not perks, is the deciding factor in public accounting’s talent future.
By CPA Trendlines