Today's Features
CHARTS & GRAPHS

Xero Buys Melio for $3 Billion in Race for ‘The Active GL’

Cornerstone Report: The New AI-Powered War for the General Ledger Super-App

By Rick Telberg
CPA Trendlines Research
Cornerstone Report

Xero is betting up to $3 billion that the future of accounting is more than recordkeeping.

The New Zealand-based cloud accounting firm is making its largest-ever acquisition: New York and Tel Aviv-based payments platform Melio. The all-cash deal, valued at $2.5 billion with a potential $500 million earn-out, aims to supercharge Xero’s push into the U.S. market by embedding B2B bill pay directly into its general ledger software. Xero is raising $1.23 billion in equity to help fund the acquisition.

MORE Tech and Fintech | MORE Cornerstone Reports, in-depth data-driven analysis and commentary

By acquiring Melio, Xero is accelerating a profound evolution in the general ledger’s role—from static bookkeeper to real-time financial operator. For accounting firms and their small business clients, the shift could mean fewer keystrokes, faster closes, and new frontiers for advisory services. Routine work—from data entry to expense classification—is increasingly automated. This frees up time but also demands new skills.

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PRICING, FEES & BILLING RATES

Value Pricing Boosts Your Employees

The emphasis shifts to their knowledge and experience.

By Jody Padar
Radical Pricing – By The Radical CPA

Do you think any of your staff studied accounting in college so that they could punch a time clock for the rest of their life? They value being professionals as much as you do. More than likely, they enjoy being valued for their knowledge and experience.

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Given the choice between being valued for their time or valued for their professional accomplishments, which do you think they’d prefer? Valued employees are happy employees!
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STREAMING NETWORK

Angela Oakley: Right Coaching Fuels Engagement | MOVE Like This

“When people see their strengths clearly for the first time, they feel seen, and that changes everything.”

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MOVE Like This
With Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk
For CPA Trendlines

At Clark Nuber, developing talent is more than a bullet point on a strategic plan; it’s woven into the fabric of how the firm operates. Angela Oakley, director of the firm’s Talent Advisor Program, sits down with the Move Like This podcast to share how her team has successfully embedded the CliftonStrengths assessment into nearly every phase of the employee life cycle. From onboarding to performance conversations, strengths-based coaching has become a core tool for helping individuals grow and for building stronger, more connected teams.

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Oakley describes how the initiative began in 2016, after one of the tax teams had already explored strengths to improve internal collaboration. That early success, along with a culture already committed to learning and people-first leadership, laid the foundation for broader adoption. With support from key influencers and her own certification in the assessment tool, Oakley began integrating CliftonStrengths into the firm’s coaching framework, building buy-in organically, one conversation at a time. READ MORE →

ACCOUNTING INFLUENCERS

Embrace the Machines | Accounting Influencers

Forward-thinking firms transform disruption into dominance.

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Accounting Influencers
With Rob Brown

In a profession built on precision, trust, and timeless principles, a disruptive force has arrived—and it’s not just another regulation. It’s technology. Automation, AI, and machine learning are redefining accounting at a rapid pace, sparking a pressing question: Is technology a force for good, or the demise of accountants as we know them?

MORE Accounting Influencers with Rob Brown

In this episode of Accounting Influencers, host Rob Brown tackles this seismic shift head-on. With over 300,000 accountants having exited the profession since 2020—a 17% decline—Brown cuts through the noise to examine whether accounting is facing an extinction event or a long-overdue evolution.

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PRO Member Exclusive

Sixteen Responsibilities of Accounting Partners

four people standing in office building and talking, two of them holding tablets

Plus 15 aspects of teamwork.

By Marc Rosenberg
The Rosenberg Practice Management Library

“Average players want to be left alone. Good players want to be coached. Great players want to be told the truth.” – Doc Rivers, NBA basketball coach

“You can’t put in what God left out.” – Terri Mathes, former English professor at DePaul University

MORE by Marc Rosenberg
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A common agenda item at partner retreats is the clarification of what it means to be a partner in the firm. I’m sure I’ve covered this a hundred or more times in one form or another. Based on my work with firms, I am constantly revising and updating the material that follows.
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