Today's Features
NEWS

Remembering Peter Margaritis: Applying the Art of Improv to Accounting Communication

‘Everyone here is a superhero.’

Peter Margaritis on The Disruptors with Liz Farr, originally published in 2023 here

By Liz Farr

The accounting world lost a great man on March 20, 2025, when Peter Margaritis passed away unexpectedly at age 64. I first met Peter in the fall of 2018, when he gave the keynote for the New Mexico Society of CPAs’ annual Pride in the Profession luncheon. I introduced myself to him while he was fiddling with his earpiece and microphone shortly before his talk.

Margaritis obituary here | More Liz Farr here

“Everyone here in this audience is a superhero. If I can make you aware of it, then you’ll use it for the greater good for yourselves, your organizations, and your community,” he told us during his keynote. The superhero power skills he was speaking about are our abilities to communicate financial information to our clients and the world at large.

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Gear Up for Growth

Matt Dixon: How Top Rainmakers Win Clients | Gear Up For Growth

Doing great work is no longer enough to ensure client retention.

 

Sponsored by “TurboCharge Your Profits: How to Thrive in the New Economy,” by Frank Stitely, CPA, CVA  – See Today’s Special Offer

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Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

In a rapidly shifting business landscape, professional services firms face increasing pressure to develop new business while maintaining client loyalty. In this Gear Up for Growth episode hosted by Jean Caragher of Capstone Marketing, guest Matt Dixon shares insights from his forthcoming book, “Activator Advantage: What Today’s Rainmakers Do Differently.” Dixon, a founding partner of DCM Insights and a renowned sales researcher, detailed how top-performing professionals distinguish themselves through proactive engagement and strategic relationship-building.

Gear Up for Growth spotlights the best strategies for smart and efficient growth in today’s competitive landscape. More Gear Up for Growth every Friday here | 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

Dixon’s research, based on a study of nearly 3,000 partners in professional services firms—including accountants, lawyers, and consultants—identifies five distinct business development profiles:

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PRO Member Exclusive

What Millennial Managing Partners Face

man seated at laptop talking on phone

Plus six tips for those aspiring to the role.

By Marc Rosenberg
The Rosenberg Practice Management Library

CPA firm managing partners often serve for long periods of time. A tenure of 20 to 25 years is not uncommon. For managing partners to serve that long, they command the unwavering respect of the partners, often cling to old practices and, toward the end, may not be the visionary they once were.

MORE by Marc Rosenberg
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When a new managing partner takes over, this presents the firm with tremendous opportunities to change and improve the firm. The worst mistake is for the new managing partner to carry on just like their predecessor.
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ABOUT US

Bissett Bullet: Give Me One Good Reason

Today’s Bissett Bullet: “One reason why accounting professionals find it difficult to sell is that they rarely give a reason to move that the prospect cares about.”

By Martin Bissett

So much of the profession is focused on fee and service and the prospect, if moving to you for your fee and service, will really only care about those two matters. That is not a trusted advisor relationship. A trusted advisor creates the outcomes that the prospect wants to see in their lives. That is what separates superior accounting firms from the rest of the pack.

Today’s To-Do:

When reading your most recent proposal document from the client’s perspective, what was the compelling reason for them to sign up? What did you show them that they couldn’t walk away from?

See more Bissett Bullets here

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LEADERSHIP

Talk Politics Professionally | Transformation Talks

“Politics affects tax laws, compliance, and financial decisions. We can’t afford to ignore it.”

 

Sponsored by “TurboCharge Your Profits: How to Thrive in the New Economy,” by Frank Stitely, CPA, CVA – See Today’s Special Offer

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music and Audible, Player FM, Audacy, Gaana (India), and Boomplay (Africa).

 

Transformation Talks
With Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

Politics and business have always been intertwined, but today’s climate of deep division presents new challenges for accounting professionals. Whether discussing tax policy, compliance, or broader economic issues, accountants often find themselves in conversations that can quickly become contentious. 

MORE TRANSFORMATION TALKS

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In this episode of Transformation Talks, host Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA leads a discussion with Brian Tankersley, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Ron Baker, CPA (inactive), and Amy Welch, APR, CAE, on how accountants can navigate political differences while maintaining professionalism, respect, and productive dialogue. 

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