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CLIENT ACCOUNTING SERVICES

WEBINAR: IRS Tightens Crypto Reporting as 1099-DA Comes Online

New IRS Form 1099-DA raises the stakes for compliance—and tax professionals are racing to prepare. 

By Center for Accounting Transformation

Cryptocurrency has evolved from a niche curiosity to a mainstream economic force — and U.S. tax authorities are finally catching up. 

As digital assets, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, NFTs, and stablecoins, become common investment choices for individuals and businesses alike, the IRS has quietly but significantly overhauled how crypto income must be reported and taxed. However, despite these changes, many taxpayers still fail to comply, and tax professionals are scrambling to keep up. 

WEBINAR: Nuts & Bolts of Cryptocurrency Taxation & 1099-DAs | Jan. 27 |1 p.m. ET | 2 CPE

That’s the backdrop for “Nuts & Bolts of Cryptocurrency Taxation & 1099-DAs,” a live 2-hour webinar scheduled for Jan. 27, which will provide accountants and tax advisors with a practical roadmap to navigate this rapidly evolving terrain.  READ MORE →

FEATURED VIDEO

Oliver: Build a Biz that Runs Without You | The Disruptors

“They get a check every month, and they don’t have to do any work.”

This is a preview. The complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
Sponsored by The Balanced Millionaire: The Advisor Edition by Dr. Jackie Meyer | See Today’s Special Offer

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google/YouTube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music, Audible, Player FM, Audacy, RSS.
Build a 7-figure firm in just 4 hours a week!

The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Blake Oliver noticed a consistent pattern with firm owners. “The hardest part for them, it seems, just based on my conversations, is getting started and then building that initial team, creating that firm from scratch, going from zero to something is really, really, really difficult,” he explains.  

That “hardest part” echoes his own experience. 

MORE STREAMING:MORE STREAMING: 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 | Vanover: 5-Star Firms Don’t Bill by the Hour | Kless: Profit Is a Result. Flourishing Is the Purpose | Whitman: Build Culture on ‘Progress,’ Not Change | Shein: No PE? No M&A? No Problem | Hood and Weber: Time to RISE | Proctor: Turn Dumb Ideas into Brilliant Solutions | Carter-Gray: How 1 Poor Review Strengthened the Firm | Hartman: Upwork to “40 Under 40” in 3 Years |

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Before he became known to the accounting world as the co-host of the Accounting Podcast and founder of Earmark, Oliver had his own firm. “I spent five years building a firm from scratch…going from zero to a million dollars in revenue in five years,” he says. Because he was largely figuring it out on his own, the process was far harder than it needed to be.  

His new book, “Building a Sustainable Firm: Strategies for the Modern Accounting Practice,” distils the lessons he learned from talking to firm owners and from his own experiences into a blueprint for creating an accounting business that supports your team, your clients, and your own life.

“If you’re going to take the leap to go start your own firm…you should have something that you’re happy with at the end,” he explains.   

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ADVISORY & CONSULTING

Outlook 2026: Accountants Brace for a Rough Economy

Expect strong demand for tax planning, business advisory and bookkeeping cleanup work. 

By CPA Trendlines Research

The CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer indicates that tax and accounting leaders anticipate growth in their own firms, even as they prepare for anxious business clients, persistent inflation, and a policy environment that keeps planning on edge.

MORE Busy Season and 2026 Outlook

BUSY SEASON BAROMETER: Join the survey. Get the results

About half of all accountants in the survey are bracing for a deteriorating economy, with a third expecting rosier scenarios, for a net negative 17.2 percentage points. For small and mid-sized businesses, accountants are at a negative 9.3 points.

Closer to home, they’re more confident, with a positive (barely) 1.7 points for their own clients and a whopping 57.5 points for their own firms.

Tax and accounting professionals describe small and mid-sized business owners as navigating an economy that appears strong on paper but is treacherous in reality. They face higher prices, higher borrowing costs, and less room for error.

Accountants see strong demand for planning, advisory and cleanup work. However, they also observe clients delaying hiring, pressuring vendors on price, and asking more rigorous questions about cash flow and taxes.

In the CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer 2026 survey, firm leaders expect growth inside their own four walls—more clients, higher revenue, and higher profits—while simultaneously bracing for a chillier outlook among small and mid-size businesses.

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CHARTS & GRAPHS

Outlook 2026: The Painful Paradigm Shift in Staff Pay and Hiring

Pivoting with the Paradigm: Staff salaries are rising sharply even as job growth plateaus.

New jobs data signal fundamental pivot for accounting firms.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The year 2026 may be long remembered as the paradigm-shifting moment when accounting firms were forced to pivot everything from their business models to their budgets.

MORE Outlook 2026, Pay, Hiring

The reason: Salary and pay increases are accelerating even as hiring momentum stalls.

Going into 2026, labor costs have been cleaved from labor supply. The new, structurally higher staffing line is forcing firms to rewrite their budgets as well as business models.

READ MORE →

FEATURED VIDEO

Wasserman: Have Better Money Conversations | Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

These delicate dialogues need structure, not spontaneity.

Sponsored by The Balanced Millionaire: The Advisor Edition by Dr. Jackie Meyer | See Today’s Special Offer

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google/YouTube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music, Audible, Player FM, Audacy, RSS
Build a 7-figure firm in just 4 hours a week!

By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™
For CPA Trendlines

Money is one of the things that people think about most. Yet, most people aren’t comfortable discussing it openly.

In a new episode of Holistic Guide to Wealth Management, we sit down with Erika Wasserman, CFT, a certified financial therapist, keynote speaker, and author of “Conversations with Your Financial Therapist: Stories and Scripts to Grow Your Money Mindset,” to talk about why money conversations about are so often avoided and how advisors, families, and individuals can begin to change that dynamic. 

MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

BUY the Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

Wasserman’s journey into financial therapy was shaped by personal experience. She grew up in a rare household where talking about money was normal. She earned a degree in finance from the University of Florida and began her career consulting with IBM. Over time, major life transitions, including international moves, marriage, divorce, and raising three children, have deepened her understanding of how financial decisions intersect with emotions, identity, and relationships. 

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SPECIAL

How to Win the Talent Battle

portrait of John Fenton
Fenton
 John Fenton, CPA, MBA is the CEO of John J. Fenton Executive Coaching, which he launched following a successful 30+ year career as a managing partner and CPA. He is a Certified Success Principles™ Trainer, an award-winning speaker, best-selling author and leading authority in leadership.

Cue purpose, vision and culture as you pursue excellence.

By John Fenton
The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

Some call it a battle, some call it a war. Whatever you call it, there’s no arguing that competition for talent in our industry is fierce. Accounting firms, like most other businesses, are struggling to find qualified workers to meet the growing needs of their clients and customers. At the same time, opportunities to grow revenue are abundant.

MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management
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According to McKinsey data, voluntary “quit rates” are 25 percent higher than they were before the pandemic. At some firms, attrition rates have been as high as 20 percent to 25 percent. Meanwhile, a recent Gallup survey found that only one-third of employees (32%) felt “engaged” in their jobs. Meanwhile, mid-level professionals who would normally be on track for long careers at their employer are leaving in droves to pursue something else.

The aforementioned McKinsey report identified the motivating factors that keep people in their jobs and the demotivating factors that drive them away.
READ MORE →

Cornerstone

Outlook 2026: Agentic AI Reaches the Tipping Point in Tax and Accounting Firms

AI-powered firms are closing books faster, reallocating staff time to higher-value work, and widening the competitive gap with slower adopters.

By CPA Trendlines Research
Cornerstone Report

As artificial intelligence transitions from a buzzword to a business imperative, CPA firms across the U.S. are quietly beginning to deploy generative AI assistants, machine learning tools, and “agentic” AI platforms to automate audits, prepare taxes, and provide financial insights.

With the astonishing surge in AI adoption, firm leaders say we’ve reached a tipping point where those not investing in AI risk being left behind.

MORE CPA Trendlines Cornerstone Reports

In this Cornerstone Report, accounting firms show how they are leveraging AI to transform their operations, the benefits and challenges they are encountering, and what it all means for the future of the profession, including:

  • Why AI adoption in CPA firms has hit a tipping point
  • How agentic AI is transforming tax, audit, and advisory work
  • The real productivity, ROI, and revenue gains firms are reporting
  • What AI means for staffing, skills, and firm economics
  • The risks, governance challenges, and regulatory implications ahead
  • How firm leaders can deploy AI without falling behind

READ MORE →

ACCOUNTING INFLUENCERS

How to Outsmart the Big Four on AI | Accounting Voices

Agility, transparency, and judgment matter more than billion-dollar platforms.

Sponsored by The Balanced Millionaire: The Advisor Edition by Dr. Jackie Meyer | See Today’s Special Offer

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google/YouTube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music, Audible, Player FM, Audacy, RSS.
Build a 7-figure firm in just 4 hours a week!

Accounting Voices
With Rob Brown

The Big Four are spending billions on artificial intelligence, cutting thousands of jobs, and reshaping how accounting work gets done. That scale can feel intimidating—especially if you’re running or working inside a small or mid-tier firm.

But here’s the counterintuitive truth explored in a recent episode of Accounting Voices:
The Big Four aren’t winning because of their budgets. They’re winning because of their discipline.

This episode breaks down what smaller firms and ambitious professionals can borrow from the AI strategies of PwC, KPMG, Deloitte, and EY—without trying to copy their scale.

The lesson is clear: clarity beats capability, and governance beats gadgets.

READ MORE →

GROWTH STRATEGIES

How Your Tech Stack Fuels Your Growth

Key components and how to optimize them.

By Jackie Meyer

We have discussed how solid systems and processes can streamline your operations and boost efficiency. Now, it’s time to delve into the specific technologies and software that can truly transform your advisory practice and propel your growth. We’re going to talk about building your tech stack – the collection of tools that work together to support and automate your workflows.

MORE by Jackie Meyer
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Embracing the right technology can elevate your one-person or small firm into a powerhouse that feels much larger. When done right, tech removes drudgery, reduces errors and creates a client experience that’s smooth and modern. On the flip side, ignoring tech or using outdated tools can hold you back, limit your growth and eat away at your time. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen!
READ MORE →

CLIENT SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

Process Is Key to Remote Work

Woman leading meeting, flipchart in background

Your team and your clients both win.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

With the right people in place, empowered to work independently, and proper access to the tools that are necessary to get the work done, process comes next.

MORE by Jody Grunden
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Creating process is important in any business if you want to scale, but it is imperative when it comes to remote work. Process helps streamline things, reduces confusion and makes your team more efficient and productive.
READ MORE →

FEATURED VIDEO

Kepczyk: Tech IS the New Business Model | Gear Up For Growth

Firm leaders can no longer ignore this conversation.

This is a preview. The complete video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
Sponsored by The Balanced Millionaire: The Advisor Edition by Dr. Jackie Meyer | See Today’s Special Offer

 Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google/YouTube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music, Audible, Player FM, Audacy, RSS.

Build a 7-figure firm in just 4 hours a week!

Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

Technology is no longer something CPA firms use to get work done. It’s what defines how firms compete, scale, attract talent—and increasingly, how they’re valued.

That was the clear, unambiguous message from Roman Kepczyk, director of Firm Technology Strategy at Rightworks, during his recent appearance on Gear Up for Growth, hosted by Jean Caragher.

Gear Up for Growth spotlights the best strategies for smart and effficient growth in today’s competitive landscape. More Gear Up for Growth every Friday here.|  More Capstone Conversations with Jean Caragher every Monday | 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

With nearly 30 years spent advising CPA firms of all sizes, Kepczyk didn’t mince words: firms that fail to standardize, automate, and strategically invest in technology are already falling behind—whether they realize it or not.

READ MORE →

ABOUT US

Bissett Bullet: Rapport Is The Ultimate Tool

Today’s Bissett Bullet: “How easy or difficult it is for an accountant to write a powerful proposal document is often dependent on how well the initial meeting with the prospective client went.”

By Martin Bissett

If I had a penny for every time somebody had reported a new business meeting they had attended and said to me, “Martin, you don’t understand, there was just no client need. I’m not sure why I was there, I could see no opportunity.” All these three phrases are code for “I did not find the need,” “I did not create strong empathy and rapport,” “I did not put together a compelling commercial argument for that business to work with our accounting firm.”

If this is true of your client meeting, you will find a proposal very difficult to write because you will be competing on the fronts of price, geography and likeability rather than a return on investment, which is the front we should be fighting on.

Today’s To-Do:

When reviewing your next quote or proposal document read it from the client’s perspective before you present it to them and see if YOU would buy from you. If not, can you identify an opportunity you missed to build rapport? Bear it in mind for the future.

See more Bissett Bullets here

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ACCOUNTING ARC

Return Season is the New Stress Test | ARC

E-commerce growth forces firms to rethink accruals, margins, and sustainability.

Sponsored by The Balanced Millionaire: The Advisor Edition by Dr. Jackie Meyer | See Today’s Special Offer

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google/YouTube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music, Audible, Player FM, Audacy, RSS.

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

Build a 7-figure firm in just 4 hours a week!

Holiday shopping has never been easier. With a few taps on a smartphone, consumers can buy gifts from bed, track deliveries in real time, and return unwanted items with minimal friction. But behind that convenience lies a complicated accounting reality—one that came into sharp focus during a recent episode of Accounting ARC.

MORE Accounting ARC: Small Firms May Have the Biggest Advantage in 2026 | Downgraded: What the DOE Said About Accounting | Savage: Using Your License as a Megaphone |  Baker: Interpreting Pricing Psychology | Don’t Get Fired by Your Own Automation | What Amazon Doesn’t Tell You | Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC | Free Speech Is a Right; Respect Is a Responsibility | Cash Bags, Casinos & Audits: How First Jobs Shape Us | Gen Z Redefines Careers | Bootleggers, Baptitsts & CPAs: Rethinking Licensure

Hosts Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP; and Liz Mason, CPA, examine the financial, operational, and environmental consequences of e-commerce returns, using the holiday season as a lens to explore broader shifts in consumer behavior and business sustainability.

Industry research shows that nearly 25% of e-commerce purchases are returned after the holidays, compared with less than 9% of in-store retail purchases. For accounting teams, that disparity introduces volatility into revenue recognition, inventory valuation, and profitability forecasting—often at the worst possible time of year.

READ MORE →