Today's Features
PRO Member Exclusive

Yes, Midsize Accounting Firms Can Provide Cybersecurity

Keys against background of data

Seven services you can offer.

By Domenick J. Esposito
 8 Steps to Great

Technology has become crucial to business success, as it allows businesses to

  • feverishly collect vast quantities of data,
  • qualify the value of that data and
  • employ that information to benefit their customers.

MORE by Domenick J. Esposito
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Businesses are forming relationships with their customers and, in turn, are being entrusted with even more information that translates into fine-tuned marketing approaches with greater returns.
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FEATURED VIDEO

Hansen: No One’s Too Rich for a Backdoor Roth | The Concierge CPA

Understand the legal tax hack the IRS actually wants you to use.

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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The Concierge CPA
With Jackie Meyer
For CPA Trendlines

In a recent edition of the Concierge CPA podcast, host Dr. Jackie Meyer and guest Acen Hansen delivered a detailed, no-nonsense exploration of using the Backdoor Roth IRA and the Mega Backdoor Roth to harness tax-free growth — particularly for high-income earners and those focused on legacy planning.

More Jackie Meyer

Catch Jackie Meyer and other thought leaders on Dec. 10 at Tax Season Readiness: Practical Steps for a Smoother Busy Season |1.5 CPE 

A Backdoor Roth IRA isn’t a special new account — it’s a workaround. As Dr. Meyer, founder of TaxPlanIQ, and Hansen, a wealth advisor for Legacy Wealth Management, explain, it allows people who earn too much to contribute directly to a Roth IRA to still access the benefits of a Roth by first contributing to a traditional IRA (on a non-deductible basis) and then converting it to a Roth IRA.

Once the funds are inside a Roth IRA, they grow tax-free and — assuming account and timing requirements are met — distributions in retirement are tax-free.

For high earners with incomes above IRS thresholds for direct Roth contributions — which, for 2025, prohibit single filers with MAGI above roughly $165,000 and married couples filing jointly above about $246,000 — the Backdoor Roth remains a viable path.

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OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

Starting Salaries in Accounting Must Rise

Every year, the 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey asks the industry’s top consultants to share their observations from CPA firms across the country: How do you think the next 12 months will unfold? Trends? Predictions? Other thoughts? Also, how would you assess the last 12 months? Trends? Observations? Struggles?

Plans for succession and capital are critical.

By Kristen Rampe
 The Rosenberg Survey

Over the next year, more firms will feel comfortable with their position in the marketplace. Either because they have completed or are in the process of a transaction, or because they determined their best option was to continue as they have been (with ongoing improvements, of course). This is unlikely to reduce the hourly calls from private equity investors just yet but will make the decision on what to do with all those calls easier.

MORE: The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey is available from CPA Trendlines here.

I am hopeful that, as an industry, we will continue to increase staff starting salaries. Looking at today’s economics of adult life, which many young accounting professionals are interested in, such as buying a home or starting a family, the current pay rates are insufficient. We can make the changes necessary here to continue to support communities, employees and the profession of accounting.
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PRO Member Exclusive

How to Offer a Virtual Family Office

portrait of Rob Santos
Santos
 Rob Santos is CEO of Arrowroot Family Office, which he founded in 2013, and of Arrowroot Advisors, an investment bank focused on M&A for software-based companies. He works with affluent families providing bespoke family office services.

Four paths, plus tips on clients.

By Rob Santos
The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

At a California Society of CPAs conference our firm attended, a panelist said that before he made the transition to wealth management, he was very reluctant to register as an investment advisor. Why? Because he thought that registering would be too much trouble.

“Eventually I made the decision to set up a separate RIA firm,” he said “because as a CPA, we are regulated by the California Board of Accountancy. I didn’t want to also have another regulator, whether it was the state of California or the SEC, in my accounting firm.”

MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management
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That CPA-turned-advisor hasn’t looked back since. He told us later that he only wished he had set up his registered investment advisor many years prior. By setting up a separate firm he must be “very careful” about which hat he is wearing. “I don’t want to be a registered investment advisor in my accounting firm,” he said, “and I don’t want to be an unregistered CPA in my advisory firm.” He also told me there are very clear lines that his colleagues follow when it comes to which firm does the services for their clients. “All things considered, the obstacles weren’t all that great,” he added.
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FEATURED VIDEO

The “LBD” of Tech: Simplicity & Standardization Still Win | It’s Not Just the Numbers

“If you don’t have accountability, you can never reach your ambition.” 

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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It’s Not Just the Numbers
With Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead
For CPA Trendlines

If there’s one topic that never gets old in accounting, it’s technology. New apps promise smoother workflows, faster reconciliations, and smarter insights every year. Yet, despite all the innovation, many firms still struggle with the same problem: too many tools, too little strategy. 

MORE Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead
MORE Advisory & Consulting
BUY “It’s Not Just the Numbers”

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In the latest episode of It’s Not Just the Numbers, hosts Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead revisit a metaphor that’s as timeless as it is practical, the “little black dress” of technology. The conversation digs into what every firm owner should understand about building a tech stack that actually fits their ambition, not just their app wish list. 

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ACCOUNTING INFLUENCERS

5 Ways Accounting Pros Turn Events into Real ROI | Accounting Influencers

Turn networking, sessions, and follow-up into measurable outcomes—not just time out of the office.

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

Seventy-six percent of professionals believe in-person conferences offer better networking opportunities than virtual events. But while accountants spend millions each year on registration fees, hotel rooms, and travel, only a fraction walk away with meaningful ROI. According to Rob Brown on Accounting Influencers, the problem isn’t the events—it’s the strategy.

“People go to conferences and just float,” Brown says. “They wander the expo hall, catch a few sessions, grab the swag—and then wonder why nothing changes.” With conferences back at full strength and offering multi-sensory experiences, deeper technical sessions, and richer networking formats, Brown says firms should treat them as strategic business opportunities, not passive learning days.

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ADVISORY & CONSULTING

Clients Need Relevance in Your Advice

woman and man talking in office

Why it is a cornerstone of value.

By Hitendra Patil
Client Accounting Services: The Definitive Success Guide

Providing value to clients involves thoroughly understanding your client, anticipating their needs, and offering advice that is both timely and highly relevant.

We discussed earlier why timeliness is the first essential element of valuable advice. Yet, advice given at the right moment but disconnected from the client’s real-world challenges is like a GPS giving directions without knowing your location.

MORE by Hitendra Patil
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In this article, we examine why even the most technically sound advice often falls short when it fails to resonate with the client’s actual context, goals or concerns. Through real-life examples, from generic guidance that missed the mark to targeted insight that drove results, you will learn how to shape advice that fits the moment. It is not just about knowing the client’s business, it’s about understanding what matters most, right now.
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PRO Member Exclusive

Five Questions to Ask about New Tech Tools

Businessman looking at question mark sketch on the wall
Be sure to loop in the people who will use them.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

Whether you purchase a one-time software license or pay for a tool on a subscription basis, the cost of software can add up quickly. It’s necessary to conduct a thorough analysis of any new software program before you decide to buy it, and you need to constantly evaluate the effectiveness of the tools you’re using.

MORE by Jody Grunden
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We have learned that we want to be sure we’re getting the most out of our software, that our tools remain the right fit for our needs and that they are cost-effective.
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FEATURED VIDEO

Baker: Transformation Economy Will Redefine Accounting | Gear Up For Growth

Stop “playing small ball,” and reimagine client experiences.

This is a preview. The complete episode is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here
Sponsored by Tax Season Readiness: Practical Steps for a Smoother Busy Season  | See Today’s Special Offer

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Is your firm truly ready for tax season—or just hoping to survive it? Join this 90-minute webinar featuring an Accounting ARC Live panel with thought leaders who know what it takes to optimize performance under pressure. 
.

Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

“A business model describes how you earn revenue when services are given away for free,” said Ron Baker, co-founder of THRESHOLD: A Revelation for the Transformation Economy, during his appearance on Gear Up for Growth, hosted by Jean Caragher of Capstone Marketing.

“That terrifies people, but it’s where the economy is going.” 

More Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | More Gear Up for Growth

More CPA Trendlines videos and podcasts here

Baker discusses the profession’s next major evolution: the transformation economy, where firms no longer compete on services, scope, or efficiency, but on their ability to change lives.

He argues that CPAs are uniquely positioned to guide clients through lasting financial and personal transformation. CPA value will shift from work performed to life and business outcomes: healthier, wealthier, wiser clients living with meaning.  

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SPECIAL

What’s In, What’s Out for the Digital CPA in 2026

Cloud Foundations Out, AI-Powered Growth In.

People you know: Some of the CPA Trendlines contributors and collaborators on the agenda at the 2025 Digital CPA conference.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Tax and accounting firms appear poised in 2026 to double down on AI-driven services, accelerate developments in blockchain accounting, add new automations to CAS platforms, pursue transformative audits, and reimagine talent pipelines.

MORE: Tech and Fintech

If this year’s Digital CPA Conference in Washington, D.C., is any indication, then 2026 will be characterized by AI ubiquity, CAS at the core, and strategic boldness.

Comparing the 2024 and 2025 events back-to-back reveals a dramatic evolution in themes, speakers, and firm strategies — effectively a “what’s out vs. what’s in” for the profession.

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ADVISORY & CONSULTING

Eight Steps to ROI Pricing

How to address common objections.

By Jackie Meyer

We already set the foundation for moving to high-value advisory services. Now let’s talk about how to price those services in a way that reflects their true value and empowers you to achieve the Balanced Millionaire lifestyle.

MORE: Shift Your Value Proposition from Compliance to Advisory | How Niches Lead to Growth | Vision vs. Mission, and Why You Need One | Ten Questions to Check Your Entrepreneurship | More Revenue in Fewer Hours
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This is where the ROI (Return on Investment) Method comes in.

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ABOUT US

Bissett Bullet: Who Should I Say is Calling?

Today’s Bissett Bullet: “Imagine you’re a business owner and you’ve just had a meeting with an accounting firm. The meeting went really well; in fact they made a very positive first impression and you are seriously considering leaving your current accountant to work with them. You did forget to ask something, so you make a quick call to their office … and nobody knows who you are.”

By Martin Bissett

You could be forgiven for feeling a little deflated. Now imagine you called and instead were greeted by a member of their support team who not only knew exactly who you are but had been instructed to put you straight through should you happen to call.

This is a very easy and effective way to make prospective clients feel valued, prioritized and ingrained in your firm’s culture but simple though it is, your competitors will not do it. Stand out by making sure that clients are handled in this way by your firm.

Today’s To-Do:

Diarize time after a meeting or set aside time each week to brief support staff on all prospective clients.

See more Bissett Bullets here

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