What’s Your Return on Relationships?
Think about a return on relationships.
By Rory Henry
The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management
artificial intelligence
Advisory Opportunities Emerge from Core CAS Offerings
Think about where your insights originate.
By Hitendra Patil
Client Accounting Services: The Definitive Success Guide
“We want to offer outsourced CFO and advisory services.”
It has become an increasingly common intent of accounting firms of all sizes.
MORE by Hitendra Patil
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This article demonstrates how compliance, accounting and reporting can serve as doorways to deeper insights, more strategic conversations and higher-value advisory relationships.
Technology automation, artificial intelligence and more innovative solutions seem to make it even more logical for accountants to feel that the future is more about advisory services than ever before.
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Five Common Pitfalls and How to Overcome Them
Transitioning isn’t always smooth sailing.
By Jackie Meyer
When I made the decision to shift from a compliance-heavy firm to an advisory-first firm focused on delivering measurable ROI, I wish I could say it was seamless. It wasn’t. This kind of transformation brings new opportunities, but it also brings challenges – some that you can anticipate, and others that take you by surprise. The key to success isn’t avoiding challenges altogether (that’s impossible); it’s learning to navigate them when they arise.
MORE: Will Your Success be Incremental or Exceptional? | Your Balanced Millionaire Journey Begins Now | How to Cultivate Holistic Wealth | Five Hard-Earned Lessons from Exiting an Accounting Firm | It’s Never Too Early to Plan Your Exit Strategy | Beyond Blocking: More Time Management Strategies | Reclaim Your Hours with Time Management and Productivity Hacks | How to Bring Core Values into Your Accounting Firm | Ten Key Guidelines for Accounting Staff | Hiring Strategies for Your Dream Team | The AI Revolution: Embracing Artificial Intelligence in Your Practice
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In this article, I want to help you understand the common pitfalls that can derail your progress and the practical steps you can take to overcome them. Whether it’s dealing with clients who are stuck in the old model, learning to price confidently or avoiding burnout, there are solutions to keep you moving forward.
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Win at M&A Without Overpaying
Seven tips for being a strong acquirer.
By Ira Rosenbloom
In today’s hyperactive CPA firm M&A market, buyers are circling many of the same opportunities. Private equity and alternative investors can often offer more cash but that doesn’t mean they always win – or that the highest offer does.
MORE by Ira Rosenbloom
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Securing the deal you want depends on the right ingredients for a strong outcome. Based on our knowledge of the success factors for winning, we offer the following recommendations – especially if you are a more traditional acquirer:
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How to Cultivate Holistic Wealth
A deep dive into the SHiFT framework.
By Jackie Meyer
Success is often defined in dollar signs and business metrics, but as a seasoned advisor you know that true wealth extends far beyond the financial statement. After all, what’s the point of a seven-figure firm if your health is in shambles, your relationships are strained, or you have no time to enjoy life?
MORE: Five Hard-Earned Lessons from Exiting an Accounting Firm | It’s Never Too Early to Plan Your Exit Strategy | Beyond Blocking: More Time Management Strategies | Reclaim Your Hours with Time Management and Productivity Hacks | Hiring Strategies for Your Dream Team | Streamline Your Operations with Systems and Processes | From Compliance to Advisory: Shifting the Value Proposition | How I Became an Accidental Entrepreneur | Build a Seven-Figure Firm in Four Hours a Week
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In this article, we’re going to zoom out and look at the whole picture of what it means to be a “Balanced Millionaire.” This is about cultivating holistic wealth across all areas of life, using the SHiFT Framework – Social, Health, Financial, Time. These are the four pillars of holistic wealth and well-being that support a truly balanced and fulfilling life for a high-achieving professional.
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What AI CEO’s Warning Means (and Doesn’t) for Accountants
Five reasons your work is safe … if you’re doing the right work.
By Hitendra Patil
Client Accounting Services: The Definitive Success Guide
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has issued a fresh warning: Some jobs are just going to go away. “Totally, totally gone,” as reported by Techspot. Altman was discussing the effect of artificial intelligence on customer support roles and indicated that entire categories of work could be under threat.
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MORE by Hitendra Patil: The DNA of Advisory-CAS | Advisory Is Not Consulting | What Exactly Is Client Advisory Services? | Review Your CAS Offerings | CAS Prospects Want Proof? You’ve Got That | What AI CEO’s Warning Means (and Doesn’t) for Accountants | Ditch the Sales Pitch | How to Get CAS Clients to Blow Your Horn | Four Questions for Choosing CAS Clients | What Is Your Firm’s Marketable Value? | Seven Tips for CAS Marketing | Twelve Things That Kill Your CAS Profits
AI eliminating middle-class jobs immediately raises severe concerns. But what does it mean for accountants? While AI automation clearly targets customer support, accounting professionals should naturally wonder if their work is next.
Hiring Strategies for Your Dream Team
Who do you bring on first?
By Jackie Meyer
“A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.” – Simon Sinek, “Start with Why”
Building a successful advisory practice isn’t a solo endeavor. Yes, you might start as a one-person shop, but to truly scale your business, reclaim your time, and achieve the Balanced Millionaire lifestyle, you’ll eventually need a strong, capable team. Otherwise there’s a cap, or ceiling, on your revenue generation while you also burn all of your time.
MORE: The AI Revolution: Embracing Artificial Intelligence in Your Practice | Leverage Technology for Growth | Streamline Your Operations with Systems and Processes | Craft Tiered Service Packages for Maximum Impact | Master the ROI Method: Price for Value, Not Time | From Compliance to Advisory: Shifting the Value Proposition | Niche Down to Scale Up | How to Define Your Vision | How I Became an Accidental Entrepreneur | Build a Seven-Figure Firm in Four Hours a Week
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This article focuses on the critical process of hiring a team that aligns with your vision and values. We’ll explore how to identify what roles to hire for, craft compelling job descriptions to attract the right talent and conduct effective interviews to vet candidates.
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Marketing Success Depends on Curiosity, Collaboration, and Client Experience | Capstone Conversations
Understanding the full picture delivers higher ROI.
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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Capstone Conversations
By Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines
In this episode of Capstone Conversations with Jean Caragher of Capstone Marketing, Alex Miller, marketing manager at Lanigan Ryan and the Association for Accounting Marketing’s 2025 Volunteer of the Year, shares powerful insights about the evolving role of marketers in accounting firms. Her two top takeaways? Curiosity and collaboration drive career success, and client experience and artificial intelligence (AI) offer the profession’s biggest opportunities and challenges.
Follow Jean Caragher on CPA Trendlines here. | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | Catch Jean Caragher’s other show, Gear Up for Growth, here. | And browse all the shows in the CPA Trendlines broadcast network here
“Curiosity has opened so many doors for me,” says Miller. “You have to ask questions – about your firm’s services, your teammates’ work, and your goals. When you understand the full picture, you can market more effectively and bring real value to your team.”
Crosby, Johnston: A Human-First, Tech-Forward Future | Holistic Guide to Wealth Management
Research shows that money activates more areas of the brain than sex, death, politics, or religion.
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By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™
For CPA Trendlines
A recent McKinsey study found that the demand for holistic financial advice increased 60% from 2018 to 2023. Meanwhile, another McKinsey study projected a shortage of 100,000 financial advisors by 2034. That gap is leaving a massive opportunity for CPAs to step up as holistic advisors.
A recent Holistic Guide to Wealth Management book panel discussion with two industry luminaries showed that CPAs who are in the best position to thrive as holistic advisors are those who use technology to deliver deeper planning and relationship-driven advice.
“Traditional econometric models were all predicated on this idea that people were rational,” notes psychologist, author, and behavioral finance expert, Dr. Daniel Crosby. “What we actually know is that it is perhaps least true of us when it comes to money.”
Is AI Contributing to Burnout?
How you can cope and thrive
By Randy Crabtree
A new Cal Berkeley study of a 200-employee U.S. technology company found that AI didn’t free up workers’ time as promised. Instead, it expanded what workers felt capable of and willing to take on.
I suspect we’re seeing the same thing in the accounting profession and other areas of professional services.
My firm’s annual CPA Career Satisfaction survey found that accountants overwhelmingly agreed that AI would benefit their firms long-term. However, most also felt AI would contribute to personal stress and burnout in the short run.