"We've got a real problem. And no easy fix."

Accounting Influencers
With Rob Brown

The accounting profession is undergoing a seismic shift—and not all of it bodes well for those who value independence, innovation, or client service. In this episode of Accounting Influencers, veteran tech strategist Randy Johnston, shareholder at K2 Enterprises, reveals the hard truths behind the changing operational and technological landscape of accounting firms.

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Johnston, who has advised thousands of firms across four decades, shares what he’s hearing behind closed doors at events like AICPA ENGAGE. From AI hysteria to private equity overreach, the most alarming trend is clear: “We’re seeing the erosion of what made accounting firms trusted advisors in the first place.”

According to Johnston, the most disturbing trend is the hollowing out of accounting technology products. As private equity and public companies consolidate the market, product quality is dropping, support is slower, and innovation is stagnating.

Get more control, greater flexibility, and a path to smarter growth.

Gear Up for Growth
With Jean Caragher
For CPA Trendlines

In this episode of Gear Up for Growth, powered by CPA Trendlines, Anshul Agrawal, founder of June15 Consulting, shares how direct ownership offshoring is helping CPA firms unlock long-term value and sharpen their competitive edge.

• Gear Up for Growth spotlights the best strategies for smart and effficient growth in today's competitive landscape. 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 Gear Up for Growth
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“Direct ownership offshoring is no longer just for the Top 100 firms,” Agrawal explains. “Whether you're a solo practitioner or a mid-sized firm, the model gives you full control of your offshore team without the middlemen – and that changes everything.”

According to Agrawal, direct ownership offshoring – where firms directly employ and manage offshore staff – offers a more strategic and cost-effective alternative to traditional outsourcing. It enables firms to maintain independence, expand capacity, and deliver year-round support while improving margins.

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Learn why today’s students want more than titles—and how employers should respond.

Accounting ARC
With Arpan Grewal and Harshita Multani
Center for Accounting Transformation

Accounting ARC: Student-Led Conversations isn’t just another student podcast—it’s a cross-generational wake-up call.

In this episode, business students Arpan Grewal and Harshita Multani, both interns for the Center for Accounting Transformation, lead a powerful dialogue with Texlin Usher Quinney, CPA, PMP, Ph.D., and Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA. Their topic? The flawed premise of “finding your passion.”

• MORE Accounting ARC: Your Identity Is Not a Liability | What Happens in Vegas… Gets Reported on a Tax Return | Burnout, Be Gone: Accounting Needs a Boundary Breakthrough | The Ultimate Business Hack You’re Probably Ignoring | Resilience, Real Talk, and the Road to Mental Wellness | Blockchain Could Still Reshape Accounting | What Gen Z Wants from Business | Firm Differentiation Depends Upon Client Service |

“My daughter thought her first job out of college had to be her passion,” explains Patrick, CEO of VERIFYiQ and co-founder and educator for TB Academy. “But passion isn’t a one-time decision—it’s an evolution.”

That reframing hits home for Grewal and Multani, who admit to once dreaming of wildly different careers. “We grew up with Barbie being everything—doctor, astronaut, president,” says Grewal. “So why should we pick just one thing?”

Forward-thinking firms transform disruption into dominance.

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.

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

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.

The launch of the Talent Advisor Program shortly before the pandemic created a timely opportunity to scale this approach. Meeting regularly with employees at all levels, Oakley and her team were able to personalize development using strengths as a shared language. Whether coaching new associates or partnering with team leads, the focus remains the same: help people understand what they do best and how to use those strengths to navigate challenges, build relationships, and succeed at work.

Thrive with a lean schedule, happy clients, and a calm home life.

The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Erica Goode was exhausted and burned out as a corporate accountant and mom of two young children. “I could not figure out a sane way to operate a 50-hour work week and raise two kids and have a spouse who worked a 50-hour work week,” Goode explains. “I don't think there is a great way to do it. It does not leave a lot of margin to be a full-time working parent.”

• CPA TRENDLINES CELEBRATES: The 100th Episode of The Disruptors
• MORE STREAMING: Randy Crabtree: Live at the Intersection of Passion & Skill | McClelland and Telka: Women Ready to Rewrite the Rules of Accounting | Jacob Schroeder: AI Won’t Replace Accountants—But It Will Reveal Who’s Replaceable | Ditching Corporate America: The Bold Story Behind PBS Accounting’s Rapid Rise | Jean Zick: Happy Team = Happy Clients | Breslin & Greathead: Be a Client Advocate | Dominic Piscopo: Clear Pay=Bargaining Power | Debbie Kilsheimer: Stop Thinking Small |

So she quit to become a full-time mom. However, she missed accounting. So when the owner of the fitness studio where one of her children took Tae Kwon Do classes asked for help, she said yes, even though she had never touched QuickBooks before.

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By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™
For CPA Trendlines

As Teddy Roosevelt once said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

When people ask why more accountants are incorporating holistic finance services into their practices, it’s because they’re realizing the power of empathy, trust, and the future of financial advice. It starts with a “human first” approach that goes beyond putting numbers into boxes.

MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management

Seth Fineberg, founder of Accountants Forward, and Philipp Hecker, CEO of Bento Engine, two of the expert contributors to my new book, Holistic Guide to Wealth Management, believe that accountants can leverage their trusted relationships with clients and adopt a more holistic and proactive approach to working with them.