Optimizing the client experience is the real key to growth and profitability.

The Concierge CPA

With Jackie Meyer

For CPA Trendlines

On a recent episode of The Concierge CPA, Liscio founder and CEO Chris Farrell joins host Jackie Meyer to challenge the conventional wisdom about workflow systems in accounting. His core message? Firms don’t just need better systems—they need a client-first approach to technology.

"Most of the problems firms are facing stem from one thing," said Farrell, a CPA and veteran software innovator. "You're always waiting on the client."

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Farrell knows both sides of the equation: as a former Arthur Andersen accountant and CFO, and as a serial entrepreneur who’s spent 15 years building tools specifically for accountants. With Liscio, a client experience platform, he’s tackling a key pain point: fragmented communication. “When clients don’t know where to send documents or how to respond, the firm grinds to a halt.”

Farrell argues that accounting technology has historically focused on optimizing firm-side operations—tax software, practice management tools, document handling—but has neglected the user experience for clients. That, he says, is the real productivity roadblock.

“A bad process is a bad process, whether a person or a piece of technology is doing it.”

Accounting Influencers

with Rob Brown

Change is inevitable, but learning to navigate transformation effectively is the key to long-term success for finance and accounting professionals. On the latest episode of the Accounting Influencers podcast, change expert Hannah Munro shares her insights on how firms and finance leaders can embrace change and drive it forward to enhance efficiency, adaptability, and business impact.

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"What's also very interesting is that change is getting faster," says Munro, managing director at itas Solutions and host of the CFO 4.0 podcast. "The pace of change is accelerating, and that volatility and uncertainty are driving the need for finance professionals to step up and elevate their role."

Munro emphasizes that transformation is not a one-time event but a journey. "If you feel like it's something short term that you're going to suffer through and then never have to change again, you are probably living in the wrong century."

“Accounting isn’t a ‘fake it till you make it’ job."

MOVE Like This
With Bonnie Buol Ruszcyk
For CPA Trendlines

In a recent episode of Move Like This, Ashley Kostos, sales manager at Accountests, joined host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk to explore how data-driven assessments are helping accounting firms hire smarter, retain top talent, and create clearer career paths. With ongoing staffing shortages and high turnover across the industry, testing may be the tool firms didn’t know they needed.

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Accountests, founded by a former PwC partner and a psychometric testing expert, offers skills, ability, and personality assessments specifically designed for the accounting profession. These tools help employers move past resume claims and polished interviews to evaluate real-world competencies, including things like understanding financial statements, tax knowledge, and software fluency. “Accounting isn’t a ‘fake it till you make it’ job,” Kostos emphasizes. “You need to know how to do the work.”