"Too often, we're stepping over dollars to pick up pennies."

The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

By age 25, Debbie Kilsheimer was already disrupting the traditional accounting mindset. At her first job, she questioned why clients were billed by the hour when speed and efficiency weren’t rewarded.

“The smarter I get, the more efficient I become, the less you make,” she told her boss. “I don’t understand that. Plus, the clients don’t know what anything will cost—so they’re afraid to call.”

“I’m going to be Starbucks. I’m going to be Louis Vuitton,” she says. “I’m going to be the most expensive accountant they talk to—and I’m going to deliver on that promise.”

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.

• More Accounting Influencers with Rob Brown here

"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.”

Raising the bar on client service doesn’t mean sacrificing all your time.

Accounting ARC

With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto

Center for Accounting Transformation

Technology has changed how firms operate, but relationships—and setting clear expectations—remain central to client satisfaction.

In a recent episode of Accounting ARC, co-hosts Liz Mason, CPA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA; and Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, tackled a pressing issue: how the accounting profession can evolve to deliver better client service in the digital age.

MORE Accounting ARC: Ron Baker: Surviving Tariff Turbulence | Crypto, Cash, or Chaos? The Fallout of an IRS-Free America | Is Agentic AI a Game Changer or Game Ender? | Kelly Mann: Thriving Against All Odds | Are We Ready for the Hidden Risks of AI in Accounting? | The Research Imperative: Why Data Drives Accounting Success | How Coaching Can Unlock Professional Success | Demystifying Accounting Governance | Top 10 Red Flags to Watch for in Accounting Offices | Jeremy Dubow: Private Equity as a Catalyst for Growth | Break the Burnout Cycle in Accounting | Accounting in Transition: 2024 Reflections & the Road Ahead | Ron Baker: Visions for the Accounting Profession | Angie Grissom: Next Gen Inspo for Accountants | Does Accounting Belong in STEM?

“Client service is the number one reason we hear clients are looking for a new CPA firm,” says Mason, founder and CEO of High Rock Accounting. “We need to get back to the roots of our profession—deep relationships and great communication.”

Without the right strategy, even the best intentions can go to waste.

Quick Tax Tip

With Art Werner

CPE Today

Charitable giving can be a powerful tool for clients seeking tax advantages and for ensuring their donations are used wisely. Yet, many clients—and even some professionals—remain unaware of one of the most accessible vehicles for achieving these goals: donor-advised funds.

• Click here for more Art Werner

“The average client has no idea that a donor-advised fund exists,” Werner says. “And if I, as a professional, am not aware of a technique, I probably won’t use it — not because I’m afraid of it, but because I’m ignorant of the ability to utilize it.”

A donor-advised fund is a simple yet powerful charitable planning tool. It allows an individual to make a significant charitable contribution upfront, claim an immediate tax deduction, and then distribute the funds to charities over time. This approach provides flexibility and greater oversight of how donations are ultimately used.

Expand capabilities, boost client satisfaction, and build thriving businesses—without sacrificing independence.

The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Dave Kersting, founder and CEO of Capovario, is disrupting the status quo firm structure by introducing co-firming. While he and Tanya Schulte, owner of The Profit Constructors, started on the co-firming path in a contractor-subcontractor relationship, they quickly realized they wanted more. “...we want to win together, and we want to lose together,” Kersting recalls.

• MORE PODCASTS and VIDEOS: Ashley Francis: AI's a Partner, Not a Replacement | Richard Roppa-Roberts: Collaboration Over Competition | Ira Rosenbloom: M&A Numbers Are Easy - Culture Fit Is Hard | Roman Villard: Ditch the Suit & Shine | Monique Swansen: Align Firm Values with Services | Tina McGill: How to Create Lasting Client Impact | Stefan van Duyvendijk: Develop Operational Mindset | Steve Evans: Why Traditional Hiring Methods Fail | Roger Knecht: Can You Be an Accountrepreneur? | Beth Whitworth: Focus on Outcomes Not Hours |Mike Sylvester: Learn to Say No | Salim Omar: Identify Your Client's $100,000 Problem | Jackie Meyer: Earn More with Fewer Clients | Jack Fleherty: Don't Be a 'Yes' Person

Co-firming brings multiple specialized firms together to serve clients collaboratively rather than competitively. As Kersting explains, “What the client gets out of that is experts in the field, all working on the same client to make that client's journey better. Again, it's winning together, losing together.”

This model isn't about subcontracting work but creating a unified team of specialists. With 11 firms now working together, “We kind of do look at ourselves as like this big super firm, a super firm, that we’re all team. We're all one big, ginormous team,” says Kersting.

Explore the rising threat of national debt, future tax hikes, and how Americans can prepare.

The Concierge CPA
With Jackie Meyer
For CPA Trendlines

The U.S. is hurtling toward an economic reckoning, and most Americans are dangerously unprepared. That’s the warning delivered in the latest episode of The Concierge CPA podcast, where host Jackie Meyer sits down with financial planning expert David Spence, CPA, CFP, CLU, PFS, to unpack how today’s economic decisions could impact tomorrow’s taxpayers.

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Spence’s message is clear: history shows that skyrocketing national debt leads to one inevitable outcome—higher taxes. "After World War II, with debt at 120% of GDP, top tax rates soared to 94%," Spence explains. "Today, we’re at 130% of GDP, and we’re already paying massive interest on our debt—more than we spend on defense."

Given these realities, Spence argues it’s critical for Americans to shift their focus toward tax-free income sources. Strategies such as Roth IRAs, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and Life Insurance Retirement Plans (LIRPs) could become lifelines in a future where traditional retirement accounts might be heavily taxed.