Welcome to the CPA Life Podcast

The Public Accounting, Consulting and Advisory space is at a critical crossroad.

After almost 150 years of “we’ve always done it that way” reasoning, the industry is facing a crisis like it has never faced.

Between a significant reduction in accounting graduates in the last decade, a firm ownership population that is at or fast-approaching retirement age, a 150-hour requirement to sit for the exam which can add several thousand dollars to an already large debt-load a graduate starts their career with - add to that the work hours expectations placed on employees by most large, national firms vs. adjacent industries offering more compensation, and it’s clear to see changes are a must!

Join us here as we talk to industry insiders and firm leaders that are going against the grain and addressing many of these challenges head on while building forward-thinking, solutions-focused firms.

Like many of you, these firm leaders made the statement that most staff and senior associates have made over a beer or glass of wine after pulling an end-of-season all-nighter - “There’s Got To Be A Better Way!”

The difference?

These folks stepped out to find that BETTER WAY.

Our Latest episodeS

From Startup to Scale-Up: Achieving Sustainable Growth with Shannon Badger

Shannon Badger, co-founder of Badger CPA, joins John Randolph on Episode 17 of CPA Life. A fast-growing accounting firm founded in 2015, Badger has been recognized as one of the best firms to work for by Accounting Today and as one of the fastest growing businesses by Inc. Shannon discusses how they have achieved this rapid growth while prioritizing people over profits. They started small and built up gradually, emphasizing the importance of fixed fee pricing, managing workloads down to a 2,200 hour work year, hiring remote talent, and setting boundaries with clients to create a sustainable work environment for their employees.

SALT: A Big Opportunity with Tram Le

Tram Le took a unique path to becoming an accounting professional, passing up an opportunity to play tennis professionally and becoming an attorney along the way. On Episode 14 of CPA Life, she tells John Randolph more about TaxOps, where she serves as State and Local Tax Manager and the theme of a different approach to accounting continues. SALT is an oft-forgotten practice area but, Tram explains, one with enormous opportunity. At TaxOps, which has been recognized as a “best firm to work for,” among many other accolades over the past decade, Tram has helped create a “firmily”—a portmanteau of “firm” and “family,” where people feel valued and have each other’s best interests at heart.

When the Same Old Ways Just Don’t Work Anymore with Amber Setter

This special two-part episode of CPA Life concludes with Amber Setter of Conscious Public Accountants rejoining John Randolph to delve back into their wide-ranging and insightful conversation. They focus on changes that need to happen and breaks that need to occur from the “old ways” of doing things, covering the integration of remote working into the accounting profession, how coaching plays a role in setting expectations and bringing firm leader and employee minds together, the massive advantages of ditching the billable hour and changing to subscription- and/or value-based billing, and more. You won’t want to miss it!