CPA Trendlines Podcasts

“Being efficient got me more work, not more money. So I left.” Big 4 TransparencyBy Dominic Piscopo, CPAFor CPA Trendlines When Mike Maksymiw first joined the Big 4 Transparency podcast, listeners were struck by his candor, clarity, and willingness to challenge the profession’s long-standing norms. Now, as host Dominic Piscopo welcomes him back as the show’s first repeat guest, Maksymiw brings even more insight—this time shaped by Aprio’s rapid growth, his own unconventional career path, and a message for accountants who feel stuck in roles that no longer fit.  MORE Dominic Piscopo | MORE Private Equity | MORE Pay & Compensation Maksymiw currently serves as executive director of the Aprio Firm Alliance, a national network of nearly 100 firms that share resources, expertise, and support across specialties and geographies. And—thanks to Aprio’s recent acquisition of the PS Plus Alliance from RSM—the Alliance has nearly doubled in size.“It broadens how we can go find answers,” he explains. “Now there are a hundred people you can ask, and maybe fifty have done what you’re trying to do. Maybe there are seven different ways to make it work.”

Embracing empathy helped build a healthier, more profitable firm with a smaller, stronger team. The DisruptorsWith Liz FarrAfter decades in public accounting, years emceeing national conferences, and a long stretch coaching college softball, Dawn Brolin has learned something most leadership books bury in footnotes: empathy drives performance.“Empathy is, to me, the number one characteristic that a leader should follow,” she told host Liz Farr in her return to The Disruptors. Her latest book, The Elevation of Empathy: Leading for the W.I.N., digs into why the accounting profession needs a different kind of leadership—one rooted in awareness, humanity, and intentional care.  MORE STREAMING: Chang: Killing SALY, One Agent at a Time | Vanover: 5-Star Firms Don't Bill by the Hour | Kless: Profit Is a Result. Flourishing Is the Purpose | Whitman: Build Culture on 'Progress,' Not Change | Shein: No PE? No M&A? No Problem | Hood and Weber: Time to RISE | Proctor: Turn Dumb Ideas into Brilliant Solutions | Carter-Gray: How 1 Poor Review Strengthened the Firm | Hartman: Upwork to “40 Under 40” in 3 Years Accounting firms often reward technical strength or revenue generation with leadership titles. But Brolin argues those metrics don’t create leaders; they create what she calls “appointed leaders.”“You could be appointed a leader because of a skill or the amount of revenue you bring in. That doesn’t mean you are one,” she says.Real leadership, in her view, has less to do with credentials and more to do with emotional intelligence, personal responsibility, and daily behaviors that elevate the people around you.*Originally published August 2025

Culture isn’t an initiative—it’s a strategy that drives retention and results.MOVE Like ThisWith Bonnie Buol RuszczykFor CPA TrendlinesIn this episode of MOVE Like This, host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk talks with Stacie Kwaiser, CPA and CEO of Rehmann, about the firm’s nearly three-decade journey toward building a culture where people stay, grow, and lead. MORE MOVE Kwaiser began her career in public accounting at Coopers & Lybrand before joining Rehmann, a firm that now employs more than 1,100 professionals across 22 offices. She rose through the audit practice and into firmwide leadership roles, ultimately becoming CEO in 2023. Along the way, she experienced—and helped shape—Rehmann’s evolution into one of the profession’s most recognized firms for women and equity leadership.Rehmann’s reputation didn’t happen by accident. Nearly 20 years ago, the firm launched its Women’s Career Advocacy Program to address attrition among rising female professionals. That effort has since expanded into a firmwide Career Advocacy Program that embeds mentorship, sponsorship, and structured development into daily culture.Kwaiser is clear that these supports aren’t optional. “You can’t treat talent development like an initiative that comes and goes,” she says. “It has to be part of how you operate.”Originally published October 2025.

Get more value from the technology you already own. It's Not Just the NumbersWith Penny Breslin and Damien GreatheadFor CPA TrendlinesWhen accountants and bookkeepers talk about building a scalable, profitable firm, the conversation often jumps straight to technology. Which workflow app is best? Should we move payroll into a dedicated platform? Is our practice management system due for an upgrade? But as Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead emphasize in the latest episode of It’s Not Just the Numbers, software is only as good as the processes that support it. Without consistent policies and documented procedures, even the most advanced tech stack will fail to deliver efficiency or profitability.  MORE Penny Breslin and Damien Greathead | MORE Advisory & Consulting | BUY "It's Not Just the Numbers" This lesson is especially crucial for firms offering Client Advisory Services (CAS). Advisory work depends on reliable, timely data and standardized outputs. If every accountant on the team closes the books differently, it doesn’t just create inefficiency; it undermines the consistency and trust that clients rely on. 

Podcasts now serve every level of the profession, and intentional listening helps professionals grow faster.Accounting InfluencersWith Rob BrownThe accounting podcast world is no longer a niche corner of the internet. It is a sprawling ecosystem of news briefings, exam prep guides, leadership conversations, and tech trend breakdowns. For today’s professionals—from students to senior partners—the shows they follow influence how they think, how they show up, and how they lead.In this episode of Accounting Influencers, host Rob Brown breaks down the types of accounting podcasts in the market today and explains why some help you grow while others simply drain your time. MORE Accounting Influencers with Rob Brown Not all accounting podcasts are built for the same audience. Some exist to help students pass exams. Others help partners stay current on regulatory changes. Some deliver tech deep dives. Others humanize the profession with personal stories.Understanding these differences helps listeners choose wisely and avoid content that feels irrelevant or repetitive.

Collaboration, transparency, and independence drive BeachFleischman’s growth.Gear Up for GrowthWith Jean CaragherFor CPA TrendlinesWhen most people picture a CPA firm CEO, they don’t envision a former marketing director in the big chair.That’s exactly what makes Eric Majchrzak worth listening to.Majchrzak, CEO and Principal of BeachFleischman—Arizona’s largest locally owned CPA firm and a Top 200 firm in the U.S.—has been named multiple times to Accounting Today’s “Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting” and is an Association for Accounting Marketing Hall of Fame inductee. More Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | More Gear Up for Growth More CPA Trendlines videos and podcasts here On Gear Up for Growth, hosted by Capstone Marketing president Jean Caragher, Majchrzak pulls back the curtain on how his growth-minded, marketing-first lens is reshaping BeachFleischman’s strategy, culture, and business model—and what other firms can steal from that playbook. If you’re wrestling with growth, private equity pressure, talent shortages, or AI-driven disruption, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss. 

Use hope to shift stress, strengthen culture, and keep talent.  Know-How KornerWith Donny ShimamotoCenter for Accounting TransformationKnow How Korner, hosted by Donny Shimamoto, aims to translate peer-reviewed findings into practical actions for firms. In a recent episode, Shimamoto interviews Dr. Katelynn Hopson, assistant professor of accounting at Arkansas Tech University, whose dissertation quantifies a deceptively soft concept—hope—and links it to how public accountants experience stress and consider leaving their firms. MORE Know-How Korner Hope, in the research literature, is not vague optimism. Psychologist C. R. Snyder frames it as goal-directed cognition comprising agency (“the will”) and pathways (“the ways”). Hopson studies state hope—how hopeful someone is about a specific time frame or event—rather than broad personality-level trait hope. State hope moves; it can be built or eroded by experience and context.“People who have higher levels of hope are more likely to want to stay and less likely to feel burned out,” Hopson explains.

The deduction's previous cap of $10K jumps to $2.5M.Quick Tax TipWith Art WernerCPE TodayIf you thought Section 179 was already generous, buckle up. Tax guru Art Werner is back with a Quick Tax Tip that dives into one of the most business-friendly changes proposed in the “Big, Beautiful Bill” — a massive, permanent expansion of the Section 179 expensing limit to $2.5 million.Click here for more Art WernerThat’s right. The deduction, which once topped out at a modest $10,000 (yes, really), could soon allow businesses to expense up to $2.5 million of qualifying property immediately. According to Werner, this is not just another routine adjustment — this is a seismic change in year-one expensing power.And for the right business? It could be a game-changer.

The most dangerous day of retirement is a psychological challenge more than a financial one. By Rory Henry CFP®, BFA™For CPA TrendlinesWhen most people think about retirement planning, they picture spreadsheets and savings targets. But as Dan Haylett, author of The Retirement You Didn’t See Coming and host of the Humans vs. Retirement podcast, explains, the real challenge of retirement is not mathematical—it’s psychological.  MORE Rory Henry and The Holistic Guide to Wealth Management BUY the Holistic Guide to Wealth Management “People focus on the numbers because they think that will solve all their challenges,” Haylett says. “But retirement is a complex human problem. Spreadsheets will not tell us who we are without a business card or what gets us out of bed in the morning.” Haylett distinguishes between “complicated” and “complex” problems. For instance, he says a tax return is complicated but solvable, while retirement is complex—filled with uncertainty, emotion, and shifting identity. That’s a huge distinction, and Haylett argues that advisors who only solve the math side miss the messy human side of the client relationship. Haylett urges advisors to help clients plan beyond their finances – for instance, how they will structure their days in retirement, as well as their relationships and purpose. “Retirement is an emotional human transition,” Haylett says. “It requires people to think about who they are, what they are doing, and how their relationships might change.” 

Smarter, shorter, and more focused podcasts help firm leaders turn listening time into a competitive edge.Accounting InfluencersWith Rob BrownIn today’s crowded attention economy, time is the rarest currency. Every minute you spend consuming content needs to work for you. That’s why accounting leaders are turning to podcasts—not as entertainment, but as a professional advantage.In this episode of Accounting Influencers, host Rob Brown explores how podcasting is evolving and what that means for accountants and firm leaders who want to stay sharp, visible, and ahead of the curve. MORE Accounting Influencers with Rob Brown The podcast industry is booming—worth an estimated $47 billion globally and projected to triple in the next few years. But as Brown explains, this growth isn’t about quantity; it’s about quality.“The best podcasts,” he says, “cut through the noise. They know who they’re for, and they deliver the goods.”Listeners today average seven podcasts in rotation, but loyalty is increasingly tied to the relevance of the content. The most trusted shows focus on niche audiences and deliver actionable value.Gone are the days of meandering interviews and filler content. The top-performing podcasts are shorter, tighter, and built for multitasking professionals.Brown notes three key shifts redefining the medium.