Accounting Voices

In this powerful episode of Accounting Voices, Rob Brown reveals the findings from an ambitious project: interviewing 48 senior leaders across the accounting profession and asking them the same five questions about the year that changed everything.This episode focuses on Question 1: What defined 2025? And the answer is uncomfortable but critical: 2025 was not a year of progress. It was a year of separation.You’ll hear how:AI stopped being “innovation” and became baseline infrastructure.Private equity permanently changed the profession’s operating model.Legacy processes collided with modern technology.Talent pressure exposed broken cultures and outdated firm models.The profession entered a deep identity crisis.The “velocity gap” between firms is now a serious threat.You can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/01w0gDWxE6ECome and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoicesRob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrownIf you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

In this episode, Rob Brown discusses the evolving landscape of accounting firms, emphasizing the importance of understanding the type of firm one wants to become amidst rapid changes driven by technology and market dynamics. He highlights five key signals affecting leadership and firm relevance, including the discomfort surrounding AI, the challenges of the partnership model, and the pressures faced by mid-tier firms. Brown offers takeaways for current and aspiring leaders, focusing on the need for clarity, interpretation of information, and the importance of relevance over tenure in leadership roles.You can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/WhG5gORGVCsCome and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoicesRob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrownIf you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

In this episode of Accounting Voices, Rob Brown discusses the critical choices accounting firms must make as they navigate the evolving landscape of the profession. He emphasizes the importance of making intentional decisions regarding automation, client relationships, and specialization, highlighting the trade-offs that come with each choice. The conversation explores the four dominant strategic positions firms can adopt and the implications of these choices for their future success.You can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/42pAfXia5LwFuture Accounting Firm Models 2026 | The Strategic Trade-Offs Leaders Must FaceCome and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoicesRob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrownIf you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

2026 is not a reset year for accounting firms.It is a sorting year.In this episode of Accounting Voices, Rob Brown explains why the accounting profession is splitting and why firms will be forced to choose a direction.Four fault lines are reshaping the profession:1. How firms adopt AI2. How client expectations are changing3. Whether the next generation wants ownership4. Which business models survive consolidationSome firms will gain clarity, margin and confidence. Others will stay busy and quietly fall behind. This episode is not about tools. It is about direction.You can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/240ZreNQrT4Come and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoicesRob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrownIf you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

In this episode, Rob Brown reflects on the significant changes and challenges faced in the accounting and finance sectors over the past year. He discusses the impact of private equity, AI, and shifting workplace dynamics on professionals' mental health and job satisfaction. Rob emphasizes the importance of recognizing these changes, reassessing career paths, and building personal brands to ensure stability and relevance in the evolving job market. He encourages listeners to reflect on their experiences and consider what they want to carry forward into the next year.TakeawaysThis year has brought unprecedented change in the workplace.Mental health and job satisfaction are crucial for professionals.Many are questioning if their current career aligns with their expectations.Stability comes from personal skills and relationships, not just employers.Silence in the workplace can lead to irrelevance.It's acceptable to seek more from your career without being ungrateful.Accounting offers diverse career paths and opportunities.Not every workplace deserves your best efforts.Clarity and context are essential for career success.Reflecting on the past year can guide future career decisions.You can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/_Q-K-1vW5TUCome and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoicesRob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrownIf you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

In the final part of this mini series Rob Brown explains how professionals and leaders should act when firm change is officially announced. From mergers to ownership shifts this episode shows why coping with uncertainty is now a career defining skill.Key takeawaysChange tests behaviourClarity builds trustVisibility creates securityAdaptation wins careersYou can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/YnwCVRqWdO0Come and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoicesRob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrownIf you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

Accounting firms send signals long before announcing mergers restructures leadership changes or new ownership. In this episode Rob Brown explains the early warning signs that professionals notice first and how to read them so you stay informed relevant and secure during uncertainty.KEY TAKEAWAYS Leaders change language before they change structure Partner behaviour reveals direction Hiring patterns predict strategy Tech spend is the earliest indicator Visibility protects your career during uncertaintyYou can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/WXUNtQOLv0MCome and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoicesRob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrownIf you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

Accounting firms everywhere are changing. Private equity takeovers. Mergers. Leadership shifts. Advisory growth. Partner exits. New models. Staff feel unstable confused and worried. In this episode Rob Brown explains why firms feel unpredictable right now and what you can do to stay relevant visible and secure during this major transition.KEY TAKEAWAYS Firms are changing for real structural reasons Instability does not mean your career is at risk Visibility matters during uncertainty Relevance beats hierarchy Your future is shaped by your choices not your firmYou can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/SnBcdEEnLMUCome and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoicesRob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrownIf you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

Public accounting is intense and many professionals are questioning whether they should stay. In this episode Rob Brown breaks down the real reasons people want to leave public accounting and the key differences between the profession and the environment. You will learn how to assess burnout learning and the future of your career. This episode gives you a clear framework for deciding whether to stay in public accounting or move into industry or finance with confidence.KEY TAKEAWAYS Public accounting and accounting are not the same Leaving public accounting is not leaving the profession Burnout and boredom need different responses Environment shapes success more than technical skill Accounting remains a strong and flexible career pathYou can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/XM1-bQtUG-kCome and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoicesRob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrownIf you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

In this pivotal episode Rob Brown explains the truth about the future of accounting.From AI disruption to collapsing entry level pathways to the rise of visibility and influence, this episode is a wake up call for accountants who want to stay relevant. Learn how to build fluency, clarity and credibility in a changing profession.Key Takeaways* Visibility is the new career advantage* AI replaces tasks not trust* Younger accountants want clarity not grind culture* Standing out is safer than blending in* Judgment communication and influence are the futureYou can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/63zyKUFQEFcCome and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoicesRob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrownIf you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.