The Unique CPA

Change has never moved this fast, and accounting firms are feeling it everywhere: AI eating into bookkeeping and tax work, private equity reshaping ownership, generational splits over who's willing to adapt. Matt Rampe, a change management specialist at Rosenberg Associates, joins Randy on Episode 279 of The Unique CPA to break down why partnership structures built for consensus often become anchors when speed matters most. He argues real transformation happens person by person, through vulnerability and trust rather than mandates from the top. While in theory, smaller firms can pivot like speedboats while giants struggle to turn, Matt points out that larger firms have their own advantages too, but both agree that billable hours must give way to value, tax preparers must at least consider becoming advisors, and that it takes a bit more than just an edict from above on "modernizing the firm" to get partners and associates alike past "that sounds great, but I've got a day job." Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Randy Crabtree steps away from tax season and toward retirement from Tri-Merit, joining forces with Jeremy Clopton of The Upstream Leader for a crossover conversation on Episode 278 of The Unique CPA . AI dominates firm conversations right now, but Clopton argues the real anxiety comes from chasing an uncertain future instead of holding onto what won't change: being the protector of public trust. That anchor reframes everything from staffing fears to succession planning. They dig into leadership structures at growing firms, the false choice between serving clients and running the business, and why hiring managers instead of developing them rarely works. Private equity and M&A come up too, with the two sharing a conviction that independent firms aren't going anywhere, and that the choice between selling, scaling, or staying small comes down to knowing who you actually want to be. Randy closes by dismantling the doom-and-gloom narrative around recruiting, pointing to rising enrollment numbers as proof the pipeline is healthier than the algorithm-driven headlines suggest. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Dr. Rachel Anevski quit high school at 16 and attended three different colleges to get her bachelor's degree, then built an independent consulting practice for 13 years before folding it into Winding River Consulting this year. On Episode 277 of The Unique CPA , she tells Randy that the move rattled her more than she expected: she fought the firm's processes, demanded to know the reasoning behind every new system, and found herself living, even sweating out the change management principles she'd spent a career teaching others. That tension runs through her explanation as to why the accounting profession keeps failing its own people through transitions. From partners who dismiss AI because they won't be around to see its impact, to seniors whose formative years were scrambled by a pandemic no one prepared them for, there are many pitfalls you won't see until the ground below is approaching. She traces her philosophy on succession back to a mentor's blunt instruction to train your replacement, and pushes back hard on the idea that partnership has to mean sacrificing a life outside the firm to earn it. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Randy Crabtree and Terrell Turner team up to co-host Episode 276 of The Unique CPA , previewing what's coming July 28th at Bridging the Gap 2026 in Charlotte . Four years in, the conference has moved past simply naming burnout and connection as problems worth discussing, with the focus now turning to implementation: accountability structures, longer workshop formats, and the potential for speakers to linger and chat with attendees in the future instead of disappearing once their time on stage is over. Tying directly into a session on loneliness at the top, Terrell reflects on his newly promoted manager, who quietly absorbed weeks of team burnout rather than raise it, feeling exactly the kind of isolation hits so many leaders, and reminding him how topical and on the nose BTG is every year. There's a session Randy's son is speaking at, which he'll admit up front he's a little biased about, and when talk turns to the gala's NASCAR theme, "The Winner's Circle," they decide that there will be multiple winners this year, with scores of folks playing the roles of pit crew to each other, all of them just trying to help the next person get further down the road. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

This episode of The Unique CPA is brought to you by BILL and BILL's Accountant Console. Accountants deserve tools that work as hard as they do. Learn more at BILL.com/uniquecpa and get a $250 gift card. Terms apply. Small business clients are increasingly showing up to their accountants armed with AI-generated answers, and Ariege Misherghi thinks that's actually an opportunity. A Senior VP at BILL, Ariege has spent years watching the relationship between accounting professionals and their clients evolve, and she sees the current moment as the clearest stage yet for accountants to demonstrate what a professional truly brings. On Episode 275 of The Unique CPA , she and Randy also dig into what "AI native" actually means at BILL, why auditability is non-negotiable in financial automation, and why Ariege's number one piece of advice for AI-fatigued firms is to stop reading every email and start with one problem worth solving. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Additional support is also provided by Magnetic. AI prepared 1040s with remarkable accuracy and form coverage, so your team gets complete returns ready for final review. Check it out at MagneticTax.com . Scott Showalter has spent more than 50 years in accounting, with 33 of them at KPMG, the last 22 of which were as a partner. Since 2008 he's been bringing that experience into the classroom at NC State's Master of Accounting Program. That unusual vantage point gives him a clear-eyed read on the talent pipeline debate: On Episode 274 of The Unique CPA, he pushes back on some of the doom-and-gloom narrative, pointing to graduate school applications up 72% nationally last year, and credits much of NC State's own steady enrollment to actively recruiting career-changers, including a Broadway makeup artist and a PhD violinist who found their way to accounting in search of stability. Host Terrell Turner also covers with Scott what firms get wrong when they recruit on campus and the limits of internships as a proxy for real work. They also look at why AI in accounting education is less about replacing fundamentals than about rethinking how those fundamentals get taught, and who's ultimately responsible when the technology gets it wrong. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Randy is put in the unusual position of being a guest on his own show at Bridging the Gap 2025, as Terrell Turner sits down with him just hours after a keynote that left much of the room in tears. On Episode 273 of The Unique CPA , our final entry in this special BTG series, Randy talks about his speech, which was years in the making and drew on pivotal moments from Randy's early career, including a firm where he was nothing more to them than a billable hour and the contrasting leadership that shaped everything that came after. There's also a lot of focus on BTG itself and what it's grown into. At the heart of it all is Randy's conviction that accounting can be the greatest profession there is, and that changing the culture, not just the workflows, is how we get there. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Terrell Turner sits down with Lisa Simpson of the AICPA, who leads the organization's Transforming Your Business Model initiative, live from Bridging the Gap 2025 on Episode 272 of The Unique CPA . Lisa makes a compelling case that the old model, with its long, billable hours where firms carry too many of the wrong clients, is not only unsustainable, but actively unnecessary. Firms that have right-sized their client base are almost universally earning more the following year, not less, because they can finally deliver the kind of advisory value clients will actually pay for. She traces how the pandemic's visible toll on practitioners sparked a broader reckoning inside the AICPA, and how that translated into concrete tools, peer stories, and low-cost resources now available to firms of every size. Lisa also touches on the cultural inertia that slows change down, and why technology is making that resistance increasingly hard to justify. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Recorded live at Bridging the Gap 2025 in Denver, Randy Crabtree sits down with founder of LiveCA, tech commentator, and full-time glamper Chad Davis for a wide-ranging conversation that captures exactly what makes BTG different from every other conference on the calendar. On Episode 271 of The Unique CPA , Chad talks about why he rerouted his entire week just to be there, and the two get into the real tension Randy is wrestling with: how do you grow something without killing the thing that made it worth growing in the first place? Shifting to Chad's upcoming session on what accountants should actually care about in tech right now, they discuss the mental health dimension of overwhelm that rarely gets named, and why having an operating framework like EOS changes what you actually do with the ideas you pick up at a conference. A candid and camp-themed conversation. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

The Unique CPA is also supported by Magnetic. Magnetic's AI-prepared 1040s are built for accuracy with every return checked before it comes back to your firm. Learn more at MagneticTax.com . Recorded live at Bridging the Gap 2025, Terrell sits down with Questian Telka, co-host of the She Counts Podcast and a late-diagnosed ADHDer, for a conversation that goes well beyond the typical conference interview. On Episode 270 of The Unique CPA , Questian talks candidly about what it meant to finally receive her diagnosis as an adult, the moment she describes as "my whole life makes sense to me now," and how understanding her own brain became less about labeling herself and more about having a user manual. She moderated a panel at BTG where three highly successful CPAs reframed ADHD not as something they succeeded in spite of, but often because of, like a "superpower." It's a perfect example of what Bridging the Gap does differently from other accounting conferences, and why the profession needs these conversations happening at all times, not just once a year in a hotel ballroom. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Continuing the conversation at Bridging the Gap 2025 in Denver, Randy Crabtree sits down with Krystal Joiner from the conference's marketing team on Episode 269 of The Unique CPA for an honest look at what goes into making BTG what it is. Krystal talks through the months of behind-the-scenes planning that attendees never see, and why the relaxed, connected energy on the conference floor doesn't happen by accident. The tone, she explains, gets set long before anyone lands in Denver, through social media, sponsor relationships, and every touchpoint along the way. There's also a candid moment about what it feels like to finally arrive at an event you've spent half a year building. With BTG Charlotte on the horizon, Krystal is confident the best is still to come: "We just get better." Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Recorded live at Bridging the Gap 2025 in Denver, Terrell Turner sits down with wealth advisor and speaker Rory Henry on Episode 268 of The Unique CPA to talk about what he calls "return on relationship." "ROR" is the idea that when you genuinely invest in understanding the people you serve, the ROI takes care of itself. Rory makes a compelling case that the real work of financial professionals isn't in the numbers at all, but in the questions: What are your best hopes? What does your ideal life actually look like? Drawing on behavioral finance and values-based planning, he argues that money is rarely the point, but rather, meaning and wellbeing are. The conversation also takes in the energy of BTG 2025 itself, the growing wave of new talent in the profession, and why Rory is convinced that in-person connection remains one of the most underrated growth strategies available to any practice. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Support for this episode comes from BILL. Simplify your workflows and accelerate your growth with BILL's Accountant Console. Take a demo today at BILL.com/uniquecpa for a $250 gift card – terms apply. Repeat guest Roman Villard built Full Send, his Boulder-based accounting firm, on a deliberately contrarian premise: hire leadership first, reject the CAS label, and train your team to think like the business owners they serve. Four years and 18 team members later, split between Colorado and Argentina, the results suggest he was onto something. He covers a lot of ground with Terrell Turner on Episode 267 of The Unique CPA : the weekly Friday training rhythm Roman runs entirely from team-submitted topics, why "build relationships and solve problems" is a more honest job description than any service-line acronym, and how managing across cultures has forced a more intentional approach to feedback than most firm owners ever develop. They also get into the genuine complexity of AI adoption right now: Roman is candid that even firms on the forefront are still figuring out how all the moving pieces fit together. (And then there are the 34 miles and 8,000 feet of vertical he's about to run!) Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Recorded live at Bridging the Gap 2025, Terrell Turner sits down with Chayton Farlee, a Gen Z accountant whose first-ever conference was Bridging the Gap itself, on Episode 266 of The Unique CPA. What started as a LinkedIn ad turned into a career-defining experience, and Chayton has been vocal about BTG ever since. He makes a pointed case to Terrell for why accounting firm owners should stop sleeping on Gen Z talent, not just for their comfort with AI and automation, but for the energy and outside-in perspective they bring to firms that have been doing things the same way for decades. Chayton moderated a "Gen Z Effect" panel at BTG 2025, where he gave firm owners a frank look at what it's actually like to be a young person entering the profession right now, and why the opportunity to tap into that talent pool is bigger than most realize. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Support for this episode comes from BILL. Simplify your workflows and accelerate your growth with BILL's Accountant Console. Take a demo today at BILL.com/uniquecpa for a $250 gift card – terms apply. In 2008, John Sensiba became managing partner of what is now Sensiba, and promptly watched revenue fall from $18 million to $13 million. On Episode 265 of The Unique CPA, live from Bridging the Gap 2025, he tells Randy that it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened. His and his team's deliberate, sometimes painful commitment to values eventually transformed a regional firm into a near-$100 million practice. John also talks candidly about the moment in March 2020 when old fears resurfaced, why he eventually gave up his tax practice entirely to focus on leading, and what a six-years-out succession announcement actually does for an organization. He also makes a sharp case against time sheets, not as a billing philosophy argument, but as a values one. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Accountants aren't supposed to embrace failure. It runs counter to everything the profession is built on. But K.C. Eames, who leads operations at Dark Horse, has spent time thinking carefully about why that instinct holds firms back, and what it actually takes to build a culture where people feel safe to experiment. Recorded live at Bridging the Gap 2025, her conversation with Terrell Turner on Episode 264 of The Unique CPA covers her main stage talk on making it safe for accountants to fail, how Dark Horse uses open communication to surface and celebrate new ideas, and what it felt like to retool her presentation at the last minute to lead with personal stories rather than a framework. She also reflects on the kind of tight-knit, genuinely collaborative community that keeps drawing her back to Bridging the Gap year after year. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Support for this episode comes from BILL. Simplify your workflows and accelerate your growth with BILL's Accountant Console. Take a demo today at BILL.com/uniquecpa for a $250 gift card – terms apply. Recorded live at Bridging the Gap 2025 in Denver, Randy Crabtree sits down with Nancy McClelland—CPA, community builder, and self-described member of the BTG "hive mind"—to talk about what keeps drawing her back to the conference year after year on Episode 263 of The Unique CPA . Nancy is candid about the real challenges of running a sustainable firm and how BTG gave her not just ideas, but permission to act on them. She also talks through the two sessions she ran at BTG 2025: one on effective collaboration between bookkeepers and tax pros, drawing directly on what she hears inside Ask A CPA, and another on reasonable S corp compensation that managed to make a technical audit topic feel like an advisory opportunity. It's no surprise, but Nancy brings the same openness and practicality to this conversation that she brings to everything else she contributes to the profession. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Support for this episode comes from BILL. Simplify your workflows and accelerate your growth with BILL's Accountant Console. Take a demo today at BILL.com/uniquecpa for a $250 gift card – terms apply. Recorded on April 15th, a day Randy describes as one he's never been fond of, and now has even more reason to dread, is this conversation with Rozeta Atlas on Episode 262 of The Unique CPA . The Director of Product Enablement and Adoption at HubSync, Rozeta cuts right to the heart of why busy season feels so broken, explaining that the problem isn't just the volume of work, but also that progress is invisible to clients. They assume nothing is happening, and since accountants are buried under their own huge pile of returns, the communication gap between the two is like an ouroboros of failings. Rozeta draws on her background moving from tax technical work into firm operations to make the case that technology alone isn't the fix, because process has to come first. She's also clear that the window to fix things for next year is already open: Extended returns due in September and October mean there's still time to standardize, identify the gaps, and layer in the right tools before the next wave hits. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Support for this episode comes from BILL. Get clear insight into payment status and cashflow with BILL's Accountant Console. BILL uses AI to simplify your tech stack so you can increase productivity and spend more time delivering truly personalized client service. Take a demo at BILL.com/uniquecpa and you'll get a $250 gift card. Terms apply. Six and a half years in, Randy Crabtree and new co-host Terrell Turner take a rare look backward, revisiting the very first episodes of The Unique CPA to see how well the show's early conversations about technology, advisory work, and burnout have aged. Turns out, surprisingly well! David Bergstein's cruise-ship-vs-jet-boat analogy for firm agility still rings true, and Tim Jipping's casual mention of AI from 2019 lands differently in 2026. The conversation moves naturally from the compliance-to-advisory tension that still defines the industry to something more personal: the importance of knowing the whole person behind the accountant. It's part retrospective, part honest reckoning with how much, and yet how little, accounting has changed, and a preview of where Randy and Terrell plan to take the show from here. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com

Support for this episode comes from BILL. Simplify your workflows and accelerate your growth with BILL's accountant console. Take a demo today at BILL.com/uniquecpa for a $250 gift card. Terms apply. Randy Crabtree sits down with CPA turned leadership coach Erin Daiber on Episode 260 of The Unique CPA . The founder of Well Balanced Accountants, Erin digs into what it actually takes to build a firm that can survive and thrive in a rapidly shifting profession. Bringing a refreshingly grounded perspective on AI adoption, Erin says your focus should be less about chasing every new tool, and more about having a strategy before you start stacking up subscriptions. The conversation moves into the leadership crisis that's quietly brewing in many firms, mindful of the gap between great technicians and effective leaders, and what happens when nobody's been developed to take over when senior partners retire. Erin is a fierce advocate for firm independence, and makes a compelling case that most firms turning to PE or M&A could have avoided it with earlier, more intentional investment in their people and processes. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com