Rebekah Brown Olson didn't plan to lead a state CPA society. A single leadership assessment during a firm training session reframed how she saw her own strengths, and thirteen years later she's the CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs, connecting firm leaders across the profession every day. In this conversation, Brannon Poe talks with Rebekah about what's really driving change in accounting right now, and why she believes community, not information, is what separates firms that thrive fro...
Jul 16
29 min
Kristen McGarr has spent over 20 years helping businesses implement CRM systems that actually work. Her core belief is that the future of CRM isn't about more technology, it's about more humanity. For CPA firm owners who have tried a CRM, abandoned it, or never started one at all, that perspective changes the conversation entirely. Kristen is the founder of Adroit Insights and CRM Growth, a growth strategist, fractional chief revenue officer, and CRM implementation specialist. She works acros...
Jul 2
17 min
Frank Longobardi started a five-person CPA firm in Hartford, Connecticut on November 1st, 1984, with a first-year revenue goal of $300,000. For the next 23 consecutive years, the firm grew both top and bottom line, every single year. By the time he and his partner decided to merge up, they had built a $14.5 million firm with over 100 people and ten partners. In this conversation, Frank walks through every phase of that journey with the kind of candor that only comes from having lived it. He t...
Jun 25
33 min
Brian Gray made partner at a top 100 CPA firm, built a career advising billionaires and high-net-worth families on complex tax strategies, and then realized that none of it had made him any happier. Brian is a tax partner, award-winning CPA, frequent speaker at the USC Tax Institute, and the author of Suck Less, Laugh More. He has had a front-row seat to some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs and noticed a pattern: about 10% of them get the balance right and 90% are still searching...
Jun 10
19 min
Meghan Hickman has spent over three years as our EOS implementer at Poe Group Advisors, and this conversation is one we have been looking forward to sharing. Meghan works with entrepreneurial leadership teams to help them build structure, create accountability, and scale with intention. She has helped over 40 organizations do exactly that, including ours. The conversation covers: How a career in politics taught Meghan to recognize when your work is bringing out the worst in youWhy the "right ...
Jun 4
50 min
Joe Woodard has trained over 150,000 accounting professionals and spent his career studying what separates firms that grow from firms that stay stuck. His answer? It almost always starts with pricing. In this conversation, Joe walks through the Woodard Ideal Practice Model, which focuses on seven key areas of operational excellence: brand, services, clients, technology, process, engagements, and team. But the most actionable insight he shares is simpler than a seven-part framework. He says th...
May 28
29 min
Seven episodes. Dozens of real-world examples. One recurring answer. Brannon Poe and Ian Brennan sit down one more time to close out the Power of Focus series. Throughout this series, the pattern that emerges is hard to ignore: the firms that get results are the ones that get intentional about where they put their energy. This episode is for accounting firm owners who have listened to the series and are ready to identify their first move, practitioners curious about how the 80/20 Principle ...
May 14
17 min
A niche accounting firm with 45% cash flow and 1,500 owner hours sold for 5.6 million dollars on 2.6 million in revenue. That is the kind of result possible when a CPA firm owner gets intentional about the factors buyers care about most. In this episode, Brannon Poe sits down with Laurens Ball, a highly accomplished intermediary at Poe Group Advisors, to break down what really drives practice valuations in today's market. This is the latest episode in our Power of Focus series, where we explo...
May 6
24 min
Ric Payne has been thinking about how accountants build better practices for decades. If you have been in the industry for a while, you likely know about Ric Payne. He co-founded Results Accounting Systems in 1992, ran the Accountants Boot Camp across multiple continents, and worked with thousands of firms around the world. His conclusion? High-performing firms are selective about who they work with. The conversation also features Ian Brennan, director of Accounting Practice...
Apr 23
1 hr 10 min
Jason Ackerman, Co-Managing Partner at BNA Advisors, helped grow the firm from a $1.5 million firm to over $7 million organically, without acquiring a single practice. He joined his father's firm in 2012, scaled the team from 14 to 35 people, and built systems that allow the firm to handle more than 2,000 individual tax returns per year. His approach combines practical technology adoption, intentional pricing strategy, and a long view on people and talent. This is the fifth episode in our Pow...
Apr 16
32 min
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