Part of the Power of Focus Mini-Series

What really separates great accounting firms from the rest?

That question is what led Brannon Poe and Ian Brennan to put together this mini-series. And after years of working with firm owners across the country, lifting up the hood on hundreds of practices, the answer kept coming back to the same thing: focus.

Welcome to the Power of Focus, a mini-series produced in partnership with Accounting Practice Academy. Throughout the series, you'll hear from APA alumni, members of our Poe Group team, and other industry voices sharing real-world perspectives on what happens when firm owners get deliberate about where they put their energy. Whether that's focusing on the right clients, the right staff, the right type of work, or simply on where you as the owner add the most value, the firms that get this right see results that compound over time.

THE CONVERSATION COVERS:

• Why 80% of accounting firms are underperforming, and what the top 20% are doing differently
• Two distinct models for a highly profitable practice (high complexity/high value vs. high volume/high efficiency) and why most firms get stuck between them
• The "closet analogy": why pruning before you can grow is the move most owners resist
• How client selection may be the single biggest lever in your practice
• The fear behind price increases, and why most firm owners are sitting on more pricing power than they realize
• What it looks like when a younger, entrepreneurial owner grabs hold of these concepts and runs with them

Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and episode overview
01:49 Where Brannon's thinking on focus began: the 80/20 Principle
02:50 What the Pareto Principle is and why it shows up everywhere
04:43 How reviewing hundreds of CPA firm financials revealed the pattern
06:24 A real-world example: $2.3M revenue, $1M owner cash flow, 3 months off
08:06 Two models for a highly profitable CPA firm
10:40 Niching down as a focus strategy, and why it scales faster
12:01 Delivering value as the core of everything
13:04 The closet analogy: you can't add until you prune
16:19 APA alumni spotlight: Bill and Chris Murphy and the first domino
20:09 Why creating capacity through price increases often doesn't work the way you'd hope
21:52 The shortage of CPAs and what it means for your pricing power
23:45 How to identify your right clients (the answer is already in your practice)
25:24 Asking your staff who they love working with
27:40 The mindset obstacle: the belief that you already know it all
28:25 Why change usually waits for a crisis, and how to change before one arrives
29:26 Greg Toner: what happens when a younger owner grabs the vision and runs

Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/

Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.

*Download now and receive:*
- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template
- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template

Barbara Agerton flunked retirement. After selling her California CPA practice, she thought she'd ride off into the sunset with her husband. Instead, she got bored, picked up the phone, and asked if she could come work for the company that sold her firm.

Now she's an intermediary at Poe Group Advisors, which means she gets to help other firm owners navigate the exact journey she just completed. Barbara knows what it feels like to let go of the practice you built, to wonder if you're doing the right thing, and to discover that the transition you were dreading turned out easier than expected. 

Barbara sold her practice after running it remotely from Texas for eight years. She transitioned to the cloud back in 2013, before that was the standard playbook, and built systems that allowed her team to run everything without her in the room. When it came time to sell, her buyer barely called during the transition. Barbara's feelings were a little hurt, but that's actually when she knew she'd done everything right.

The conversation covers:

• How losing two key team members to relocations forced a pivot to cloud-based practice in 2013, and why the trust challenge of going remote was harder than expected
• The emotional reality of selling: "It's like cutting your arms off" when you stop interacting daily with people you've worked with for years
• Why her buyer barely called during transition (which hurt her feelings but proved she'd built systems that didn't need her)
• The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey approach: stop solving every problem yourself and teach your team to find their own answers
• Why she wishes she'd sold sooner instead of waiting, and how most sellers wait until illness or family situations force the decision

Barbara's biggest lesson? Most sellers wait too late. They wait until illness, family situations, or burnout force the sale. The best exits happen when you're selling from a position of strength, not desperation. The firms that sell the easiest are the ones where the owner has already slowly, gradually let go over years of building systems and empowering their team.

The irony? Barbara prepared so well for retirement that she got bored and came back to work. But now she gets to use everything she learned to help other firm owners prepare for their own exits, whether they actually retire or, like her, discover they're not quite done yet.

This episode is for firm owners wondering when to start preparing for an exit, leaders trying to figure out how to let go without losing control, anyone considering a move to a remote or cloud-based accounting practice, and sellers who think their practice isn't "perfect enough" to take to market yet.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Introduction to Barbara Agerton
• 01:34 Preparing for the Sale of a CPA Practice
• 03:39 Transitioning to a Cloud-Based Accounting Practice
• 07:00 Client Experience During a CPA Firm Transition
• 08:50 Deciding to Sell Your CPA Firm: Personal Motivations
• 09:58 Emotional Challenges of Selling a Tax Practice
• 11:01 The Importance of Team Dynamics
• 13:30 Preparing Your Team for a Sale
• 16:03 Reflections on Timing and Selling any bookkeeping, CPA, or CAS practice
• 18:30 Book Recommendations and Closing Thoughts

Book Recommendation:

Unreasonable Hospitality

Private equity is flooding into accounting, but taking an offer because of the flashy number on the table isn’t always the best decision.

In this crossover episode with the Inside Public Accounting Podcast, Brannon Poe joins host Rob Brown to break down what’s really happening in CPA firm M&A right now. After attending a private equity conference at Harvard Business School, Brannon shares why this may be the most exciting—and chaotic—era he’s seen since entering the M&A space in 2003.

Accounting firms check every box private equity investors love: recurring revenue, fragmented ownership, under-optimized systems, and opportunity for scale. But while the market is strong and options are abundant, the real risk isn’t missing out—it’s moving too fast. Headline offers can be enticing, yet the fine print, cultural fit, leadership alignment, and long-term vision ultimately determine whether a deal becomes a win or a regret.

*In this episode, we cover:*
- Why private equity is so aggressively targeting CPA firms right now
- The danger of the “headline offer” and how earnouts can change the real math
- Why selling your firm is rarely just a financial decision
- How to think about opportunity cost and the value of your time
- What buyers actually want today (and why owner dependency kills value)
- The critical $2.5M–$5M growth stretch and why it’s so hard to scale there
- When acquisition creates “escape velocity” for smaller firms
- Why burnout might be telling you: “fix the firm,” not “sell the firm”
- The power of pruning your client base and focusing instead of being everything to everyone
- Why boundaries around time, pricing, and services are strategic rather than restrictive

The M&A market may be active, but urgency is not a strategy. Whether you’re considering a sale, exploring private equity, or simply trying to build a stronger, more valuable firm, this conversation offers clarity in a noisy environment. In a consolidating profession, the firms that win won’t be the ones chasing the biggest multiple—they’ll be the ones making disciplined decisions about timing, focus, and fit.

Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/

Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.

*Download now and receive:*
- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template
- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template

Selling your accounting firm is a major life transition and that often comes with an emotional tax that proper strategy can mitigate.

Lisa Handziak, who covers much of the Northeast and Midwest for Poe Group Advisors, has guided owners through successful exits. She's learned that the sellers who thrive during this transition aren't the ones who avoid emotions; they're the ones who understand how to channel them productively. Take confidentiality, for example. Sellers often feel guilty keeping the sale from their staff, but Lisa reframes it completely: You're not keeping a secret. You're creating stability. When you protect your team from premature anxiety, you're actually protecting them, not betraying them. This episode reveals how the best exits happen: with preparation, clear vision, and a strategic mindset that turns your final tax season into proof of how valuable your firm really is.

Key Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction 
02:04 - Understanding the emotional journey of selling (and why it's normal) 
06:41 - The readiness test: what are you going to do next? 
08:19 - How one seller rediscovered what matters after exiting 
10:01 - The seller who got re-excited about her firm and built even more value over 3 years
13:27 - The seller who got sick during tax season and proved the firm was buyer-ready 
15:16 - "You're not keeping a secret, you're creating stability," the confidentiality reframe 
19:25 - The attitude reset that transforms your final tax season 
22:38 - How starting earlier eliminates seller regrets 
25:08 - Accelerating profitable firms to their goals through strategic planning 
28:39 - The inspiring buyer success story: from $1M to a major exit 
30:12 - Why strategic buyers protect their investment by waiting to meet staff 33:41 - What happens when transition communication goes wrong (and how to avoid it) 
35:39 - Bringing the human element back to M&A 
36:22 - Book recommendations

Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/

Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.

*Download now and receive:*
- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template
- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template

The firms winning with AI aren't the ones implementing every tool they can find. They're the ones being strategic about what actually moves the needle.

Rachel Ferris learned this firsthand when she built TaxStack AI, not because she wanted to start a software company, but because she needed a solution that didn't exist. As a tax advisor specializing in Puerto Rico's Act 60, she was spending hours researching complex state-specific cases. ChatGPT seemed like the answer, until it started citing Reddit and Quora as sources. When she'd call it out, it would cheerfully admit, "You're right, that's actually not correct." That's when she realized: if she wanted AI that actually worked for tax research, she'd have to build it herself.

In this episode, Rachel shares how she created a platform that sources directly from actual tax code, IRS forms, and treasury regulations, so you get accurate answers with citations you can trust. But more importantly, she breaks down the difference between firms that will thrive with AI and firms that will struggle: it's not about adopting everything, it's about adopting responsibly.

The conversation covers:

• Why ChatGPT's fact-check problem makes it dangerous for tax research (and how to fix it by sourcing your own database)
• The cautionary tale of firms that went all-in on AI integration in 2024, only to abandon everything six months later 
• Why now is the time to pause and evaluate rather than frantically adopt every AI tool that hits the market
• How AI should free you up for higher-value advisory work with existing clients, not just help you take on more volume
• Ed Kless's "transformation economy" concept: moving from providing transactions to providing transformations
• The three-pillar approach to attracting and retaining young talent: technology + mentorship + entrepreneurship mindset
• Why mandatory mentorship programs fail (and what actually works instead)
• How being genuinely curious about people has opened more doors than any technical skill Rachel has learned

Rachel also breaks down why firms that use AI responsibly will win, while firms that use it to cut personality and human connection will lose clients. She explains why young people crave personal connection more than you think, why entrepreneurial-minded accountants connect better with business owner clients, and how spending three hours talking to a Pizza Hut franchise owner taught her more about business than any textbook.

Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/

Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.

*Download now and receive:*
- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template
- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template

In this episode, Yuri (aka "The Fun CPA") explains why now is the perfect time to build the kind of firm where people genuinely want to work. He's spent four years building a following on LinkedIn by saying the things that managers and senior accountants at big firms are thinking but can't say out loud. 

His mission is to change the perception of accounting by showing what's possible when you prioritize people, mentorship, and actually enjoying the work you do.

The good news is that students aren't avoiding accounting because they don't want meaningful work. The firms that figure out how to create those better options internally will win the talent game for the next decade.

The conversation covers:

• Why visibility into firm life (thanks to Reddit and Fishbowl) is actually helping the profession by forcing transparency and accountability
• How forward-thinking firms are building cultures where people genuinely want to stay, creating competitive advantage in a tight talent market
• The opportunity for firms that invest in mentorship and long-term thinking, while others chase short-term efficiency metrics
• Why the current moment is perfect for CPAs who want to build firms differently (or work at firms that prioritize culture over billable hours)
• How Yuri's Mentors Count community is filling the mentorship gap for accountants in their first five years
• The rise of networking events that people actually enjoy attending (and why that matters for building genuine professional relationships)

BOOK RECOMMENDATION:

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It―Unlock Your Persuasion Potential in Professional and Personal Life: Voss, Chris, Raz, Tahl 

TIMESTAMPS: 

00:00 - Introduction of Yuri Capilovich and his mission in accounting 

03:10 - Yuri's background and career path into accounting and technology 

07:30 - The real problems holding accounting firms back 

12:45 - AI as an enabler, not a replacement 

18:30 - Using technology to improve client experience and firm margins 

23:40 - The mindset shift firm owners must make to scale 

29:10 - What forward-thinking firms are doing differently right now 

34:50 - Final thoughts on the future of the profession

Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/

Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.

*Download now and receive:*
- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template
- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template

If your best accountants are walking out the door, it's probably not about the money. 

In this episode, Tim Schurrer (CEO of David Novak Leadership and author of "The Secret Society of Success") reveals the leadership principle that grew Yum! Brands from $4 billion to $32 billion, and it has everything to do with solving what's plaguing CPA firms right now: the talent crisis.

Here's the reality: when your senior accountant flawlessly closes out another month, files returns ahead of deadline, or navigates a complex client situation without you even knowing there was a problem, they become invisible. 

That's the curse of excellence in accounting. 

And while you're focused on billable hours and realization rates, your best people are quietly wondering if anyone actually notices the value they bring.

We talk to Tim about how his company studied companies that built decades-long dynasties (Walmart, Southwest Airlines), and found one non-negotiable: they created cultures where everyone counted. Not through pizza parties during busy season or casual Friday perks, but through systematic recognition that made people feel genuinely seen for their contributions. 

Tim breaks down how this translates directly to CPA firms struggling to keep talent.

In this episode, we cover:

• The two reasons people quit (spoiler: your compensation package isn't fixing either of these)
• The danger of taking "the joy of the decision" away from your team, especially during tax season when you're tempted to control every client interaction
• How firm owners can stop micromanaging review notes and start empowering staff to own client relationships (with the right training framework)
• Why so many managing partners hit burnout chasing revenue targets that don't actually align with what success means to them personally
• The "empowerment is an earned right" framework that lets you delegate without losing quality control

Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/

Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.

*Download now and receive:*
- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template
- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template

You've spent years developing your next generation of partners, but what happens when they don't want to lead, can't secure financing, or simply aren't the right fit to take over? 

In this episode, our Ontario Market Leader Darryl Boyd, reveals why so many multi-partner firms are discovering that their "default" internal succession plan isn't working, and why external sales often deliver better outcomes for everyone involved.

Over his decade with Poe Group Advisors, Darryl has helped the Canadian M&A landscape transform from earnout-heavy transactions to all-cash deals that prioritize fit over spreadsheets. 

We explore the uncomfortable truth about internal succession: technical excellence doesn't equal business leadership, and the partner who's great at client work may have zero interest or aptitude for running the firm.

The conversation highlights that:

• Why exhausted accounting firm owners often just need better systems, not an exit strategy
• How private equity is slowly earning trust in Canada, and why most CPA firm sellers still choose CPA buyers
• The hidden assumptions killing Accounting M&A deals (like the "25% client loss" myth with zero data behind it)
• Why the best transactions happen when both parties forget about price and focus on whether the handoff will actually work

We also tackle the massive variability across firms that makes a cookie-cutter valuation worthless: profitability, owner workload, geographic markets, and cultural dynamics all impact valuation more than sellers realize. Whether you're a multi-partner firm wrestling with succession, a solo tax practitioner planning your exit, or a buyer trying to understand what sellers really care about, this episode will challenge your assumptions about how accounting practice transitions actually work.

Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/

Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.

*Download now and receive:*
- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template
- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template

In this episode, we sit down with Lisa Smith who is a functional medicine dietitian, gut-health expert, and founder of Lisa Smith Wellness. We explore the realities of deep stress and the health impacts that so many accounting firm owners quietly carry. We start by talking about the concept of “deep stress,” how it differs from everyday overwhelm, and why professionals who juggle multiple roles often don’t realize their bodies are stuck in long-term survival mode. Lisa breaks down the signs many CPAs ignore: waking up tired, constant tension, reliance on caffeine or wine, disrupted sleep, brain fog, and that ever-present feeling of being “on.”

Timestamps:
03:55: Introducing the concept of deep stress
05:58: How stress impacts sleep and cortisol
07:57: What entrepreneurs consistently overlook in wellness
10:50: Habit change and understanding personal motivators
12:52: Redesigning your life and business through intentionality
16:34: Long-term health implications of unmanaged stress
18:59: Feeling trapped in your business and how to begin unwinding it
23:05: Reducing stress and improving clarity
24:26: Price’s Law, the Pareto Principle, and understanding real productivity
29:14: Pre-tax-season tips for improving energy and well-being
30:46: The “campfire method” for stabilizing daily energy
34:29: Lisa’s book recommendations for leaders and entrepreneurs

Lisa’s Resource Recommendations:

• Prepare Your CPA Firm for A Sale by Brannon Poe [https://poegroupadvisors.com/prepare/]
• Atomic Habits by James Clear [https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0735211299]
• The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson [https://www.amazon.com/Slight-Edge-Turning-Disciplines-Happiness/dp/1626340463]
• Who Not How by Dan Sullivan [https://www.amazon.com/Who-Not-How-Accelerating-Teamwork-ebook/dp/B0867ZJ151]
• Traction by Gino Wickman [https://www.amazon.com/Traction-Get-Grip-Your-Business/dp/1936661837]
• The Common Path to Uncommon Success by John Lee Dumas [https://www.amazon.com/Common-Path-Uncommon-Success-Fulfillment/dp/1400221099]
• Journaling Guide: [http://lisasmithwellness.com/the-morning-mindset-journal]

Connecting with Lisa: 

•  Listen to my Pretty Well PODCAST https://apple.co/3Y2IbSZ
•  Visit my Website https://lisasmithwellness.com
•  Read my Wellness BLOG  https://lisasmithwellness.com/blog/
•  Find me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/prettywell_podcast/
•  [email protected] 

Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/

Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.

*Download now and receive:*
- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template
- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template

In this episode, we sit down with returning guest Nick Sinclair, founder and chairman of TOA Global, one of the largest accounting outsourcing companies in the world. Nick shares the unlikely origin story of how a leadership trip to the Philippines revealed the talent  and scalability his own firm desperately needed. This inspired him to build what has now become a powerhouse with more than 4,500 team members serving over 1,100 firms worldwide. His personal “why” behind the business was shaped by watching his parents lose everything when he was young. This drives his mission to ensure more people get the financial advice they need by helping firms leverage the offshoring support they need to deliver high-touch service.

• 00:37 – Introduction to Nick and his background
• 02:46 – How TOA Global began
• 04:10 – Early offshoring lessons and growing pains
• 06:40 – The unexpected demand that revealed a real business
• 07:43 – Nick’s personal “why” and decision to scale globally
• 09:12 – Why the Philippines has such strong accounting talent
• 11:25 – Why every accounting firm needs a people plan
• 13:30 – Industry capacity issues and long-term global staffing strategy
• 15:07 – How offshoring perceptions have evolved
• 16:19 – Quality challenges, cultural misunderstandings & outsourcing stigma
• 18:00 – Outsourcing reveals internal firm weaknesses
• 19:16 – Offshoring accelerates local careers
• 20:00 – People are the product in accounting firms
• 22:20 – Human connection as the profession’s long-term differentiator
• 23:02 – Why training and quicker competency paths matter
• 25:06 – Building career plans and accelerating development
• 27:39 – Challenges firm owners face when building global teams
• 28:56 – Cultural nuances in leading global teams
• 31:21 – Leadership, flexibility, and knowing your people
• 32:30 – Nick’s most memorable career moment
• 34:23 – Book recommendation: Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell
• 35:24 – Where to connect with Nick: LinkedIn 

Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/

Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.

*Download now and receive:*
- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template
- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template