Accounting Leaders Podcast

Jeremy Hyman is the Founder and Principal of Jeremy Hyman Associates, an IT services and consulting company that helps firms make sound IT decisions. With over 25 years of experience in the professional services sector and a degree in law, Jeremy is an IT manager, partner, software developer, and management consultant. In this episode, Jeremy and Stuart discuss multiple technological breakthroughs over the last two years, as well as some things to keep an eye out in the future. They also chat about remote work, the new reality of virtual meetings, and how technology distracts us on a day-to-day basis. 

Together they discuss:

• Jeremy’s and Stuart’s geographical locations (2:00)
• Karbon’s team growth in Australia (5:00)
• Impact of COVID on tech firms (7:20)
• Working in the office vs. remote (8:30)
• Virtual offices and the metaverse (11:00)
• Physical, hybrid, and virtual meetings (16:30)
• Evolution of traveling in a hybrid world (20:00)
• Isolating from the internet to be productive (26:00)
• Fighting destruction and multitasking (28:00)
• Ethics creep (30:00)
• Being alert on vacation (33:00)
• Responsibility of software companies (36:00)
• Jeremy’s world view (40:30)
• The beauty of search engines (42:00)
• Impact of COVID on small and large firms (46:20)
• What’s next for Jeremy Hyman Associates (49:00)

Edward Chan is a Co-Founder of Wize Mentoring and a Non-Executive Chairman at Chan & Naylor. He started Chan & Naylor from his kitchen table and grew it to 10 offices around Australia with 160 staff and 15,000 clients. He then co-founded Wize Mentoring, which is now in 47 countries, connecting over 125,000 accountants. In this episode, Ed shares his tips on how to grow your business without sacrificing your life. He and Stuart dig into the success of Chan & Naylor, what the process of expanding the company looked like and what you need to do to find yourself.

Together they discuss:

• The story of Wize Mentoring (02:00)
• Ed’s background (04:00)
• Ed’s first business and business partner (6:30)
• Dealing with overworking (7:30)
• Overcoming challenges as a business owner (9:30)
• How to be more efficient (11:30)
• The beginning of Chan & Naylor (15:00)
• Chan & Naylor’s business model (16:00)
• How to be in control of your business (19:30)
• The biggest lessons Ed has learned (23:30)
• The process of expanding business (25:30)
• Ed’s biggest success and biggest catastrophe (28:00)
• Greatest technological changes in accounting (29:30)
• Being a generalist vs. being a specialist (35:30)
• Ed’s experience of finding himself in his early career (38:00)
• Mentorship and hobbies (40:00)
• What is next for Wize Mentoring (44:00)

Matthew May is the VP of Sales & Marketing at Acuity, a virtual accounting solution for entrepreneurs. In this episode, Matthew and Stuart discuss how important it is to have a partner and mutual support in both rewarding and challenging times. They also talk about how Acuity has transformed throughout the years and the main challenges of a company's growth. Tune in for this inspirational discussion that dives deep into the challenges of partnership and leadership.

Together they discuss:

• Latest at Acuity (1:00)
• Matthew’s family (2:00)
• Importance of having a business partner (3:00)
• Similarities of running a business and sports (5:00)
• Matthew’s experience of working with Kenji Kuramoto (7:00)
• The good cop and the bad cop (9:00)
• Lessons Matthew learned while working at Acuity (10:20)
• The challenges of high growth organizations (12:00) 
• Availability of capital in the professional services industry (14:30)
• The Great Resignation (18:30)
• Being an authentic company (22:00)
• Future plans and use of technology for Acuity (26:00)
• Merger with Catching Clouds (27:30)
• Lessons learned from acquisitions (32:30)
• Acuity’s sales and marketing model (34:30)
• Acuity's ideal clients (40:00)
• The process of working with potential clients (42:00)
• Email selling (44:00)
• Identifying the right clients in the funnel (46:00)
• Matthew’s plans for 2022 (50:00)

Jeff Phillips is the CEO of Padgett, one of the largest tax and accounting firms in North America. He also founded the recruitment platform Accountingfly in 2012 and has been recognized as one of Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People for helping solve the hiring challenges of CPA firms. In this episode, Jeff and Stuart discuss combining work with vacation while being remote, the story of Accountingfly, and what it takes to be a great leader. They also talk about holidays, Jeff's trip to Costa Rica, and how taking mangoes from someone's tree is acceptable.

Together they discuss:

• Jeff’s background and hobbies (1:10)
• Jeff’s and Stuart’s families (4:00)
• Gap year and college (5:45)
• Family vacations (8:00)
• Trip to Costa Rica (9:00)
• Remote work (13:00)
• COVID impacting geographical wage difference (18:00)
• Stuart’s theory of the Great Reshuffle (21:00)
• Remote work uncovering opportunities for innovative firms (23:30)
• Foundations of Padgett (28:00)
• Work at Accountingfly (31:30)
• What makes a perfect firm (33:50) 
• Employment as a two-way relationship (39:20)
• Challenges of being a leader of a company (42:50)
• The pivot of Accountigfly (45:30)

Kenji Kuramoto is the Founder & CEO of Acuity, one of the largest CAS accounting firms in the US. Kenji has provided thousands of companies with a full range of financial solutions, from high-level strategic financial counsel to virtualized bookkeeping and tax services. In this episode, Kenji and Stuart discuss the challenges of growing a company, building a strong culture, and the importance of being flexible for employees. They also talk about discussing sensitive topics in the workplace, and what’s coming next for Acuity.

Together they discuss:

• Impact of COVID on Acuity (2:00)
• Parenting during COVID (4:00)
• Growth of Acuity (7:15)
• Developing the culture at Acuity (8:15)
• Most challenging issues of scaling (10:00)
• How Acuity maintains its culture (13:40)
• The weather in Atlanta (16:00)
• Acuity in the office vs. remote (17:00)
• The Great Resignation and creating a positive work experience for employees (20:50)
• Impact Karbon faced after leaving the Bay Area (26:50)
• Political affiliations and discussion in the US (31:00)
• The risk of debilitating personal differences in the US (33:40)
• The impact of written communication (38:00)
• What’s next for Acuity (40:20)
• Reasons for Acuity becoming a certified B Corporation (43:30)
• Drink While You Think podcast (47:00)

As the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at AICPA, Crystal Cooke focuses on increasing the representation of minority groups in the accounting profession. In this episode, Crystal explains the current state of diversity and inclusion in the accounting industry, including ways to promote it and what AICPA is doing about it. Join Crystal and Stuart as they dissect the typical profile of the US accountant, and delve into the statistics around minority professionals.

Together they discuss:

• Crystal’s background (2:30)
• Crystal’s and Stuart’s school experience (3:30)
• Life in Ohio state (4:40)
• Crystal’s journey of becoming an accounting professional (6:40)
• Crystal’s journey with diversity and inclusion (9:00)
• Leaving KPMG (11:40)
• Crystal’s career trajectory (12:40)
• Facing bias as a senior at KPMG (16:30)
• Starting the DEI work (19:00)
• The state of diversity in the accounting industry in the US (22:00)
• How to promote and attract diversity in the industry (28:50)
• Lack of financial literacy in the business world (34:00)
• Focus areas at AICPA (35:10)
• Challenges of promoting DEI and ways to solve it (38:00)
• Success highlights of Crystal’s career (43:10)
• Why accountants do what they do (46:00)

Joe David is the Founder and Managing Director of two UK-based firms: Nephos and a leading crypto accounting firm, Myna. In this episode, Stuart and Joe discuss crypto accounting and regulations, what the future of this space might look like, and how it can change our lives. Tune in for a great chat to learn about crypto and the future of podcasts in the metaverse.

Together they discuss:

• Ukraine and Russia conflict affecting crypto (1:00)
• Joe’s story of becoming a crypto accounting specialist (2:00)
• Operations at Nephos and Myna (4:00)
• Starting a crypto firm (5:40)
• Direction for Nephos (8:30)
• Ideal clients for Nephos (9:30)
• Crypto transactions as capital (11:00)
• Tech stack to manage crypto (13:30)
• Community of crypto accountants (16:30)
• State of crypto space in the UK (17:30)
• Crypto environment around the world (20:20)
• The volatility of bitcoin (24:30)
• Taxation treatment of crypto (25:20)
• Benefits of Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) (28:30)
• What’s next for Myna and Nephos (30:20)
• Financial services and crypto in the UK (32:20)
• VR and the metaverse (34:30)
• Future of meetings and human interaction (36:00)
• Podcast in the metaverse (38:20)

Katie Bryan is the CEO and Founder of Propeller Advisory—a successful multi-figure accounting and business advisory firm based in Melbourne, Australia. She’s a business owner, mum to a newborn, wife, sister and also helps her clients build businesses and lives they deserve. In this episode, Stuart and Katie discuss the accounting industry, the story of Propeller Advisory, and what made Katie open a venture to inspire women business owners.

Together they discuss:

• COVID restrictions (2:00)
• Living in Melbourne (3:00)
• Technology allowing equalization of the industry (7:00)
• Catalysts for Katie’s for success (8:40)
• Mentoring (11:00)
• How COVID impacted business (12:30)
• Propeller’s purpose (15:00)
• Team size and staff geographical distribution (17:10)
• Offshoring and outsourcing staff (18:40)
• The genesis of PropelHer (22:00)
• Experience in building a female-focused niche (23:50)
• The types of clients at PropelHer (26:40)
• Support from family, clients, and the industry (28:40)
• Community of the industry (29:50)
• What’s next for Katie and her team (32:40)
• Support for PropelHer ( 34:40)
• Australian accounting industry (37:00)
• Adaptation of accounting tech around the world (39:00)
• What Katie is excited about (and acquiring a firm) (42:00)

Scott Scarano is the President of Padgett Business Services in North Carolina. He leads a team of unique advisors who share his passion for helping small businesses thrive. In this episode, Stuart and Scott discuss the impact of social media on productivity, Scott’s journey with Padgett, the parallels between cartels and accounting, and interacting with people in a post-COVID world. Scott also shares his unique story of learning how to run a business and what led him to be a podcast host.

Together they discuss:

• Scott’s family (0:30)
• Scott’s relationship with his kids (2:00)
• Thoughts on Karbon (4:20)
• Content marketing at Karbon (6:00)
• Impact of social media (9:00)
• Discussing accent and intonation (10:00)
• Adjusting how you talk to suit your audience (13:30)
• Recent big news (15:00)
• Accounting workflow vertical (16:30)
• Anatomy of tech stack at Padgett (19:30)
• Application of Karbon at Padgett (20:40)
• Importance of managing time (22:40) 
• The reality of working with people (26:10)
• Karbon X (27:40)
• The podcasting world and interacting with people (29:00)
• The story of Padgett (31:00)
• Changes at Padgett (35:00)
• Scott’s story of joining Padgett (37:00)
• Learning how to run a business in a unique way (40:30)
• The parallel between cartels and accounting (42:30)
• What’s next for Scott (43:50)
• Finding your “why” (46:00)

Enrico Palmerino is the CEO and Founder of Botkeeper, a platform that provides accountants with an automated bookkeeping practice using human-assisted machine learning and Artificial Intelligence. In this episode, Enrico and Stuart share their thoughts on the development of the accounting industry and how tech firms enable it to evolve. Learn what it takes to build a successful tech firm, the importance of choosing the right investment partner, and how watching sports can help you close a deal. 

Together they discuss:

• What the start of the year looks like for the Botkeeper team (1:50)
• The genesis of Botkeeper (5:20)
• State of the accounting industry (8:40)
• VC experience and raised funds at Botkeeper (11:30)
• Enabling the accounting industry (16:20)
• Adaptation of the accounting industry (17:20)
• Different regions pushing fintech (20:40)
• Technology adoption in Canada (24:00)
• Enrico's background and sports in Massachusets (26:00)
• Going to a Patriots game with an investor (28:50) 
• What is next for Botkeeper (30:00)
• The Botkeeper operating system (31:00)
• Number of staff and geographical strategy (33:10)
• Benefits of Botkeeper (36:00)
• Clients creatively using Botkeeper (38:30)
• Holiday plans (41:10)