On this episode of On the Books, hosts Ted Callahan and Jessica McCracken welcome Dan Hood, Editor-in-Chief at Accounting Today, to discuss the biggest trends and disruptions facing the accounting profession, particularly as firms look ahead to 2026. Dan shares his take on the multiple crossroads the industry faces, focusing on the significant impact of technology (especially AI), ongoing staffing and capacity issues, and the influence of private equity. He emphasizes that for firms to thrive, they must view change as permanent and develop the core competency of continuous adaptation. The conversation also looks at how companies are hiring and making changes. It highlights the change to human intelligence and advisory services like Client Accounting Services (CAS).

In episode 21, Chris Willams, CEO of System Six summarized the key focus areas of any merger or acquisition as “get the keys to the technology and focus on the people.”

In this episode of On the Books, Ted and Jessica sit down with Chris Williams, the founder of System Six, a fully remote outsourced accounting business with 50 team members across three countries, to talk about the human side of mergers and acquisitions. The group talks about best practices in identifying firm goals before stepping into an M&A conversation, the right mindset for those conversations, and how to truly put staff and clients first in the middle of a change.

Here is a much-needed dose of accountant wisdom.

In our latest On the Books episode, we explore the insights gathered from the 2025 Intuit QuickBooks Accountant Technology Survey. The survey sheds light on accountants' perspectives on the current technology landscape, including the benefits and challenges you face, as well as the evolving nature of your work. Key findings include insights into technology standardization, the integration of AI in accounting practices, and the state of technology training within firms.

“Our mantras have been, ‘we will turn it on for every firm once we’ve earned the right’ and ‘every click matters.’”

Meet your AI-sherpa, your guide, in this new accounting frontier.

You may have heard. QuickBooks is getting a glow-up.

How do you talk about your firm? How do you find new clients, or honestly, how do new clients find YOU? How do you (gasp!) market your services? Referrals remain strong, but there's a whole world of communication methods and ideas that have entered the industry.

Business development doesn't look the same as it did just a few short years ago. Social media, always-on content, video, audio … there are a million new ways to reach potential clients, while the trust and relationship part remains the same.

Keila Hill-Trawick, founder and CEO of Little Fish Accounting, does this better than almost anyone in the industry. On the episode, we talk with Keila about:

If you are responsible for marketing or any communication to potential clients at any size firm, there's wisdom in this episode for you. 

For more information:

Keila Hill Trawick

Little Fish Accounting’s LinkedIn