The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast

INSIDE Public Accounting
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Welcome to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast — a show for accounting firm leaders who want to make smarter, data-driven decisions and stay ahead of industry change. Each episode explores what IPA’s trusted benchmarking data reveals about firm performance, leadership and the future of the profession. From private equity and offshoring to partner compensation and the talent pipeline, we dive into the trends, challenges and innovations shaping public accounting today. Hosted by: Chelsea Summers — Executive Director of IPA and curator of the industry's most respected benchmarking insights Rob Brown — co-founder of the Accounting Influencers Roundtable (AIR) Whether you're leading a Top 100 firm or building the next one, the IPA Podcast is here to spark ideas, share stories and bring context to the numbers.

  1. 1D AGO

    Private Equity & CPA Firm M&A: What Owners Need to Know

    Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE In this crossover episode, Rob Brown welcomes Brannon Poe of the Accountants Flight Plan Podcast for a wide-ranging, practical conversation about what’s happening right now in CPA firm M&A and why private equity continues to accelerate consolidation across the profession. Brannon shares what he’s seeing in the market and why accounting checks so many boxes for investors: recurring revenue, a fragmented marketplace, and plenty of opportunity to improve systems and scale. But as Rob and Brannon point out, not every deal is a good deal, especially when firm owners get pulled in by the “headline offer” without slowing down to evaluate fit, culture and the fine print behind earn-outs and performance targets. They break down how PE-backed transactions differ from traditional firm-to-firm deals, why diligence can feel intense (and exhausting), and how competition in the process can protect sellers from getting “pulled around” late in the game. From there, the conversation shifts to timing: when is it actually time to sell and how much of that decision is less about money and more about time, lifestyle and opportunity cost? You’ll also hear what buyers value most today (profitability, low owner dependency, strong teams and curated client bases), why the jump from $2.5M to $5M can be a “hard stretch” for growing firms, and a simple but powerful takeaway for firm leaders: boundaries matter—around time, pricing and priorities.

    35 min

  2. FEB 25

    What’s Holding Firms Back? An IPA Listener Q&A

    Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE In this episode, we return to one of our favorite formats: listener Q&A. The questions in this episode aren’t tactical. They’re structural. They reflect what firm leaders are really wrestling with behind closed doors: Is the talent shortage real — or is the traditional firm model the issue?Why does growth stall even when firms say they’re committed to it?Is 2026 finally the year advisory becomes more than a talking point?What’s the most valuable training future CPA leaders should prioritize?Are firms underestimating change fatigue?Will the firms that win the next decade look like the ones that won the last? Chelsea brings the data. Rob brings perspective from conversations with firm leaders around the world. Together, they unpack the tension between intention and execution — and why adaptability, leadership alignment and clarity of direction may define the next generation of successful firms. One theme emerges clearly: The future isn’t about getting bigger. It’s about becoming better designed.

    26 min

  3. FEB 17

    Why Tax Advice Is Changing (and What Comes Next)

    Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE What is CPA firm data really telling us about the future of tax advice and why does it feel different this time? In this crossover episode with Heidi Henderson (Chief Marketing Officer at Engineered Tax Services and host of the Slash Tax Podcast), we connect the dots between firm benchmarking data and what taxpayers are experiencing in real life. IPA has been surveying the profession since 1987, and the latest trends point to a profession at an inflection point. Staffing shortages, succession challenges, private equity consolidation, offshoring and rapid technology adoption are all converging at once. The result: compliance work is being reshaped and advisory services are moving from “nice to have” to a core growth engine. We dig into: Why advisory is growing and what that means for tax planning and client expectationsHow technology (and AI) is accelerating efficiency and forcing new operating modelsThe pressure points around staffing, partner time, and leadership pipelinesWhy billable-hour dependence is still high and what’s pushing firms toward fixed-fee, value, and subscription modelsWhat benchmarks suggest about where pricing is going (and how inflation plays into it)How offshoring is evolving from third-party work to fully integrated teamsWhat firm leaders can do now to stay profitable and sustainable Whether you run a firm or rely on one, this episode will help you understand why tax advice is changing—and what to do about it. Follow the Slash Tax Podcast: https://slashtax.transistor.fm/

    41 min

  4. FEB 10

    Behind the Curtain at IPA: Turning Firm Data Into Insight

    Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE In this special “Behind the Curtain” episode, Rob Brown sits down with Chelsea Summers to explore how IPA’s data is collected, interpreted and translated into insight for firm leaders. Chelsea shares how nearly 40 years of longitudinal data requires judgment, context and responsibility—not just spreadsheets. They discuss how IPA distinguishes real trends from short-term noise, why not all data should be published without interpretation, and how oversimplifying numbers can lead firms in the wrong direction. Chelsea also opens up about leadership fatigue, gaps between planning and execution inside firms, and what recent survey cycles have revealed that genuinely surprised her. The episode also gets personal. Chelsea shares her unconventional path into public accounting, her leadership philosophy and why transparency has become a defining theme in her work. Together, Rob and Chelsea explore how the podcast creates space for nuance, emotion and practical application that a report alone can’t deliver. This episode is a candid look at the responsibility behind the data—and why IPA’s role is about creating clarity, not judgment.

    21 min

  5. FEB 3

    Beyond Raises: How Compensation Is Reshaping Firm Strategy

    Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE Compensation has always been one of the largest line items on an accounting firm’s income statement. But according to the latest IPA data, the pressure around pay feels different this year. In this episode, Rob Brown and Chelsea Summers take a closer look at what firm leaders are really facing when it comes to compensation — and why this conversation has moved well beyond HR. Using insights from IPA’s 2025 Practice Management and HR data, they explore how firms are navigating thinner margins, moderating salary increases, and shifting from blanket raises to more targeted investments. The discussion highlights how firms are differentiating pay by experience level, with a strong focus on protecting mid-level professionals who are critical to succession planning and firm stability. Rob and Chelsea also examine longer-term trends, including rising entry-level pay, slower escalation for standardized or automated roles, and the growing gap between junior compensation and partner pay. They unpack what partner compensation data reveals about governance, equity structures, and generational transition inside firms. The conversation wraps with practical takeaways for firm leaders from aligning compensation strategy with pricing and margins, to using transparency and clarity to build trust, even when firms can’t lead the market on pay.

    12 min

  6. JAN 27

    Why Revenue per FTE Matters More Than Ever

    Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE Revenue per employee is one of the most honest indicators of how well an accounting firm is truly performing. In this episode of the INSIDE Public Accounting podcast, Rob Brown is joined by Chelsea Summers to unpack why this metric cuts through the noise of growth headlines, chargeable hours and surface-level productivity measures. Drawing on IPA’s 2025 data, Chelsea explains how revenue per FTE captures the full workforce—onshore, offshore, chargeable and non-chargeable—and reflects how effectively a firm translates people into revenue. The conversation explores year-over-year trends, inflation-adjusted performance and why recent gains still reflect firms running slightly uphill. Rob and Chelsea also dive into firm size comparisons, highlighting the widening gap between small firms, middle-market firms and the largest organizations. They discuss why premium billing rates, pricing confidence and intentional operating models matter more than simply working harder or adding headcount. The episode closes with practical guidance for firm leaders: how to use revenue per FTE as a diagnostic tool, what questions it should prompt and why it deserves a central place in strategic decision-making—especially as firms navigate rising compensation costs, evolving staffing models, and increasing pressure to do more with less.

    10 min

  7. JAN 20

    The IPA Practice Management Survey: Your Firm’s Benchmarking Blueprint

    Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE The IPA Practice Management Survey is one of the most powerful tools available to accounting firm leaders—and one of the most misunderstood. In this episode of the INSIDE Public Accounting podcast, Rob Brown is joined by Chelsea Summers, Executive Director of IPA, for a practical, step-by-step breakdown of the survey that powers IPA’s benchmarking, rankings and long-term insights into the profession. They cover what the survey includes, how firms of all sizes can participate, and why more than 600 firms submit data each year. Chelsea explains how IPA standardizes and reviews submissions, the cost to participate and how the data ultimately drives the IPA 500, Best of the Best firms and a wide range of benchmarking reports. The conversation also dives into how firms actually use the data—supporting strategic planning, compensation decisions, talent strategy, board reporting and even M&A diligence. Plus, Chelsea shares tips for first-time participants and discusses how IPA is expanding its data collection around AI and technology adoption. If you’re looking for clarity, comparison, and a data-driven roadmap for your firm, this episode explains why the IPA Practice Management Survey is a critical place to start.

    11 min

  8. JAN 13

    ESOPS, Succession & The Future of Firm Ownership with Michael Bannon

    Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE Succession, liquidity and firm ownership are no longer “future problems” for accounting firms — they’re today’s reality. In this episode of the INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast, Rob Brown sits down with Michael Bannon, Managing Director at CSG Partners, to unpack one of the most talked-about — and often misunderstood — ownership structures in the profession: ESOPs. Michael shares what he’s seeing in the market as business owners and firm leaders head into 2026 with uncertainty, rising valuations, and increased private equity activity. Together, they explore how ESOPs compare to traditional exits, why more firms are evaluating employee ownership and what CPAs can do right now to better prepare their clients for a successful transition. The conversation also covers: Why many firms delay succession planning — and the risks of waitingHow ESOPs actually work (and why they’re not new)The emotional side of selling a firmWhat separates successful exits from stressful onesHow interest rates, valuations and PE activity are reshaping deal structuresPractical steps CPAs can take today to support client readiness Whether you advise firm owners or are thinking about your own firm’s future, this episode offers grounded insight into ownership transitions beyond the traditional private equity path.

    24 min
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Welcome to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast — a show for accounting firm leaders who want to make smarter, data-driven decisions and stay ahead of industry change. Each episode explores what IPA’s trusted benchmarking data reveals about firm performance, leadership and the future of the profession. From private equity and offshoring to partner compensation and the talent pipeline, we dive into the trends, challenges and innovations shaping public accounting today. Hosted by: Chelsea Summers — Executive Director of IPA and curator of the industry's most respected benchmarking insights Rob Brown — co-founder of the Accounting Influencers Roundtable (AIR) Whether you're leading a Top 100 firm or building the next one, the IPA Podcast is here to spark ideas, share stories and bring context to the numbers.

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