Accountant's Flight Plan

Brannon Poe; Poe Group Advisors
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Welcome to The Accountant's Flight Plan, where we guide you toward building a top-tier CPA firm that you would want to buy. With over 20 years of working with accountants in mergers and acquisitions, Brannon Poe, CPA delves into engaging and vital topics with industry leaders. Unpacking everything from transition planning and accounting practice sales to practice management and firm development, Brannon equips you with the tools you need to build the practice of your dreams. Whether you are navigating firm growth or exploring the nuances of succession planning, join us to learn actionable insights that will empower and inspire you to love your firm again.

  1. 1D AGO

    How to Get a 4-day Weekend During Tax Season

    Chip Summers worked 2,900 hours a year for over 25 years. Every Saturday. Some Sundays. Always behind. Then he made a series of decisions that transformed his firm. He raised prices across the board. He moved on from high-maintenance, low-return clients. He gave up control and let his staff handle work from start to finish. He invested in technology that made everyone more efficient. And in December 2025, for the first time in over 25 years, he was caught up. He had almost nothing to do. It felt weird, but wonderful. Today, Chip's eight-person firm in Orangeburg, South Carolina doesn't work Saturdays anymore. They close every Friday after tax season. During tax season, they're only open half days on Fridays. His staff isn't burnt out. His clients bring organized documents instead of shoe boxes. And he's serving as Vice Chair of the South Carolina Board of Accountancy while running a healthier practice than he ever thought possible. This is the fourth episode in our Power of Focus series, where we explore how CPA firm owners use focus as a strategic advantage. Chip's story shows that transformation doesn't happen overnight, but when you touch every aspect of your practice with intentional changes, the results compound. The conversation covers: How working 2,900 hours a year with no end in sight became the motivation for changeWhy pricing was only part of the transformation, giving up control mattered just as muchThe year they set minimums and lost fewer than five clientsHow technology investments made the team more efficient without increasing hoursWhy closing Fridays after tax season boosted staff morale and reduced turnoverThe decision to exit attestation work and focus entirely on tax planning and consultingHow being upfront about pricing changes led to almost zero pushback from clientsChip's biggest lesson? You can't do it all yourself. Most accountants want to touch everything from start to finish. But when you structure your staff to handle work properly, invest in the right technology, and price your services to match the value you deliver, you create capacity you didn't know was possible. And that capacity changes everything. This episode is for firm owners working too many hours for the revenue they're generating, leaders curious about how to delegate without losing quality, practitioners wondering if it's possible to run a firm without weekend work, and anyone ready to transform multiple aspects of their practice at once. Time Stamps: 00:14 - Introduction: Chip Summers, Orangeburg CPA since 1991 01:34 - Serving as Vice Chair of SC Board of Accountancy 02:36 - The CPA firm that said yes to everyone for 45 years 03:18 - Why being everything to everybody became impossible 04:01 - Working 2,900 hours a year with no end in sight 05:32 - Caught up for the first time in 25 years: how it felt 06:10 - You can't do it all yourself: restructuring Accounting staff workflows 07:17 - Technology investments that made everyone more efficient 07:29 - Discussing pricing upfront and what changed 08:39 - From shoe boxes to organized Tax clients 09:24 - A completely different CPA firm than four years ago 10:21 - No more Saturday work for staff 10:57 - Raising prices 5-10% every year and losing fewer than five clients 12:03 - The biggest change: giving up control 13:27 - When staff burn out, th 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

    23 min

  2. APR 1

    How Niching Down to Veterinarians Built a 15X Practice

    Greg Toner kept only his best clients, raised prices, picked one niche, and grew his practice 15X. While many CPAs accept any business that comes their way, Greg found success by being highly selective. He looked at his client list, identified the bottom 10% who weren't getting value from his work, and let them go. Then he raised fees on the clients who remained. His team didn't complain. His revenue didn't drop. And the capacity he created allowed him to focus exclusively on serving veterinarians across Canada. Today, Greg works with 360 vet practices from coast to coast. He doesn't prepare tax returns anymore. He doesn't do bookkeeping. His role has evolved into technical sales and high-level tax planning because he built systems that allow his team to handle the rest. When you niche down and get really good at solving the same 15 problems over and over, referrals fly and close rates skyrocket. This is the third episode in our Power of Focus series, where we explore how CPA firm owners use focus as a strategic advantage. Greg's story proves that the riches really are in the niches, but only if you're willing to make the hard decisions first. Timestamps: 01:55 - How firing the wrong Accounting clients changed everything 03:18 - The APA spreadsheet that made the decision obvious 04:14 - Why his team was happy to see clients leave 04:57 - No revenue loss, not even in the short term 05:19 - The dam holding back good clients 06:17 - Why he joined APA (opportunistic, not desperate) 07:01 - From sole Accounting practitioner to 15X revenue 07:28 - Evolving from doer to technical sales role 09:11 - The mental leap of hiring high-salary staff for your CPA firm  11:07 - Solve the same problem 100 times, become a hero 12:23 - Why niching down made CPA Firm growth rapid 13:26 - 10 leads a week, high close rate 13:50 - How 15 vet clients became 360 across Canada 15:18 - The horror film basement full of paper files 16:56 - Book: 10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan

    17 min

  3. MAR 26

    Half a Million in Six Months: How to Transform Firm Value

    Bill and Chris Murphy increased their firm's value by half a million dollars in six months. They weren't desperate to sell, just ready to work reasonable hours with clients they liked. So they did something about it. They fired almost all their individual tax clients and more than doubled their fees. The result? They gained revenue and clients happily paid for the valuable work they provided. Their firm had the capacity to provide even better service to their remaining clients. . And when they sold their firm with us back in 2022, they closed for $500,000 more than their original listing price. This is a husband-and-wife team who merged their separate practices, worked themselves into the ground, and then made the hard decisions that transformed everything. They cut unprofitable clients, raised prices dramatically, restructured staff workload through weekly meetings, and learned to trust the process even when it felt uncomfortable. Bill and Chris didn't just sell their firm. They sold a better firm, a more profitable firm, a firm that didn't depend on them working unreasonable hours. And they did it by firing clients who don't fit, charging what they're worth, and trusting that the revenue will come back. This episode is for firm owners who know there is a better way to build a balanced practice, but haven’t known how to get there. This is a success case study on the power focus!  Key Timestamps: 02:21 - Bill's biggest roadblock: staying in the weeds and not developing staff 04:18 - The mental, spiritual, and physical toll of holding onto all the work 07:12 - The big move: firing almost all individual tax clients 08:35 - How the first APA lesson paid for the entire workshop 09:57 - The biggest obstacle to letting clients go: themselves, not the clients 12:49 - How pruning clients created capacity for everything else 13:21 - Doubling fees and the apology that worked 14:37 - "I'm sorry for undercharging you before." 16:02 - You have to put the work in, APA isn't passive 17:14 - Monday morning meetings: agenda, time limit, workload reallocation 19:16 - Driving the bus vs. riding in the back seat 24:24 - Book recommendation: Walk Away Wealthy by Mark Tepper

    21 min

  4. MAR 19

    What Makes an Accounting Firm Prosper? Key Insights from Helping Hundreds of Firm Owners

    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 differentlyTwo distinct models for a highly profitable practice (high complexity/high value vs. high volume/high efficiency) and why most firms get stuck between themThe "closet analogy": why pruning before you can grow is the move most owners resistHow client selection may be the single biggest lever in your practiceThe fear behind price increases, and why most firm owners are sitting on more pricing power than they realizeWhat it looks like when a younger, entrepreneurial owner grabs hold of these concepts and runs with themTimestamps: 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

    29 min

  5. MAR 12

    Navigating the Sale of a CPA Practice From A Seller Turned Intermediary

    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 expectedThe emotional reality of selling: "It's like cutting your arms off" when you stop interacting daily with people you've worked with for yearsWhy 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 answersWhy she wishes she'd sold sooner instead of waiting, and how most sellers wait until illness or family situations force the decisionBarbara'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 Agerton01:34 Preparing for the Sale of a CPA Practice03:39 Transitioning to a Cloud-Based Accounting Practice07:00 Client Experience During a CPA Firm Transition08:50 Deciding to Sell Your CPA Firm: Personal Motivations09:58 Emotional Challenges of Selling a Tax Practice11:01 The Importance of Team Dynamics13:30 Preparing Your Team for a Sale16:03 Reflections on Timing and Selling any bookkeeping, CPA, or CAS practice18:30 Book Recommendations and Closing ThoughtsBook Recommendation: Unreasonable Hospitality

    19 min

  6. MAR 5

    The State of CPA Firm M&A: Private Equity, Timing & the Headline Offer Trap

    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

    36 min

  7. FEB 19

    The Readiness Test: How to Know If You're Ready to Sell Your Firm

    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

    39 min

  8. JAN 28

    AI Won't Replace CPAs. It'll Free Them to Do Work That Actually Matters

    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 marketHow AI should free you up for higher-value advisory work with existing clients, not just help you take on more volumeEd Kless's "transformation economy" concept: moving from providing transactions to providing transformationsThe three-pillar approach to attracting and retaining young talent: technology + mentorship + entrepreneurship mindsetWhy 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 learnedRachel 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

    43 min
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About

Welcome to The Accountant's Flight Plan, where we guide you toward building a top-tier CPA firm that you would want to buy. With over 20 years of working with accountants in mergers and acquisitions, Brannon Poe, CPA delves into engaging and vital topics with industry leaders. Unpacking everything from transition planning and accounting practice sales to practice management and firm development, Brannon equips you with the tools you need to build the practice of your dreams. Whether you are navigating firm growth or exploring the nuances of succession planning, join us to learn actionable insights that will empower and inspire you to love your firm again.

Information

  • Creator
    Brannon Poe; Poe Group Advisors
  • Years Active
    2013 - 2026
  • Episodes
    129
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Accountant's Flight Plan
  • Show Website
    Accountant's Flight Plan

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