The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast
The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast is 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, the podcast dives into the trends, challenges and innovations shaping public accounting today. Hosted by Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown, it aims to spark ideas, share stories and bring context to the numbers.
Episodes
Best of the Best: What It Takes to Make the List
What does it take to earn a place among IPA’s Best of the Best?Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown open this new series on the 75 firms recognized in 2026. Chelsea explains how IPA evaluates firms across 35 performance metrics and why strong profitability alone does not guarantee a place on the list.They explore the range of firms represented, from small practices to national organizations, and what dec
Nine Drivers of Partner Income: Running the Modern Firm
If your firm’s partner income falls below a benchmark, where should you look first?Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown end the series Running the Modern Firm with nine measures associated with partner income in IPA’s 2026 Practice Management data. They examine why revenue per partner, leverage, partner billing rates and revenue per full-time employee deserve attention alongside hours and utilization.Che
Is AI Working for Your Firm? Running the Modern Firm with Donny Shimamoto
What is AI actually changing inside CPA firms?Chelsea Summers welcomes Donny Shimamoto of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies, who helped design the AI questions for IPA’s 2026 Information Technology Survey. Together, they examine what participating firms report about adoption, investment and results. Only 3.2% describe AI as fully integrated into their operations, while 42.9% report no measurable impact yet
Are You Redesigning Work or Just Adding Tools? Running the Modern Firm
Firms are investing in offshore capacity to expand their teams and technology to improve efficiency. But the value of those investments depends on what happens to the workflow around them, including how work is staffed, handed off, reviewed and delivered.Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown examine the gap between adopting new resources and redesigning the workflow around them. About half of participatin
LIVE Q&A
Recorded live for the first time, this special Q&A episode of the INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast has a slightly different feel as Rob Brown and Chelsea Summers tackle questions from firm leaders and advisors about some of the biggest issues shaping the profession.Drawing on IPA data and conversations happening across the profession, Rob and Chelsea discuss where independent firms should plac
Is Your Talent Strategy Too Reactive? Running the Modern Firm
Stable turnover does not necessarily mean a firm’s talent strategy is working.Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown examine what sits beneath the profession’s 11.8% staff turnover rate. Nearly 70% of turnover is voluntary, yet firms remain almost twice as likely to conduct exit interviews as stay interviews. Chelsea explains why leaders should ask their strongest mid-level people what could make them leav
Rethinking Succession, Part 2: Running the Modern Firm with Ira Rosenbloom
What can derail a succession plan even when a firm has people who could eventually lead it?In part two of Rob Brown’s conversation with Ira Rosenbloom of Optimum Strategies, they dig into two places succession often gets stuck: the expectations current partners place on their successors and the way partners are compensated.Ira explains why future leaders need room to learn on the job, why partner
Rethinking Succession, Part 1: Running the Modern Firm with Ira Rosenbloom
What would make the next generation say yes to ownership? In part one of this conversation, Rob Brown talks with CPA firm succession adviser Ira Rosenbloom about why leadership transitions should begin earlier.Ira explains his view that “55 is the new 65”: a time to shift responsibilities, mentor future leaders and begin transferring equity gradually. They also discuss flexibility, investment in f
When the Old Firm Model Stops Working: Running the Modern Firm
Accounting firms are changing how they staff, price and structure their partnerships. But are those changes working together?In the second episode of Running the Modern Firm, Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown use IPA’s 2026 Practice Management data to examine the operating model behind firm performance.They explore how leverage changes as firms scale, why adding capacity without adjusting pricing can
Running the Modern Firm: The 2026 State of the Profession
The 2026 IPA Practice Management Report captures a profession facing slower growth but responding with sharper operations.Drawing on responses from 605 North American accounting firms, Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown open Running the Modern Firm, the third series of the season, with a look at the profession’s performance and the strategies shaping it.They discuss why organic and total growth slowed
How Capacity, Capital and Advisory Are Changing Firms: INSIDE the IPA 500
This episode is brought to you by Bill.com. Learn how Bill can help your firm automate financial operations at Bill.com/IPA, where IPA listeners can access an exclusive offer. Global staffing, private equity and advisory expansion are becoming part of the operating model at many of the profession’s largest firms.In the final episode of our series, INSIDE the IPA 500, Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown
How Wolf & Company Built 16.1% Organic Growth: INSIDE the IPA 500
Wolf & Company didn’t become the fastest-growing IPA 100 firm by organic growth because of one big move.The firm reported 16.1% organic growth in the 2026 INSIDE Public Accounting Practice Management Survey, increasing net revenue from $90.7 million to $105.3 million without completing a merger during the reporting year. But MP Jerry Gagne says that growth was really the result of several year
The Strategies Behind Fast Growth: INSIDE the IPA 500
This episode is brought to you by Bill.com. Learn how Bill can help your firm automate financial operations at Bill.com/IPA, where IPA listeners can access an exclusive offer. In the third episode of INSIDE the IPA 500, Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown compare the fastest-growing firms through two lenses: organic growth and all growth.The 10 firms leading the organic-growth ranking averaged 15.6%, mo
How Firms Outside the IPA 100 Are Adopting Big-Firm Strategies: INSIDE the IPA 500
This episode is brought to you by Poe Group Advisors. 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 100 gets most of the attention, but the o
How the 2026 IPA 100 Changed the Firm Model: INSIDE the IPA 500
This episode is brought to you by Bill.com. Learn how Bill can help your firm automate financial operations at Bill.com/IPA, where IPA listeners can access an exclusive offer.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
INSIDE the IPA 500: Meet the 2026 Rankings
This episode is brought to you by Poe Group Advisors.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.Welcome to INSIDE the IPA 500, our new series expl
From Perception to Action: Rewriting the Story of Accounting
This episode is brought to you by Bill.com. Learn how Bill can help your firm automate financial operations at Bill.com/ipa, where IPA listeners can access an exclusive offer.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
What the Next Generation Wants from Accounting Firms
This episode is brought to you by Bill.com. Learn how Bill can help your firm automate financial operations at Bill.com/IPA, where IPA listeners can access an exclusive offer.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
Rewriting the Story of Accounting: Culture in Transition
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.Busy season. Burnout. Unclear career paths. For many accountants, these realities defined the professio
How Accounting Leaders Build Visibility and Trust
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.Doing great work has always been the foundation of a successful accounting career. But in today's profe
The Perception Gap: Why Accounting Has a Story Problem
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 accounting profession has spent years talking about the talent pipeline challenge. But what if the
What's Next for INSIDE Public Accounting?
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 CPEOne year ago, we hit record and hoped someone would listen.In this special episode, Rob Brown and Chels
Advisory Is an Identity, Not a Service Line
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 CPEAdvisory continues to dominate conversations about the future of public accounting, but what does it ac
Special Repost: Chelsea Summers Joins Accounting Voices' AI Reality in Firms Series
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 CPEChelsea Summers joins Rob Brown's Accounting Voices podcast for a practical conversation about how AI i
Why Hourly Billing No Longer Works
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 CPEFor decades, hourly billing has been the foundation of the accounting profession. But as AI accelerates
Advisory Reality, AI Results and the Metrics That Matter
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 CPEIn this episode of the INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast, Rob Brown and Chelsea Summers unpack key findi
The Confidence Gap in Advisory Services
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 CPEAdvisory services continue to be one of the biggest growth opportunities for firms, but many firms are
A First Look at Early Data from the 2026 IPA Survey
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 CPEWhat are the latest numbers telling us about the accounting profession?In this episode of the INSIDE Pu
Designing a Firm for the Future
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 CPEWhat does it actually look like to build an accounting firm designed for the future?In this episode of
Is Your Governance Built for What’s Ahead? (Part 2)
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 CPEIn part two of this conversation, Rob Brown continues the discussion with Gary Thomson and David Bundy
Is Your Governance Built for What’s Ahead? (Part 1)
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 CPEGovernance may sound like a back-office topic, but it directly impacts how firms grow, compete and make
From Reactive to Intentional: What’s Emerging Across the Profession
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 CPEConference season is underway, and Chelsea Summers is sharing the conversations that are surfacing acro
Benefits That Matter: Rethinking the Employee Experience
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 CPECompensation matters, but it’s no longer enough.In this episode, Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown break do
The True Cost of Losing Your Best People
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 CPETurnover may be down, but the real cost hasn’t disappeared.In this episode, we break down what most fir
Can Firms Build Enterprise Value Without Selling? (Part 2)
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 CPEWhat does it actually take to sustain enterprise value over time?Brian Blaha returns to go deeper into
Can Firms Build Enterprise Value Without Selling? (Part 1)
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 CPEPrivate equity continues to reshape the accounting profession, but does independence still have a place
The 20-Year Shift in Accounting Firms (What the Data Really Says)
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 CPEThis episode takes a step back from single-issue conversations and looks at the bigger picture.Chelsea
The Real ROI of Offshoring in CPA Firms
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 CPEOffshoring has quickly moved from a staffing workaround to a core operating strategy in public accounti
From Strategy to Results: The Role of a Chief Execution Officer
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 CPEStrategy gets all the attention. Execution determines the outcome.In this episode, Chelsea Summers sits
From Compliance to Advisory, What’s Actually Changing?
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[CS1]Advisory services have long been positioned as the future of accounting. For many firms, it has rema
Great Technicians Don’t Always Make Great Leaders
One of the most common and costly mistakes CPA firms make is assuming that technical excellence automatically translates into leadership ability.In most firms, promotions are based on utilization, billable production and technical proficiency. Those metrics matter. But the skills required to succeed at the manager and partner levels are fundamentally different.Rob Brown and Chelsea Summers unpack
INSIDE the Private Equity Shift in Accounting
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 CPEPrivate equity has quickly become one of the most talked-about developments in public accounting. But t
Designing Your Firm’s Leverage Strategy in a New Economy
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 CPEFor decades, public accounting firms have operated on a simple economic engine: leverage and billing ra
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 CPEIn this crossover episode, Rob Brown welcomes Brannon Poe of the Accountants Flight Plan Podcast for a
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 CPEIn this episode, we return to one of our favorite formats: listener Q&A.The questions in this episo
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 CPEWhat is CPA firm data really telling us about the future of tax advice and why does it feel different t
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 CPEIn this special “Behind the Curtain” episode, Rob Brown sits down with Chelsea Summers to explore how I
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 CPECompensation has always been one of the largest line items on an accounting firm’s income statement. Bu
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 CPERevenue per employee is one of the most honest indicators of how well an accounting firm is truly perfo
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 CPEThe IPA Practice Management Survey is one of the most powerful tools available to accounting firm leade
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 CPESuccession, liquidity and firm ownership are no longer “future problems” for accounting firms — they’re
Beyond Perks: The Real Drivers of Talent Retention
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 CPETalent retention remains one of the biggest challenges facing accounting firms, but younger staff are b
10 Predictions for the Accounting Profession
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 CPE2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for the accounting profession.Rob Brown and Chelsea Summers wa
INSIDE the Defining Trends of 2025
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 CPEIf 2025 felt different, that’s because it was.In this special year-in-review episode, Chelsea Summers a
Zooming In on Firm Performance with the Rosenberg Survey
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 CPEThe accounting profession runs on data — and two of the most relied-upon benchmarking surveys in the in
The M&A Era: How Consolidation Is Reshaping Public Accounting
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 Mergers and acquisitions are no longer a side story in public accounting — they’ve become a defining f
Future-Proofing Your CPA Firm with Matt Rampe
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 CPEStrategic planning shows up on every agenda, but for many CPA firms it never quite turns into real chan
Rewriting the Narrative: Fixing Accounting’s Perception
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 Accounting’s reputation hasn’t kept up with the profession’s reality and that disconnect is costing fi
Blake Oliver on Free CPE, Smarter Teams and AI at Work
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 if your CPE fit your life—and your firm’s strategy? Blake Oliver, CPA, co-host of The Accounting
How Advisory Is Redefining Accounting
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 CPECompliance is no longer the centerpiece of the accounting profession. In this data-driven discussion, R
Jin Chang on What It Really Means to Be AI-Ready
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 CPEArtificial intelligence is changing the accounting profession faster than any prior technology shift—an
Behind the Numbers 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: https://www.earmark.app/channels/c5717392-a994-407c-9f27-7f09a08a4b7cIn this Q&A edition, Rob Brown and IPA’s Executive Director, Chelsea
From Internships to Impact: Rachel Anevski on Building CPAs Who Stay
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: The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast | Earmark CPEThis episode gets into the work of keeping great people—and helping them thrive. Rachel Ane
What Makes an IPA Best of the Best Firm
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: The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast | Earmark CPE Each year, INSIDE Public Accounting names its “Best of the Best” — a select group of firms
A Data-Driven Look at Firm People 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: The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast | Earmark CPERob Brown and Chelsea Summers break down IPA’s 2025 Human Resources Report across 326 firms
From Compliance to Advisory: Why Firms Need Critical Skills to Compete
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: Earn FREE CPE For Listening to Accounting & Tax PodcastsWhat separates a good firm from a great one? According to Amanda Garner of The Gr
From CAS to True Advisory with Mike Hajek
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: The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast | Earmark CPEAdvisory isn’t a side service anymore, it’s becoming the core of how firms grow. But what do
Transparency, Talent & Growth in 2025
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: The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast | Earmark CPE In this episode, Rob Brown and IPA’s Chelsea Summers go under the hood of the 2025 Firm Adm
Behind the Numbers: Partner Pay, Tech & Succession
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: The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast | Earmark CPEIn this episode of the INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast, Rob Brown sits down with Chelsea Su
Jeffrey Weiner: Building Marcum’s Brand & Legacy
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: https://earmark.app/c/2777How do you grow a six-person, $300,000 accounting firm into one of the largest in the U.S. with $1.3 billion in rev
The Rise of Outsourcing in Accounting
The conversation around outsourcing and offshoring in public accounting has shifted. What was once viewed with hesitation is now firmly part of the playbook for firms across the country.In this episode of the INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast, hosts Rob Brown and ChelseaSummers dive into the numbers behind the trend. Drawing on IPA’s exclusive survey data, they explore:How outsourcing has grown acr
Lexy Kessler on Talent, Technology, and the Future of Accounting
Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown welcome Lexy Kessler, Chair ofthe American Institute of CPAs and partner at Aprio, to explore the 2040Project — a strategic initiative mapping the profession’s future.From tackling pipeline challenges to integrating AI, Lexyshares why upskilling, adaptability and people skills are now strategicimperatives for firms of all sizes. We look at the disruptors ahead, the ro
Legacy vs. Lift-Off: Can New CPA Firms Still Break Through?
In this episode of the Inside Public Accounting Podcast, Rob Brown and Chelsea Summers explore a timely question: Are new CPA firms still breaking through? While the average Top 100 firm is nearly 69 years old, some new firms are managing to carve out space in a landscape dominated by legacy players. Chelsea shares findings from IPA's latest research, spotlighting trends in firm formation, the gol
Analyzing the Top 500: IPA’s Insights on Strategy, Specialization and Scale
In this episode of INSIDE Public Accounting, Rob and Chelsea analyze the full landscape of the 2025 IPA 500 rankings—not just the top-tier firms, but the hundreds of firms driving real innovation beneath the headlines.Topics in this episode:Performance trends in the top 100, including private equity influence, revenue growth and productivity metricsThe strategic advantage of specialization in tax,
The 2025 IPA 500: Power Plays, Fast Risers & Big Exits
The 2025 IPA 500 list is here. In this fast-paced episode of the INSIDE Public Accounting podcast, Rob Brown and Chelsea Summers go full horse race. No big-picture trends this time — it's all about who’s new, who’s rising fast, and who’s out. Highlights include: The debutants: Firms like Sorren (#61) and H&Co (#66) enter with bold moves or private equity support. Major exits: CBIZ’s acquisitio
Before the Rankings: Behind the IPA 500
The IPA 500 is just days away—and in this episode, we take you inside the rankings that define the accounting profession. Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown break down how firms qualify for the list, the strategies behind the biggest climbers, and key trends firm leaders need to know now.You’ll hear:What it really takes to make the listThe rising revenue thresholds and how they’ve shifted year over yea
What the Data is Telling Us Right Now
In this episode of The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast, Rob Brown and Chelsea Summers take a first look at early findings from the 2025 IPA Practice Management Survey. The data tells a story of change—but also one of adaptation, strategy and opportunity.From evolving growth rates to expanded outsourcing strategies and shifts in licensure, firms are making intentional choices that reflect a changi
Private Equity in Public Accounting: Disruption or Opportunity?
In Episode 2 of The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast, hosts Rob Brown and Chelsea Summers unpack the results of a pulse survey of 163 accounting firms on one of the profession’s most controversial trends: private equity.Chelsea shares insights from IPA’s latest research, including how firm leaders are navigating growth, autonomy, and culture in a PE-influenced landscape. Are these firms growing fa
Welcome to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast
In this inaugural episode of The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast, hosts Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown introduce a new weekly show designed for firm leaders who want to stay ahead of the curve. Hear how this podcast will bring the profession’s most trusted data to life—translating charts and trends into actionable insights.Chelsea shares how IPA’s reports are evolving into something more conversat
COMING SOON: The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast
Welcome to a new voice in the accounting profession.The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast launches soon—bringing you weekly insights, data-driven trends, and leadership strategies from the team behind the IPA 500 and the industry’s most respected reports.In each episode, hosts Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown will go beyond the numbers to unpack the “why” behind the profession’s most pressing issues—f
