CPA Life

CPA Life welcomes Yuri Kapilovich, #TheFunCPA, back to the podcast to talk to host John Randolph about his newly created Mentors Count community. The managing partner of Kapilovich & Associates, Yuri saw the need for mentors in public accounting due to the decline of available time and the pipeline problem within the industry, so he founded Mentors Count to serve as a community where up and coming accountants could go ...

John Randolph sits down with Joy Lutz, founder and CEO of Aligned CPA in Lake City, Florida, on Episode 71 of CPA Life. Joy has been “right behind the trailblazers” in the profession as she’s grown her firm from two to eight employees within the past four years, and the knowledge and experience she’s gained are keys to this discussion. Joy has placed Aligned’s focus directly on helping service-based businesses simplify...

Matt Patrick, the president and founder of Patrick Accounting and Whirks, has felt called to entrepreneurship since a remarkable sequence of events that occurred early on in his initially very traditional career. He joins John Randolph on Episode 70 of CPA Life to discuss the vision he’s executed to build a modern, efficient, people-centric accounting firm. While focusing on the importance of retaining great employees,...

Ronnie Withaeger’s journey in Accounting has led him to currently running five businesses, including a sauna, and he talks to John Randolph about doing things his way on Episode 69 of CPA Life. The owner and founder of Ronald Withaeger CPA in Las Vegas, Ronnie started his career at a traditional firm but ultimately established his own practice focused on family-friendly, sustainable growth, and he shares his insights t...

John Randolph dives deep into a discussion on reshaping the public accounting space with Chris Williams, owner and CEO of System Six, on Episode 68 of CPA Life. A remote, cloud-based accounting firm, System Six’s culture-driven, employee-focused environment serves as a model for balancing employees' professional growth with their personal lives. They delve into the dynamics of private equity in professional services an...

John Randolph concludes his conversation with Rob Brown of Accounting Influencers on Episode 67 of CPA Life. Focusing on talent and leadership in accounting from multiple perspectives, they delve into the need for entrepreneurial spirit, and the importance of taking risks and overcoming the fear of judgment. They analyze the pandemic-induced shift to remote and hybrid working, noting that while it’s clearly better for ...

Join John Randolph for part 1 of his special two part interview with Rob Brown, the founder of Accounting Influencers, on Episode 66 of CPA Life. The concept of “story” figures heavily into their conversation about talent in the profession, highlighting the value of both personal and employer branding to drive better outcomes. Rob looks at the role of thought leadership as pivotal insofar as changing the paradigmatic, ...

Episode 65 of CPA Life is a particularly special episode—a re-broadcast of John Randolph’s appearance on Who's Really The BOSS with Rachel and Marcus Dillon of Dillon Business Advisors! In this collaboration, John shares insights into the recruiting landscape in public accounting from his perspective as Principal at Benaiah Consulting, delving into what he sees as keys to healthy recruitment: work-life balance, a posit...

John Randolph concludes his conversation with Allan Fisher of Premier Financial Search on Episode 64 of CPA Life. Delving into the evolving dynamics of the accounting profession, the two discuss how the competitive landscape has expanded beyond local firms to national competition, the advantage boutique firms have had as that landscape changed, and some of the myths surrounding accounting recruitment. Allan emphasizes ...

Host John Randolph kicks off a special two part conversation with Allan Fisher, president and founder of Premier Financial Search, on Episode 63 of CPA Life. Continuing the theme of recruiting in the profession, they explore the ongoing transformation in public accounting, focusing on building a sustainable, people-centric work culture. Allan’s “unconventionally conventional” path to recruiting did take him through wor...

John Randolph delves into the evolving landscape of recruiting in public accounting with Kerry Billington, Managing Partner at Spartan Placements, on Episode 62 of CPA Life. Kicking off a month-long series focused on perspectives in the recruiting space, their conversation highlights the significance of culture, flexible work environments, and the impact of private equity in the industry, as Kerry provides insights int...

The concluding part two of John Randolph’s conversation with Chris Johnson awaits on this special Episode 61 of CPA Life. Expanding his thoughts on accountability and “extreme ownership,” Chris discusses the challenges inherent in self-reflection and holding oneself and one’s firm to a higher standard. Given the significance of not tolerating poor performance and attitudes within teams, the ability to self-reflect is p...

Continuing the momentum of the new Season 3 of CPA Life is this special two part conversation between John Randolph and Chris Johnson, CEO of CJ CPAs in San Antonio, Texas. Chris started his career in a way typical of many accounting professionals, with a spell in the Big Four and with a local firm before being presented with an unusual opportunity that ultimately led to him founding CJ CPAs. And although many firms cl...

We return to part two of our special 2025 kickoff Episode 58 of CPA Life as John Randolph “switches sides” to be interviewed by producer Justin Grant. Focusing on evolving definitions of career success and the need for firms to offer flexible, individualized opportunities to retain talent, John goes deeper in exploring the impact of remote work, its relationship to proactive hiring practices, and the need for smaller f...

John Randolph “sits on the other side of the studio” on this special two-part Season 3 kickoff episode of CPA Life. With hosting duties accounted for by producer Justin Grant of ProfessionalProductions.net, John delves into the challenges firms will face in 2025 and beyond, such as losing key talent, increased competition and specialization in the profession, and the need for technological adaptation. Highlighting the ...

Season’s Greetings from CPA Life! Today, we look back at one of John Randolph’s most impactful conversations of 2024, where he was joined by accounting legend Ron Baker of VeraSage. The two delved deep into the groundbreaking topics of value and subscription-based pricing and client advisory services. The author of eight books, Ron’s extensive writings, keynote speeches and general advocacy on these and other topics ar...

John Randolph sits down with Roman Villard, co-founder of Full Send Finance, on Episode 56 of CPA Life. Sharing his journey from finance major to starting his own firm, Roman emphasizes the importance of a culture-forward approach and how that has helped Full Send shoot out of the blocks, growing from zero to 12 full-time employees in just over two years. Highlighting the need for technology to attract and retain talen...

Join host John Randolph on Episode 55 of CPA Life, as he talks to James Rainwater, founder of RainwaterCPA, about his journey and unique approach to public accounting. James discusses his non-traditional career path, how he ultimately discovered he prefers the public accounting space over private, and the evolution of his fully remote firm, which is in its second iteration after James founded a much more traditionally ...

Eric Joern started his accounting career at James Hamlin & Co., a traditional firm founded in the 1960s in Antioch, Illinois, right out of college. He joins John Randolph on Episode 54 of CPA Life to talk about his role in transforming that firm into Kaizen CPAs and Advisors, where he now serves as partner. Doing away with traditional CPA practices to focus on team wellbeing, sustainability, and national impact, Eric s...