Why Culture Beats Capital in Building Independent CPA Firms | Carla McCall

“You're not going to take an old process and fit it into a new tech box.”

Carla McCall believes the firms struggling most with AI are often the ones trying hardest to preserve the way they’ve always operated.

As Managing Partner of AAFCPAs and former Chair of the AICPA, Carla shares why firms need to rethink management habits, communication structures, and even how young professionals are trained in an AI-enabled world.

Tune in to hear how AAFCPAs scaled from $16M to nearly $80M by building a people-first culture.

Connect with us here:

1. Carla McCall- https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlamccallaaf/

2. Kacee Johnson- https://www.linkedin.com/in/kacee-johnson/

3. Digits- https://www.linkedin.com/company/digits-financial/

(00:00) Trailer

(01:11) Introduction

(03:22) The path to becoming managing partner

(05:17) Lessons from chairing the AICPA

(07:39) Launching work from anywhere

(09:22) What changed to make remote work successful

(12:33) Happy team members equal happy clients

(14:57) Organic growth without PE

(18:30) What to say to leaders pushing return to office

(22:42) What young talent actually wants from firms

(25:16) How AI is reshaping early career work

(27:23) Rolling out an enterprise-wide LLM

(32:51) Starting with agentic pilots in audit

(35:31) The highest value role for accountants going forward

(39:43) Lightning round

(41:23) Wrap-up

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(15)

Pascal Finette on What Clients Pay Accountants For, Outlearning AI and the Future of Firms

Were we wrong about how AI would change work?Pascal Finette, Co-Founder & Chief Heretic of radical, joins Kacee Johnson to explore why AI is impacting cognitive work faster than routine work and what ...

17 Juni 43min

A Top 20 Accounting Firm's AI Playbook, Without the Hype | Tom DeMayo, PKF

Most accounting firms are jumping into AI headfirst, buying tools, chasing models, and wondering why nothing is sticking.Thomas DeMayo, AI lead at PKF O'Connor Davies, one of the top 20 accounting fir...

6 Maj 35min

Accounting’s Biggest Shift in 100 Years | Allan Koltin

If AI can deliver the outputs, why would clients still pay for the accountant?Allan Koltin, CEO of Koltin Consulting Group, joins Kacee Johnson to explore how accounting firms must evolve from service...

20 Apr 47min

The AI Advantage Accounting Firms Aren't Seeing Yet

We may be overestimating AI adoption today, and underestimating its long-term impact.Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, Founder and CEO of KET Solutions LLC and past Chair of the AICPA, joins Kacee Johnson to e...

25 Mars 46min

PE, M&A, and AI: What Accounting Firms Need to Know Now for 2026

In accounting, complexity has never been higher, and neither has opportunity.With Top 100 firms growing 8.58% in 2025, Daniel Hood, Editor-in-Chief of Accounting Today, joins Kacee Johnson to unpack w...

4 Mars 39min

How MCPs Will Change Accounting in 2026

If you only learn one thing about accounting tech in 2026, it's MCPs.EVP of K2 Enterprises and NMGI’s co-founder & CEO Randy Johnston joins Kacee Johnson for a grounded conversation on what's real and...

23 Feb 43min

Why Younger CPAs Are Essential to AI Readiness | Susan Coffey

What does responsible AI look like inside the world’s most trusted profession?Susan S. Coffey, CEO of Public Accounting at the AICPA, joins Kacee Johnson to explore the non-negotiable guardrails for A...

12 Jan 42min