Embrace the Dimension of Possible | MOVE Like This with Sarah Elliott of Intend2Lead

Embrace the Dimension of Possible | MOVE Like This with Sarah Elliott of Intend2Lead

Sarah Elliott started her career as a CPA. Then she noticed something: the profession was excellent at developing technical skills and almost completely unprepared to develop leaders. So she built Intend2Lead to close that gap. Sarah joins host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk to walk through the Conscious Leader model, a framework built on mindset, skill set, and habits that moves accounting leaders away from control and toward something more powerful: human-centered leadership grounded in empathy, courage, and genuine curiosity. The conversation takes a sharp turn into new Intend2Lead research on recently promoted partners, and the findings are uncomfortable. New partners are frequently surprised by the economics of partnership, receive limited feedback after the promotion, and often feel more isolated than they expected. The fix, Sarah argues, starts long before the promotion and requires sustained investment well after it. What you'll take away: * What separates leaders who build cultures of trust from those who build cultures of fear * How the mindset, skill set, and habits framework develops leaders at every level * Why new partner transitions often go sideways and what firms can do to prevent it * How belonging and psychological safety translate directly into performance and retention * Why the leaders best equipped for what's coming are the ones who stay relentlessly curious Resources & Links Connect with Sarah Elliott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahelliottcpaacc/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahelliottcpaacc/] Learn more about Intend2Lead: https://intend2lead.com [https://intend2lead.com] Participate in the Accounting MOVE Project: https://accountingmoveproject.com/ [https://accountingmoveproject.com/sign-up-for-move/] About MOVE Like This MOVE Like This is the podcast for accounting firm leaders building more equitable, competitive, and people-first firms. New episodes drop bi-weekly during survey season and monthly in the off-season. Hosted by Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode

The Forces Reshaping Accounting & What Firms Must Do Now | MOVE Like This with Dan Hood

Dan Hood has spent decades watching the accounting profession change. He has never seen everything change at once quite like this. The editor-in-chief of Accounting Today joins host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk to make sense of the collision: AI and accelerating technology, the shift from compliance to advisory, private equity consolidation, demographic shifts, ESG, and a rising generation that evaluates employers very differently than their predecessors did. None of these forces is operating in isolation, and firms that treat them that way are already falling behind. The conversation covers a lot of ground, but the throughline is consistent: the firms that will thrive are the ones building culture with intention, expanding their talent pipelines beyond the usual suspects, and telling a better, more honest story about what a career in accounting actually looks like. What you'll take away: * Why it is the convergence of change, not any single trend, that demands attention right now * How intentional culture building becomes a real competitive differentiator in the talent market * Why DEI is fundamentally about access and retention, and how that reframe reduces resistance * What the generational squeeze between Boomers and younger professionals means for firm structure * Why firms recruiting from the same schools year after year are leaving entire talent pools untapped * What Gen Z is actually watching for when they evaluate whether your firm means what it says Resources & Links Connect with Dan Hood on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-hood-3494ab49/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-hood-3494ab49/] Accounting Today: https://www.accountingtoday.com [https://www.accountingtoday.com] Participate in the MOVE Project: https://accountingmoveproject.com/ [https://accountingmoveproject.com/]  About MOVE Like This MOVE Like This is the podcast for accounting firm leaders building more equitable, competitive, and people-first firms. New episodes drop bi-weekly during survey season and monthly in the off-season. Hosted by Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode

Why Bland & Associates Said No to Private Equity and Yes to ESOPs with Jeremy Vokt

When Bland & Associates started thinking seriously about succession planning, the options on the table felt familiar: sell to private equity, pursue a merger, or follow the traditional partner buyout model. None of them felt right. So Jeremy Vokt helped chart a different course, making Bland the first ESOP-owned CPA firm in Nebraska. Jeremy joins host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk to walk through how the Employee Stock Ownership Plan works in practice, why it aligned better with the firm's values than any of the alternatives, and what it was like to launch the transition on January 2, 2020, just weeks before a global pandemic. The ESOP didn't just survive the uncertainty. It helped the firm hold together through it. The conversation also covers the transparency culture that makes it work: sharing financials, stock valuations, and strategic goals with every employee, and using the Entrepreneurial Operating System to keep everyone aligned and accountable. What you'll take away: * How an ESOP works in a professional services firm and why it's simpler than you think * Why employee ownership builds engagement that equity compensation alone never quite achieves * What it took to change state law to make this possible and what other firms can learn from that * How radical financial transparency strengthens trust, retention, and shared purpose * What to honestly assess before deciding whether an ESOP is the right fit for your firm Resources & Links Connect with Jeremy Vokt on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-vokt-172750101/] Learn more about Bland & Associates: https://blandcpa.com [https://blandcpa.com] Participate in the MOVE Project: https://accountingmoveproject.com [https://accountingmoveproject.com] About MOVE Like This MOVE Like This is the podcast for accounting firm leaders building more equitable, competitive, and people-first firms. New episodes drop bi-weekly during survey season and monthly in the off-season. Hosted by Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Keep Your Best Talent by Living Your Values with Rehmann CEO Stacie Kwaiser

Rehmann has 1,100 people, 22 offices, and retention rates that consistently beat the profession's averages. That doesn't happen by accident. Stacie Kwaiser, the firm's CEO, joins host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk to pull back the curtain on what nearly three decades of intentional culture-building actually looks like in practice. The anchor of Rehmann's approach is its Career Advocacy Program — started almost 20 years ago as an initiative to advance women, and now a firm-wide strategy built around sponsorship, visibility, and leadership development. Stacie's perspective is direct: belonging isn't a program you can cut when times get hard. It's a business strategy that drives retention, client relationships, and long-term growth. And Gen Z is watching closely enough to know the difference between firms that mean it and firms that don't. What you'll take away: * Why sponsorship accelerates careers in ways mentorship alone never can * How Rehmann evolved a women's initiative into a firmwide leadership development engine * Why younger professionals evaluate firms on representation in leadership, not just recruiting messaging * How connecting DEI to client service turns inclusion into a revenue strategy * What it looks like to embed "Put People First" into daily decisions, not just annual reports Resources & Links * Connect with Stacie Kwaiser on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staciekwaiser/ * Learn more about Rehmann: https://www.rehmann.com About MOVE Like This MOVE Like This is the podcast for accounting firm leaders building more equitable, competitive, and people-first firms. New episodes drop bi-weekly during survey season and monthly in the off-season. Hosted by Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode 🔗 Website: https://accountingmoveproject.com [https://accountingmoveproject.com/]

What the Next Generation Is Really Looking For — with Stephani Mason & Claire Costin

Two accounting professors walk into a podcast, and what they have to say about the next generation of talent should stop every firm leader in their tracks. Claire Costin (University of Portland) and Steph Mason (DePaul University) both came up through the profession before moving into academia, where they now research inequity, bias, and intersectionality in accounting. They join host Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk to share what today's students are looking for in employers, and why firms that are quietly scaling back DEI efforts are making a very expensive mistake. The conversation is candid, research-grounded, and full of moments that hit close to home: the top student who turned down a Big Four offer after being disrespected in recruiting, the myth of meritocracy that ignores how early opportunity gaps begin, and the simple but radical idea that tax returns and audits are still delivered by people who need to feel seen. What you'll take away: * Why belonging is non-negotiable for the next generation — regardless of political affiliation * How microaggressions in recruiting are costing firms their best candidates before day one * Why meritocracy without equity misses the point entirely * What intentional mentorship looks like and why it benefits the whole firm * Why firms that act courageously on their values right now will win the long game on talent   Resources & Links * Connect with Steph Mason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephani-mason-8928531/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephani-mason-8928531/]  * Connect with Claire Costin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairecostin/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairecostin/]  * DePaul University Accounting: https://www.depaul.edu/academics/programs/accountancy [https://www.depaul.edu/academics/programs/accountancy]  * University of Portland: https://www.up.edu [https://www.up.edu] * Participate in the Accounting MOVE Project: https://accountingmoveproject.com/ [https://accountingmoveproject.com/]  About MOVE Like This MOVE Like This is the podcast for accounting firm leaders building more equitable, competitive, and people-first firms. New episodes drop bi-weekly during survey season and monthly in the off-season. Hosted by Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode