The Fun CPA Podcast

The Tax Research Tool You Need To Hear About

AI isn’t coming for tax. It’s already changing how tax professionals research, review, and deliver advice.  Yuri sits down with Benjamin Alarie, tax law professor at the University of Toronto and founder of Blue J, to talk about the future of tax research, why AI became an existential question for him, and what it took to build a tax technology company long before AI became the thing everyone was talking about.  They get into the differences between U.S. and Canadian tax systems, the reality of building a startup from academia, how Blue J raised a $122 million Series D, why culture matters so much in a growing tech company, and how small firms can use AI as a second set of eyes on tax work, advisory opportunities, and client questions.  This is a nerdy tax conversation in the best possible way.    Episode Highlights:  0:00 - Intro  1:04 - Meet Benjamin Alarie  3:12 - How Ben got into tax law  6:18 - U.S. vs. Canadian tax systems  11:49 - Why Ben started Blue J  19:39 - Leaving academia to build a tech company  29:15 - Raising capital and scaling Blue J  32:26 - Building culture in a growing company  43:02 - How Blue J is changing tax research  53:03 - How small firms can use AI in tax work  56:25 - Security, planning, and what’s next for Blue J  1:00:45 - Where to find Ben and Blue J              ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH    Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end.    Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all.    CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/    Website: https://www.thefuncpa.co/ [https://www.thefuncpa.co/]    CONNECT WITH BENJAMIN ALARIE   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aitaxman/?originalSubdomain=ca    Website: https://www.bluej.com/

Productivity and Time Tracking With Rize

This week on The Fun CPA Podcast, Yuri talks with Macgill Davis, co-founder and CEO of Rize, an AI-powered time tracking tool for accounting firms and professional service businesses. They talk about why time tracking sucks, how AI can remove manual timesheets, and how firm owners can use better time data to understand client profitability, pricing, interruptions, and focus. Macgill also shares the story of shutting down a previous VC-backed startup, what that taught him about niching down, and how Rize eventually became a “Whoop for your work.”     Episode Highlights:  0:00 - Episode open 1:01 - Meet Macgill Davis, CEO and co-founder of Rize 2:01 - How Rize uses AI to automate time tracking 3:02 - Yuri’s experience using Rize to understand his workweek 7:37 - How Macgill got into the time tracking space 10:00 - Shutting down a VC-backed startup and starting over 12:30 - The biggest lesson: stop building for everyone 14:38 - Testing demand before building the product 16:41 - Who Rize is really built for today 19:02 - Why client-level time data matters for firm profitability 20:30 - How Rize tracks client work without screenshots 23:15 - Tracking task switching, interruptions, and focus 27:11 - Moving from the U.S. to Portugal 29:47 - Life in Lisbon and Portugal’s quality of life 32:41 - Castles, history, and the European lifestyle 36:03 - Wrapping up and where to find Macgill    A SPECIAL FROM RIZE   Discounted rates for the first 3 months with this link: https://rize.io/?via=yuri [https://rize.io/?via=yuri]   Go check out where your time on the computer is being spent          ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH   Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end.    Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all.    CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/   Website: https://www.thefuncpa.co/ [https://www.thefuncpa.co/]   CONNECT WITH Macgill   Website: rize.io   Email: macgill@rize.io

Firm Building, Social Media and Community With Logan Graf

What does it actually look like to build a modern CPA firm without losing yourself in the process?   Yuri sits down with Logan Graf to talk through the real decisions behind firm ownership, from taking the leap into entrepreneurship to figuring out whether buying a firm even makes sense.    They get into pricing, hiring, content creation, social media addiction, and the tension between making more money and actually enjoying your life. They also discuss Logan’s community Counter and how it helps firm owners feel less isolated.   Like always, this conversation goes past ‘tax talk’. It’s an honest discussion about growth, pressure, faith, family, and what happens when success starts to cost more than you expected.   Episode Highlights:  0:00 - Logan’s early entrepreneurial streak  5:09 - Who Logan is and how he built his firm  12:11 - Buying a firm vs. starting from scratch  21:45 - How to know if you’re ready for firm ownership  25:36 - The reality of content and social media  33:18 - Sponsored content, brand fit, and authenticity  38:44 - Hiring help and knowing when it’s time  45:44 - Why an admin hire might be the smartest next move  51:36 - Faith, family, and balancing it all  53:29 - More money, more problems  1:03:46 - What Logan would do differently starting over  1:05:33 - The shift from compliance to advisory  1:08:43 - Building a modern firm in an old-school profession 1:10:58 - Episode wrap-up         ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH   Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end.    Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all.    CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/   Website: https://www.thefuncpa.co/ [https://www.thefuncpa.co/]   CONNECT WITH LOGAN GRAF   Website: https://www.graftaxco.com/ [https://www.graftaxco.com/]   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/logangraf/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/logangraf/]     TRY COUNTER COMMUNITY FOR FREE   https://counter.circle.so/checkout/thefuncpa

How To Sell and Build Tech For Accountants

Most accounting firms don’t have a tech problem. They have a trust problem. In this episode, Yuri sits down with Jonathan Shkolnik, a developer turned founder building Portali, an AI bookkeeping tool designed to take the pain out of cleanups and month-end work. They talk through why accountants are so change resistant, how to evaluate new tools without getting burned, and what “automation” actually means when accuracy still matters and someone has to own the final review. They also get into the practical stuff people actually worry about, how bank connections break, when uploading statements is a better workflow, what happens with credit card activity, and why “just export it to Excel” is still a real need for tax focused firms.   Episode Highlights:   0:00 - Intro 0:33 - Meet Jonathan + his background 4:16 - Building products for accountants 6:40 - Resistance and pushback 9:30 - Bringing on new tech (don’t wait for the pain) 13:10 - What does Portali do? (and how does it help) 24:11 - Addressing pain points around file sharing, docs and Excel 30:50 - Connecting banks and cards to Portali 36:35 - Being a digital nomad 40:55 - Wrap-up, where you can find Jonathan     ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH   Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end.    Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all.    CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/   Website: https://www.thefuncpa.co/ [https://www.thefuncpa.co/]   CONNECT WITH JONATHAN SHKOLNIK   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jshkolnik/   Website: https://portali.tech

The State of The Accounting Profession with Blake Oliver

In this episode of the Fun CPA podcast, Yuri sits down with Blake Oliver, CPA and host of "The Accounting Podcast," to discuss the evolving landscape of the accounting profession.  Blake shares his unique journey from professional cellist to firm owner, and eventually to a leading voice in accounting technology and media. Blake also shares his POV on automation and AI, firm management, scaling, the technology of it all and of course – where the profession itself is headed. Whether you are a seasoned CPA, a firm owner, or an accounting student, this conversation offers valuable perspectives on navigating technology and building a successful career in the modern accounting world     Episode Highlights:   0:00 - Intro 0:45 - Episode open and intro to Blake Oliver 3:14 - How Blake got into accounting 7:00 - How Blake got clients in the beginning 9:00 - Reasoning for selling 13:58 - Advice for those looking to sell their firm 16:07 - Post-sale 20:00 - Blake’s podcast (and how it became his ‘job’) 24:20 - Balancing authenticity in your brand while taking on sponsors 27:21 - 150 Hour Credit, what’s next to help the profession grow 35:33 - How do you vet your apps? 41:20 - “Are you optimistic about the profession?” 47:00 - Advice for students 50:00 - Firm growth 52:00 - Standing out at conferences 53:31 - Episode wrap-up           ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH   Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end.    Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all.    CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/   Website: https://www.thefuncpa.co/ [https://www.thefuncpa.co/]   CONNECT WITH BLAKE OLIVER   Website: https://www.blakeoliver.com/ [https://www.blakeoliver.com/]   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaketoliver/