Beyond Insights

Death, Taxes, and Speaking the Client's Language

In today's episode, Laurika sits down with Geni Whitehouse to discuss the importance of being able to speak a client's language. They consider everything from combatting the stereotype of the "boring accountant" to empowering clients as experts in their own fields to providing advisory services using the language that makes most sense to your clients. Geni is a CPA, CITP, CSPM, an award‑winning keynote presenter, President of the Information Technology Alliance (ITA), and founder of The Impactful Advisor, where she helps accountants shift from compliance to confident advisory through storytelling, financial fluency, and heart.

How to Leave the Factory Mindset Behind and Build a Firm That Actually Scales

Is the traditional accounting model dead? In this episode, we sit down with Blake Oliver (Founder of Earmark and co-host of The Accounting Podcast) to discuss the radical shift toward modernizing the profession. We dive deep into how firm owners can stop trading time for dollars by adopting SaaS metrics, productizing services, and leveraging the subscription economy. If you’re looking to scale your practice without burning out, this conversation is your roadmap. In this episode, we cover: * Modernization: Why the "old way" of accounting is holding firms back. * Value-Based Pricing: How to move beyond the billable hour. * SaaS for Accountants: Applying software-as-a-service metrics to your practice. * Productization: Turning your expertise into a scalable product. Rapid-Fire Recommendations: * Read: Subscribed by Tien Tzuo — The blueprint for the subscription future. * Tech: AI Agents via Zapier — Combining autonomous AI with rules-based workflows to automate your firm. * Blake’s New Book: Building a Sustainable Accounting Firm [https://www.amazon.com/BUILDING-SUSTAINABLE-ACCOUNTING-FIRM-Strategies/dp/B0FLTHLPFB]

What Makes a Future-Proof Accountant?

In this episode, we talk to David Leary CPA, the co-host of The Accounting Podcast! The discussion covers what you need to be a future-proof accountant, with some new and unconventional perspectives along the lines of: * Turning the idea of "grunt work" on its head - and why ensuring your bookkeeping is on point it so important * Why AI is critical but also overhyped - and thought about in the wrong way * What "higher value" work really looks like in the era of AI * What small businesses really want and how they think * The challenges that new CPAs will face as they enter the world of work * Why it's important to "stay in the weeds" of accounting work * And how a cooking vs. baking analogy works well when thinking of when to use - or not use - AI

Prof. Benjamin Rosman on Turning Financial Data into Strategic Action

Time's Top 100 Influential Voice in AI, Benjamin Rosman, returns to Beyond Insights to discuss the latest trends, efficiencies, and decisions in the world of artificial intelligence.

AI as Your Silent Business Partner

In this episode, we are joined by Steven Werley, Owner of Closable.ai, to discuss how AI can serve as your silent business partner - handling repetitive tasks, client communication and more. Rapid-fire recommendations: * Software: GoHighLevel, a marketing and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) combination that allows users to manage their entire sales pipeline, call bookings, and create marketing pages. * Best podcast: The best SEO podcast. * Most valuable lesson about building a business: Execute and don't make it perfect; "done is better than perfect". * Key takeaway: Don't "sleep on AI" and don't view it as a "big horrible terrible thing". There are many ways to use AI, even to help with simple tasks, and it can serve as a "silent business partner". If you haven't started using AI, "just start now". Learn more about Steven and his business at: https://closable.ai/ [https://closable.ai/]