Productivity and Time Tracking With Rize

The Real Challenges Of Running a $4.5M Firm

Scaling a CPA firm sounds exciting until you hit the messy middle. Yuri sits down with Anomaly CPA owners John Malone and Greg O’Brien to talk about what it actually takes to grow from a solo firm into a 40-person, multi-million-dollar operation. They get into the early decisions that shaped Anomaly, why Greg moved away from the traditional hourly model, how John’s non-accounting background became an advantage, and why the $1M to $2M range can be one of the hardest stages for firm owners. They also break down hiring ahead of growth, building a marketing engine, qualifying leads, pricing with recurring packages, using AI inside the firm, and why owners eventually have to stop being the hero if they want the team to scale. If you’re building a firm and trying to decide whether to stay lean or push for something bigger, this conversation gives a real look at the tradeoffs. Episode Highlights: 0:00 - Why owners become the bottleneck  0:46 - Meet John Malone and Greg O’Brien of Anomaly CPA  3:46 - Starting the firm and moving away from the traditional model  6:01 - Taking on early work without building the wrong firm  8:42 - How John and Greg partnered up  12:10 - Why a non-accountant perspective helped the firm scale  14:18 - Growing to 40 people and $4M+ in revenue  17:17 - The “awkward teenage stage” between $1M and $2M  22:18 - Hiring ahead of growth and protecting payroll  27:17 - Building a digital marketing engine  32:56 - Qualifying leads and filtering out bad-fit prospects  36:26 - Why Anomaly uses monthly packages  39:23 - How the team is implementing AI  40:56 - Tech stack, ClickUp, Drake, and change management  51:08 - What’s next for Anomaly CPA   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 GREG O’BRIEN   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-o-brien-cpa-88a3472b/   Website: https://www.anomalycpa.com/team   CONNECT WITH JOHN MALONE   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-malone-019ba827/   Website: https://www.anomalycpa.com/team

Here Is How He Runs His $150K Solo Firm

Yuri sits down with Mike Mazzanna to talk about the real path from big firm tax work to launching a solo CPA firm.  Mike shares the 109-hour billable week that pushed him toward firm ownership, why flexibility mattered more than simply working fewer hours, and how he built his practice with contracting revenue, LinkedIn relationships, and a clear focus on systems.  They also get into tax software decisions, ProConnect vs. Access, TaxDome workflows, client onboarding pain points, pricing goals, and why connecting with other accountants can be one of the best ways to grow a firm.  Episode Highlights:  0:00 - Introduction  0:56 - Mike Mazzanna joins the show  2:00 - Mike’s background and path into accounting  4:32 - Moving from internal audit into tax  6:25 - The 3 a.m. California return meeting  8:16 - Why Mike wanted to start his own firm  11:45 - Launching with a plan and avoiding bad clients  14:38 - The LinkedIn post that brought early momentum  18:17 - Moving from Drake to ProConnect  20:47 - Why Mike started looking at Access  25:50 - How to think about tax software decisions  29:10 - Mike’s first full tax season as a solo firm owner  31:33 - Practice management, TaxDome, and billing  35:45 - Building workflows before automations  37:07 - AI tools, Juno, and tax season pain points  44:00 - Revenue goals and client retention  45:51 - The value of accounting communities  50:50 - Where to find Mike                    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 Mike Mazzanna    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-mazzanna-cpa/    Website: https://www.mazzcpa.com/

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