Show Notes
Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE. Doing great work has always been the foundation of a successful accounting career. But in today's profession, technical excellence alone isn't enough. In this bonus episode of The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast, Rob Brown explores why visibility has become a competitive advantage for accounting professionals. As AI reshapes technical work and firms compete more aggressively for talent and clients, the professionals who stand out are often those whose expertise is known, trusted and remembered. Rather than encouraging accountants to become influencers, Rob reframes personal branding as the intentional process of building trust and sharing expertise. He explains why visibility matters at every stage of a career, how firm leaders can strengthen culture and recruiting through their own presence and what practical steps professionals can take to build a reputation that creates opportunities over time. Learn more about INSIDE Public Accounting: https://insidepublicaccounting.com
More from The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast
What needs to change when a successful accounting firm grows, and what should stay the same? Chelsea Summers speaks with Smith + Howard CEO Sean Taylor about sustaining performance through growth and two private equity partnerships. The firm has appeared on IPA’s Best of the Best list for 17 consecutive years. Sean explains why the firm built its leadership team before pursuing acquisitions, brought a defined strategy to investors and adopted an acquired firm’s process. He also reflects on giving leaders more time to absorb major changes. Listen for lessons on delegating decisions, retaining people and preparing your firm for its next stage of growth. Sean’s podcast, The Worst Advice I Ever Got: https://www.smith-howard.com/worst-advice-podcast/ Earn free CPE with Earmark! Listen, take a short quiz and download your certificate on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: https://www.earmark.app/channels/c5717392-a994-407c-9f27-7f09a08a4b7c
Your partners want more time to lead. Is your firm set up to give it to them? Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown continue the Best of the Best series with a look at how these firms organize their work. Partners report fewer chargeable hours, while firm-wide utilization is close to the average across participating firms. They discuss how service mix, delegation and stable teams support the operating model, along with the role of offshore capacity. Chelsea explains why more revenue per equity partner reflects the team’s work and what smaller firms can learn from the comparison. Listen with your partners’ calendars in mind: does their time reflect the firm you want to build? Explore IPA’s 2026 Best of the Best Analysis: https://form.jotform.com/260045789028159. Earn free CPE with Earmark! Listen, take a short quiz and download your certificate on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: https://www.earmark.app/channels/c5717392-a994-407c-9f27-7f09a08a4b7c
What does it take to earn a place among IPA’s Best of the Best? Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown open this new series on the 75 firms recognized in 2026. Chelsea explains how IPA evaluates firms across 35 performance metrics and why strong profitability alone does not guarantee a place on the list. They explore the range of firms represented, from small practices to national organizations, and what decades of repeat recognition suggests about leadership and succession. Chelsea also considers what the survey can measure and where culture and client relationships require a closer look. Listen for a fuller picture of the designation and what your firm can learn from it. Explore IPA’s 2026 Best of the Best Analysis: https://form.jotform.com/260045789028159. Earn free CPE with Earmark! Listen, take a short quiz and download your certificate on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: https://www.earmark.app/channels/c5717392-a994-407c-9f27-7f09a08a4b7c.
If your firm’s partner income falls below a benchmark, where should you look first? Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown end the series Running the Modern Firm with nine measures associated with partner income in IPA’s 2026 Practice Management data. They examine why revenue per partner, leverage, partner billing rates and revenue per full-time employee deserve attention alongside hours and utilization. Chelsea walks through how to prioritize gaps in your firm’s results and recognize whether pricing or staffing needs a closer look. They also discuss how firm size, client mix and ownership affect the comparisons. Choose one meaningful gap for your next partner meeting, with a plan to revisit it. Explore the 2026 IPA Practice Management Report: https://insidepublicaccounting.com/about/ipa-practice-management-reports/ Earn free CPE with Earmark! Listen, take a short quiz and download your certificate on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: https://www.earmark.app/channels/c5717392-a994-407c-9f27-7f09a08a4b7c
What is AI actually changing inside CPA firms? Chelsea Summers welcomes Donny Shimamoto of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies, who helped design the AI questions for IPA’s 2026 Information Technology Survey. Together, they examine what participating firms report about adoption, investment and results. Only 3.2% describe AI as fully integrated into their operations, while 42.9% report no measurable impact yet from their AI tools. They discuss how firms can define success before a pilot, evaluate vendor claims and put governance in place before purchasing software. Donny also explains why better client service and employee experience belong in the assessment of AI’s value, alongside financial returns. For leaders planning their next investment, the conversation offers a practical starting point: establish where the firm stands, what it wants to change and how it will know whether the investment is working. Earn free CPE with Earmark! Listen, take a short quiz and download your certificate on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: https://www.earmark.app/channels/c5717392-a994-407c-9f27-7f09a08a4b7c