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Accountant's Flight Plan

Accountant's Flight Plan

By: Brannon Poe; Poe Group Advisors
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Welcome to The Accountant's Flight Plan, where we guide you toward building a top-tier CPA firm that you would want to buy. With over 20 years of working with accountants in mergers and acquisitions, Brannon Poe, CPA delves into engaging and vital topics with industry leaders. Unpacking everything from transition planning and accounting practice sales to practice management and firm development, Brannon equips you with the tools you need to build the practice of your dreams. Whether you are navigating firm growth or exploring the nuances of succession planning, join us to learn actionable insights that will empower and inspire you to love your firm again.

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Episodes
  • Should You Sell Your CPA Firm to a Non-CPA Buyer? A Buyer Explains

    Should You Sell Your CPA Firm to a Non-CPA Buyer? A Buyer Explains
    29 Oct 2026
    Ryan Ross is not a CPA, and he does not plan to become one. In 2025, he bought Quality Back Office through Poe Group Advisors, combined it with his own firm, and found that the software he needed didn’t exist, so he built it. In this episode of The Accountant's Flight Plan, Brannon Poe and Ryan explore how an entrepreneurial buyer scales an accounting firm through acquisition and why honesty with clients anchors a smooth transition.Ryan is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who left the service in 2019 and launched a bookkeeping firm for real estate investors and real estate adjacent professionals. After years of steady organic growth, he moved to growth by acquisition in 2025 and now has two more deals in the pipeline. The combined firm operates as QBO, with a management layer that frees Ryan to focus on client service and acquisitions. As he puts it: “You do not need to be a doctor to run a hospital.”Brannon adds the seller's perspective. Some sellers hesitate when a buyer is not a CPA, and Ryan's answer is scale: once a firm has a stable team and backup for key roles, an entrepreneurial owner can lead it well. Brannon also affirms Ryan's choice to tell clients the truth about the sale. Poe Group Advisors calls the alternative masking, and clients tend to spot it quickly, which leads to eroded trust and added difficulty in maintaining long-term client relationships.The Conversation Covers:Why a non-CPA owner can lead an accounting firm once scale and a management layer are in placeHow the "hit by a bus" test pushed Ryan from organic growth toward acquisitionWhy telling clients the truth about a sale protects the trust at the center of the relationshipHow Marine Corps habits, including asking "why do you do it that way?" shaped the integration of a multi-office firmHow a QuickBooks lockout and a price increase led Ryan to build Woven, an all-in-one platform with optional AIWhy Ryan believes AI will free accountants to spend more time with clients, not lessRyan's view of the road ahead is practical: AI can supplement the advice, but it cannot care about a client's family. Firms that use technology to make room for real conversations will stand out.This Episode Is For...This episode is for accounting firm owners curious about how a non-CPA buyer approaches an acquisition, sellers wondering how to talk with clients and staff about a transition, practitioners ready to look at where their software stack creates friction, and leaders interested in using AI to support the team without losing the personal touch.Questions:Can a non-CPA successfully run an accounting firm? Ryan Ross, founder of Quality Back Office and creator of Woven, says yes once a firm has scale and a management layer in place. He invested time and money in hiring a strong tax manager and bookkeeping manager, and he relies on his industry knowledge of what clients need. Brannon Poe adds that a stable team with backup for key roles reduces a firm's dependence on any one owner's technical expertise.Should a seller tell clients about the sale of their accounting firm? Brannon Poe, founder of Poe Group Advisors, advises sellers to be honest about the transaction rather than masking an exit as a merger. Clients tend to notice when the story does not hold together, and even a small white lie can weaken the trust at the center of the accountant-client relationship.How can a buyer integrate an acquired CPA firm without losing clients or staff? Ryan recommends keeping service and personnel consistent for clients, being candid about the change, and spending extra time with clients tied to the seller. Having the former owner stay on as an advisor and placing a partner locally to greet clients from day one also helps. He approaches integration by asking: "Why do you do it this way?" while respecting what the seller built.How is AI changing accounting software and the role of the accountant? Ryan built Woven so that AI can be turned off completely, builds a private internal record of each client, and routes its work to a person for review. He believes AI should free accountants to spend more time with clients. Brannon predicts that firms without advisory-level services will see business clients leave.Timestamps:00:00 - Welcome and guest introduction: Ryan Ross, Quality Back Office and Woven01:53 - Why Ryan moved from organic growth to growth by acquisition05:10 - Can a non-CPA run an accounting firm? Scale, management layers, and the "hit by a bus" test08:47 - Keeping clients through a CPA firm acquisition: why honesty beats masking the truth12:55 - How Marine Corps habits shaped the integration of an acquired accounting firm15:40 - "Why does it hurt?" The question behind every process improvement18:01 - The QuickBooks lockout and payroll pain that led to Woven22:12 - One screen, one login: how Woven brings the ledger, clients, and tasks together23:52 - How Woven's AI works: optional, human-reviewed, and private26:09 - What Ryan is doing differently ...
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    34 min
  • How CPA Firms Get Recommended by ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity

    How CPA Firms Get Recommended by ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity
    15 Oct 2026
    Business owners are no longer only searching Google for an accountant. They are asking ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity who to hire, then uploading proposals, websites, and LinkedIn profiles and asking the AI whether a firm is the right fit. Ross Simmonds, founder and CEO of the B2B content marketing agency Foundation and founder of Distribution.ai, joins Brannon Poe to explain what this shift means for CPA firm owners.Ross is the author of the Amazon bestseller Create Once, Distribute Forever and has been ranked by BuzzSumo among the top content marketers in the world. In this episode, he explains generative engine optimization (GEO), the practice of shaping your content so AI platforms recommend your firm. Fewer than 5% of Americans pay for an AI subscription, but business adoption is far higher. That means the business owners your accounting practice serves are already using these tools to make buying decisions.Traditional SEO still forms the foundation of a strong accounting firm website. GEO adds a new layer built on niche service pages, case studies, awards, community involvement, and content distributed across LinkedIn, YouTube, Reddit, and podcasts. Ross also explains why these same signals support recruiting, since job candidates now research potential employers through AI before they apply.The Conversation Covers:How business owners use AI to discover, compare, and evaluate CPA firmsWhy a “Who We Serve” page with niche sub-pages helps AI match your firm to the right clientsHow generative engine optimization differs from SEO, and why your firm needs bothWhy employer branding shapes whether candidates find your accounting firm at allHow to test your AI visibility accurately by logging out before you searchWhy AI-written content needs your own expertise before it goes liveReputation has always driven growth in public accounting. AI platforms are now one of the places that reputation gets built, and firms that tell their story clearly across channels give both people and AI a reason to recommend them.This Episode Is For: CPA firm owners curious about how AI search affects client acquisition, accounting firm leaders ready to strengthen their online visibility without hiring an agency, practice owners wondering how to stand out to candidates researching firms through AI, and anyone interested in what generative engine optimization means for the accounting profession.Q&A Section: How are clients finding CPA firms differently today? Ross Simmons, founder of Foundation and Distribution.ai, explains that clients are using AI platforms like Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity not just to discover accounting firms but to evaluate them. They upload proposals, screenshots, and firm websites and ask the AI directly who they should hire.What is generative engine optimization and why does it matter for accounting firms? Generative engine optimization, or GEO, is the practice of optimizing your content and online presence for AI platforms rather than just Google search. Ross explains that the signals that influence AI recommendations, including YouTube videos, Reddit threads, reviews, and social content, are different from traditional SEO ranking factors.What should a CPA firm's website include to show up in AI search results? Ross recommends creating specific "Who We Serve" landing pages for each client type or industry your firm works with. AI platforms crawl these pages to match your firm to relevant search prompts, so specificity matters more than general descriptions.How can a CPA firm build visibility without a full-time marketer? Ross suggests starting with an SEO audit using a tool like Ahrefs' Let I Do, then using a content distribution platform to spread existing content across LinkedIn, Facebook, and other channels. The goal is to get your story out to more places so AI platforms have more signals to work with.Timestamps:00:00 - Welcome and guest introduction: Ross Simmons, founder of Foundation and Distribution.ai01:14 - How search is shifting from Google to AI and what that means for CPA firms03:21 - How ChatGPT changed the search experience and why adoption is faster inside businesses than among consumers07:03 - How the entire buyer's journey has changed: discovery, consideration, and comparison in the AI era08:57 - Why "Who We Serve" landing pages help LLMs match your firm to the right clients10:54 - How AI platforms evaluate employer brand: values, culture, community involvement, and awards15:33 - What GEO is and how it differs from traditional SEO17:40 - Practical low-lift tools for CPA firms: Ahrefs, MCP connectors, and Distribution.ai20:17 - Common content mistakes: checking your own AI ranking while logged in, and copy-paste AI content23:07 - Ross's story: a fantasy football blog, a borrowed suit, and a C-suite meeting in MiamiDownload Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively ...
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    28 min
  • Why CPA Firm Succession Starts the Day You Hire

    Why CPA Firm Succession Starts the Day You Hire
    8 Oct 2026
    Many CPA firm owners wait until they're ready to retire to ask who can replace them. Susan Stutzel, CPA, business performance coach, and co-owner of Partners Coach Inc., believes that question should start the day a new hire walks in the door. In this episode of The Accountant's Flight Plan, Brannon Poe and Susan explore how developing leadership and professional skills at every level builds a stronger accounting practice and a smoother path to firm succession.Susan brings more than 25 years of experience in public accounting, including roles at a top five national firm, a regional firm, a small business, and a Fortune 500 company. She has seen why succession plans stall: owners with no one ready to lean on, managers measured only on chargeable hours, and staff who never hear what the path to partnership looks like. One firm she worked with believed no one wanted to become a partner. Once someone asked, staff and senior managers said they were interested.Brannon adds the buyer's perspective. Many firm owners contact Poe Group Advisors years before they plan to sell, and that early start pays off. Buyers want great teams and well-run practices, and a lot can be accomplished in a few years. Susan notes that an owner who isn't growing their team becomes the bottleneck, which makes any transition harder.The Conversation Covers:How developing leadership skills early creates successors from within your CPA firmWhy owners who stop growing their teams become the bottleneck to firm successionHow one firm learned its staff wanted partnership once someone askedWhy tying manager bonuses only to chargeable hours slows leadership developmentHow AI is changing the way firms train the next generation of accountantsWhy buyers look for strong teams when evaluating an accounting practiceSusan's advice for firm owners planning ahead is a shift in role: move from being the expert in the room to creating more experts in the room. The team you build today shapes the options you have when you're ready to sell.This Episode Is For...This episode is for accounting firm owners planning a sale or transition in the next five to ten years, partners ready to identify and develop their successors, owners curious about what buyers look for in a CPA firm, and leaders wondering how to reduce owner dependence before stepping back.Q&AWhen should a CPA firm owner start succession planning?Susan Stutzel, CPA and co-owner of Partners Coach Inc., recommends starting the day new staff join the firm. Building leadership and business development skills at every level creates successors long before the owner is ready to retire.Why do buyers care about a CPA firm's team?Brannon Poe, founder of Poe Group Advisors, notes that buyers want great teams and well-run practices. Firm owners who start preparing several years before a sale have time to strengthen both.How can firm owners find successors within their own staff?Susan suggests asking directly. Many staff and senior managers are interested in partnership but never hear about the opportunity. Open conversations about career paths often reveal future leaders already inside the firm.What makes a CPA firm harder to sell?When the owner is the bottleneck and no one else can lead client relationships or the team, a transition becomes more difficult. Developing capable leaders reduces owner dependence and makes the firm more attractive to buyers.Timestamps:00:00 - Welcome and guest introduction: Susan Stutzel, co-owner of Partners Coach Inc. 02:35 - Why AI can amplify expertise but cannot build trust or lead an effective feedback conversation 04:19 - Professional skills are where knowledge transforms into real impact for clients and colleagues 05:11 - Is technical knowledge being commoditized, and what replaces it as the differentiator? 07:00 - Why managers need to unlearn how they were trained and rethink development entirely 08:34 - Why niche expertise got the profession this far and why it is no longer enough on its own 10:02 - Why Susan refuses to call them soft skills: these are business skills, and they are often the hardest to learn 12:36 - What it means to build a great place to work across hybrid and remote arrangements 15:41 - What firm owners should be communicating to high performers and what staff should be advocating for 16:02 - Case study: no one interested in partnership because the conversations simply were not happening 19:04 - Young firm owners building tech-forward niche practices and outearning traditional partners 23:28 - What courageous leadership looks like when there are no complete answers 25:28 - The Kubler-Ross loss curve and why your team has to work through what you already processed 27:12 - Growing yourself alongside your firm: why the owner who stops growing becomes the bottleneck 29:59 - What Susan wishes more CPA firm owners understood about leadership development 30:27 - The best firms start development at onboarding, not at partner elections 31:14 - ...
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    38 min
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