Beyond Tax Season

Gary Thompson joins Beyond Tax Season to share how he built and scaled a CPA firm from a sole proprietorship to a top national firm and what today’s accountants must do to stay relevant in a rapidly evolving industry.
From accidental beginnings in accounting to leading transformational growth, Gary unpacks the real drivers behind firm success: mindset, client relationships, and the shift from compliance to true advisory. He dives into why most firms struggle with proactivity, how to price for value (not time), and what it actually takes to become indispensable to clients.

What if growing your firm didn’t require sacrificing yourself?
In this episode of Beyond Tax $ZN, Trow sits down with Lauren Baptiste, founder of Acheloa Wellness, to talk about burnout in accounting and how to overcome it without leaving the profession.
After burning out herself, Lauren now helps professionals in accounting, consulting, law, and finance overcome burnout in 6 months or less while continuing to advance their careers. Her approach blends tactical skills (boundaries, time management, goal setting) with the mindset shifts required to grow without compromise.
Lauren has worked with organizations including IBM, EY, the NFL, Warner Music, Estée Lauder, Standard Chartered Bank, and the United Nations. Her work has been featured in Forbes and Thrive Global.
She is currently onboarding firms into her program, Retained by Choice, focused on closing the middle-management retention gap in accounting.
If you feel successful on paper but exhausted in reality this episode is for you.
Resources:
Stress quiz
AICPA Burnout Prevention Toolkit
Burnout Prevention and Burnout Recovery Support
Stay connected with Lauren:
website
linkedin
instagram

Carrie shares how she transformed a traditional accounting career into a mission-driven advisory practice helping contractors understand their numbers, scale smart, and actually achieve the dreams behind their business. From discovering Profit Mastery to tripling client bonding capacity, Carrie breaks down why education, empowerment, and niche expertise are changing public accounting.

Pricing expert Casey Brown breaks down why so many CPAs undercharge and how to change it. She explains the psychology behind pricing, how to communicate value without feeling “salesy,” and why mastering discomfort in negotiation is key to earning what you're worth. A powerful episode for firm owners ready to raise prices confidently and serve clients at a higher level.

Peter Wen, former CPA and founder of Tally4, breaks down why tax firms fall behind on technology and how modern tools can eliminate hours of manual work, streamline trial balances, and unlock true tax planning. He shares how real-time tax estimation, QBI automation, and clean data help firms move from compliance to meaningful advisory. Perfect for million-dollar firms ready to scale smarter, not heavier.

Trow speaks with specialty tax advisor Michael Lauer about how small and mid-sized accounting firms can responsibly uncover R&D tax credit opportunities for their clients.
They discuss who actually qualifies (beyond tech startups), common industries accountants overlook, and why strong accounting systems not just bookkeeping are critical to maximizing tax outcomes. The conversation also explores how firms can work with specialists, create recurring advisory value, and build deeper client relationships in a changing profession.
A practical discussion for accountants looking to increase firm revenue, retain better clients, and move from transactional work to long-term advisory relationships.

Trow talks with Mark A. Stiles, CPA and founder of MAS CPA, about why real advisory isn’t dashboards it’s behavioral change. Mark breaks down his “box method,” balancing gut instinct with financial clarity, and how small firms can tell the story behind the numbers. They dive into value pricing, communication skills, and how AI helps his team build a “memory lake” that keeps client insights sharp and meetings impactful.

Trow talks with Mike Sylvester, CPA and co-founder of The Collaboration Room, whose background as an electrician, Navy veteran, and factory manager shaped his blunt, systems-driven approach to running a firm. Mike shares why most accounting firms stay stuck, why tracking everything matters, how to modernize processes, and why certainty and alignment among partners are the foundation of meaningful change.

Trow sits down with Andrea MacDonald, CPA, who rebuilt her firm from burnout to a subscription model where tax season is calm, deadlines are scheduled, and no one works weekends. Andrea shares the 10 things she wishes she knew when starting her firm including the bold move that lost 44% of her clients overnight but increased revenue by 23%. A candid look at pricing, boundaries, scheduling tax season, and building a people-first practice.

Trow sits down with Geni, an advisor and former CPA who left a tax partnership after realizing she couldn’t help clients the way she wanted to. They talk about burnout, why compliance work hides deeper client needs, and the mindset shift that unlocks real advisory: make your client the expert. Geni shares simple tools, better questions, and the approach that turned a Napa Valley firm into an advisory-driven practice.