A trailblazing CPA on managing a merger and why it’s OK to lose clients

Jody Grunden, CPA, stands out for more than his brightly colored Hawaiian shirts at accounting conferences and events. Grunden was one of the first firm leaders to embrace remote work, and he remains a proponent of it. His firm also was one of the first to offer outsourced CFO services.

In this JofA podcast episode, Grunden reflects on his firm’s growth, explains how cultures can mesh during a merger, and predicts where the future lies for CPAs. Hint: It’s not in delivering financial statements to clients.

In an earlier JofA interview, Grunden discussed not feeling fear when trying something new and explained why Monday is his favorite day of the week.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

· The evolution of outsourced CFO service offerings.

· Why Grunden says remote work “is the way to go.”

· How off-site retreats helped grow postmerger culture.

· What “remaining independent” means to Grunden.

· The future of client advisory services.

· Why a client’s “graduation” should be celebrated.