Selling your accounting firm is a major life transition and that often comes with an emotional tax that proper strategy can mitigate.

Lisa Handziak, who covers much of the Northeast and Midwest for Poe Group Advisors, has guided owners through successful exits. She's learned that the sellers who thrive during this transition aren't the ones who avoid emotions; they're the ones who understand how to channel them productively. Take confidentiality, for example. Sellers often feel guilty keeping the sale from their staff, but Lisa reframes it completely: You're not keeping a secret. You're creating stability. When you protect your team from premature anxiety, you're actually protecting them, not betraying them. This episode reveals how the best exits happen: with preparation, clear vision, and a strategic mindset that turns your final tax season into proof of how valuable your firm really is.

Key Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
02:04 - Understanding the emotional journey of selling (and why it's normal)
06:41 - The readiness test: what are you going to do next?
08:19 - How one seller rediscovered what matters after exiting
10:01 - The seller who got re-excited about her firm and built even more value over 3 years
13:27 - The seller who got sick during tax season and proved the firm was buyer-ready
15:16 - "You're not keeping a secret, you're creating stability," the confidentiality reframe
19:25 - The attitude reset that transforms your final tax season
22:38 - How starting earlier eliminates seller regrets
25:08 - Accelerating profitable firms to their goals through strategic planning
28:39 - The inspiring buyer success story: from $1M to a major exit
30:12 - Why strategic buyers protect their investment by waiting to meet staff 33:41 - What happens when transition communication goes wrong (and how to avoid it)
35:39 - Bringing the human element back to M&A
36:22 - Book recommendations

Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/

Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.

*Download now and receive:*
- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template
- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template

The firms winning with AI aren't the ones implementing every tool they can find. They're the ones being strategic about what actually moves the needle.

Rachel Ferris learned this firsthand when she built TaxStack AI, not because she wanted to start a software company, but because she needed a solution that didn't exist. As a tax advisor specializing in Puerto Rico's Act 60, she was spending hours researching complex state-specific cases. ChatGPT seemed like the answer, until it started citing Reddit and Quora as sources. When she'd call it out, it would cheerfully admit, "You're right, that's actually not correct." That's when she realized: if she wanted AI that actually worked for tax research, she'd have to build it herself.

In this episode, Rachel shares how she created a platform that sources directly from actual tax code, IRS forms, and treasury regulations, so you get accurate answers with citations you can trust. But more importantly, she breaks down the difference between firms that will thrive with AI and firms that will struggle: it's not about adopting everything, it's about adopting responsibly.

The conversation covers:

• Why ChatGPT's fact-check problem makes it dangerous for tax research (and how to fix it by sourcing your own database)
• The cautionary tale of firms that went all-in on AI integration in 2024, only to abandon everything six months later
• Why now is the time to pause and evaluate rather than frantically adopt every AI tool that hits the market
• How AI should free you up for higher-value advisory work with existing clients, not just help you take on more volume
• Ed Kless's "transformation economy" concept: moving from providing transactions to providing transformations
• The three-pillar approach to attracting and retaining young talent: technology + mentorship + entrepreneurship mindset
• Why mandatory mentorship programs fail (and what actually works instead)
• How being genuinely curious about people has opened more doors than any technical skill Rachel has learned

Rachel also breaks down why firms that use AI responsibly will win, while firms that use it to cut personality and human connection will lose clients. She explains why young people crave personal connection more than you think, why entrepreneurial-minded accountants connect better with business owner clients, and how spending three hours talking to a Pizza Hut franchise owner taught her more about business than any textbook.

Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/

Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.

*Download now and receive:*
- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template
- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template

In this episode, Yuri (aka "The Fun CPA") explains why now is the perfect time to build the kind of firm where people genuinely want to work. He's spent four years building a following on LinkedIn by saying the things that managers and senior accountants at big firms are thinking but can't say out loud.

His mission is to change the perception of accounting by showing what's possible when you prioritize people, mentorship, and actually enjoying the work you do.

The good news is that students aren't avoiding accounting because they don't want meaningful work. The firms that figure out how to create those better options internally will win the talent game for the next decade.

The conversation covers:

• Why visibility into firm life (thanks to Reddit and Fishbowl) is actually helping the profession by forcing transparency and accountability
• How forward-thinking firms are building cultures where people genuinely want to stay, creating competitive advantage in a tight talent market
• The opportunity for firms that invest in mentorship and long-term thinking, while others chase short-term efficiency metrics
• Why the current moment is perfect for CPAs who want to build firms differently (or work at firms that prioritize culture over billable hours)
• How Yuri's Mentors Count community is filling the mentorship gap for accountants in their first five years
• The rise of networking events that people actually enjoy attending (and why that matters for building genuine professional relationships)

BOOK RECOMMENDATION:

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It―Unlock Your Persuasion Potential in Professional and Personal Life: Voss, Chris, Raz, Tahl

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introduction of Yuri Capilovich and his mission in accounting

03:10 - Yuri's background and career path into accounting and technology

07:30 - The real problems holding accounting firms back

12:45 - AI as an enabler, not a replacement

18:30 - Using technology to improve client experience and firm margins

23:40 - The mindset shift firm owners must make to scale

29:10 - What forward-thinking firms are doing differently right now

34:50 - Final thoughts on the future of the profession

Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/

Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.

*Download now and receive:*
- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template
- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template