The Evolution of an Industry in Real Time

In this episode of the Accountant’s Flight Plan Podcast, Brannon Poe is joined by Dan Hood, Editor-in-Chief at Accounting Today, to explore the shifting tides of the accounting industry. From his start as a receptionist to laying out physical newspapers and magazines to leading one of the profession's most respected publications, Dan shares his unique vantage point on the industry’s past, present, and rapidly approaching future.

AI Is Here—But We’re Just Getting Started

Dan and Brannon dive into the transformative role artificial intelligence is beginning to play in accounting. While the AI boom is still in its infancy, the industry is already seeing an influx of capital and enthusiasm for automation, agentic AI systems, and data-driven insight. Dan emphasizes the importance of starting small—testing tools, cleaning data, and learning to interact with AI—to position CPA firms for long-term impact and return on investment.

Dan Hood is Editor-in-Chief at Accounting Today, where he’s spent decades covering the accounting profession’s biggest trends, challenges, and opportunities. You can connect with Dan via LinkedIn or visit AccountingToday.com to explore more of his work.

Timestamps:
00:42 – Introduction of Dan Hood, Editor-in-Chief at Accounting Today
01:50 – Dan’s career journey from receptionist to editor
04:22 – AI’s growing impact on accounting and data usage
11:20 – Starting small with AI: how to learn and scale
16:05 – Scaling your firm: "What got you here won’t get you there"
21:50 – The shift in revenue per employee as firms grow
24:20 – Letting go to grow: moving toward zero billable hours
26:10 – Advisory services, PE firms, and new ownership models
29:30 – The challenges of the traditional partnership model
32:00 – Wedding story: accountants aren’t boring!
34:48 – Book rec: Say Nothing
39:03 – Closing thoughts and where to connect with Dan

Providing Salary Transparency to Practitioners

In this episode of the Accountant’s Flight Plan Podcast, Dominic Piscopo shares with Brannon about his startup–Big4Transparency. This service provides accounting firms with data around salary compensation, breaking up the data by sector, geography, and position seniority. It is easy to use and accessible for firm owners who value their employees and want to compensate them fairly. They offer a tiered price model based on firm size and additionally offer recruitment services. To learn more, you can visit their website here: https://www.big4transparency.com/

Dom is the founder of Big 4 Transparency, the largest crowdsourced database of accounting salaries on the market with over 18,000 rows of cleaned, standardized data. Big 4 Transparency is where 250,000+ accounting professionals go for high-quality salary data. Dom created this based on his own experience as a CPA working in tax at Deloitte and his frustrations with how difficult it was to find proper salary data - he’s now built a business around it charging firms a subscription fee for access to in-depth analytics on this data set with quarterly updates, helping them set salaries without all the leg work of being involved in compensation surveys.

Following Your Passions to Find Balance

Brannon and Dom discuss their shared experiences starting out their careers in Big 4 Firms. In Dom’s experience working for a Big 4 before striking out on his own, he highlights the value of following all your disparate passions. He shares how his side business as a bartender and DJ for weddings led to cross-pollination with his tax work. With prospective clients meeting him through his side jobs and discovering the possibility of utilizing his tax services. The opportunity to find new and exciting opportunities outside of the traditional mold is important to keeping balance, as well as feeding your work-life balance.

Connect with Dom:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dopiscopo/

Email: dom@big4transparency.com

Big4Transparency: https://www.big4transparency.com/

Timestamps:

00:47 - Introduction of Dominic Piscopo and his service: Big4Transparency

8:30 - The Image Problem in the Accounting Industry

14:50 - How new technology provides an opportunity to add value

17:22 - Balancing a side business as a DJ with a Big 4 job

22:06 - Breakdown of how Big4Transparency works

A Shifting Profession

The accounting profession is evolving, and Seth Fineberg has had a front-row seat to these shifts. A seasoned journalist who found his niche covering the accounting industry, Seth brings a unique perspective on how the field has transformed—and where it’s headed next. In this episode of The Accountant’s Flight Plan, Brannon Poe sits down with Seth to discuss the modernization of accounting firms, the talent shortage, and why more professionals are rethinking the traditional firm model.

The Divide Between Tradition and Innovation
According to Seth, with over 1.4 million accountants in the U.S., the industry is divided when it comes to change. Seth estimates that roughly 55-60% of professionals are adapting to a modern approach, others still resist shifting away from legacy structures. The pandemic and ongoing talent shortages have forced many firms to rethink their operations, prioritizing value over volume. Seth shares insights into how firms are transitioning into more advisory-driven roles, integrating wealth management services, and leveraging AI to automate routine tasks—all while maintaining the essential human element of accounting.

Embracing the Future
As the conversation wraps up, Seth reflects on the bigger picture—how accountants can embrace change, stay positive, and focus on what they can control. With the industry on the brink of major transformation, those who adapt will find themselves at the forefront of a more dynamic, engaging profession. Tune in to hear why the future of accounting is filled with opportunity, and how the right mindset can help you navigate it.

If this conversation inspires you to start improving your practice, check out Accounting Practice Academy. We have a workshop that focuses on improving your cashflow to above 50% and reducing your owner hours to under 2,000 annually.

Timestamps:

1:25 - Introduction of Seth and his path to working as a journalist in the accounting industry.

8:27 - How the younger generation of accountants is finding more balance.

18:22 - The talent shortage and how it combined with the pandemic pushed the industry to modernize.

22:10 - the innovative suture of the accounting profession.

37:00 - Funny story about karaoke at the Engage conference

45:44 - Book recommendations and closing off:

The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin: https://www.amazon.com/World-We-Make-Novel-Cities-ebook/dp/B09TZXTJD5