Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE

The IPA Practice Management Survey is one of the most powerful tools available to accounting firm leaders—and one of the most misunderstood.

In this episode of the INSIDE Public Accounting podcast, Rob Brown is joined by Chelsea Summers, Executive Director of IPA, for a practical, step-by-step breakdown of the survey that powers IPA’s benchmarking, rankings and long-term insights into the profession.

They cover what the survey includes, how firms of all sizes can participate, and why more than 600 firms submit data each year. Chelsea explains how IPA standardizes and reviews submissions, the cost to participate and how the data ultimately drives the IPA 500, Best of the Best firms and a wide range of benchmarking reports.

The conversation also dives into how firms actually use the data—supporting strategic planning, compensation decisions, talent strategy, board reporting and even M&A diligence. Plus, Chelsea shares tips for first-time participants and discusses how IPA is expanding its data collection around AI and technology adoption.

If you’re looking for clarity, comparison, and a data-driven roadmap for your firm, this episode explains why the IPA Practice Management Survey is a critical place to start.

Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE

Succession, liquidity and firm ownership are no longer “future problems” for accounting firms — they’re today’s reality.

In this episode of the INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast, Rob Brown sits down with Michael Bannon, Managing Director at CSG Partners, to unpack one of the most talked-about — and often misunderstood — ownership structures in the profession: ESOPs.

Michael shares what he’s seeing in the market as business owners and firm leaders head into 2026 with uncertainty, rising valuations, and increased private equity activity. Together, they explore how ESOPs compare to traditional exits, why more firms are evaluating employee ownership and what CPAs can do right now to better prepare their clients for a successful transition.

The conversation also covers:

1. Why many firms delay succession planning — and the risks of waiting
2. How ESOPs actually work (and why they’re not new)
3. The emotional side of selling a firm
4. What separates successful exits from stressful ones
5. How interest rates, valuations and PE activity are reshaping deal structures
6. Practical steps CPAs can take today to support client readiness

Whether you advise firm owners or are thinking about your own firm’s future, this episode offers grounded insight into ownership transitions beyond the traditional private equity path.

Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE

Talent retention remains one of the biggest challenges facing accounting firms, but younger staff are being remarkably consistent about what they want.

In this episode of the INSIDE Public Accounting podcast, Rob Brown and Chelsea Summers unpack the real drivers of retention in 2025. Drawing on industry data and firm-level observations, they explain why transparency has become a leadership superpower, how vague career paths drive disengagement and why flexibility without boundaries leads to burnout.

The conversation explores:

1. Why younger professionals want context, not corporate spin
2. How clarity around career paths matters more than fast tracks
3. Why trust-based flexibility beats monitoring hours
4. The growing role of culture, mentorship and psychological safety
5. How technology has become a talent strategy—not just an efficiency play
6. Where firms consistently get retention wrong

The takeaway? Younger staff aren’t asking for extravagant perks. They’re asking for clear communication, real development, modern tools and leaders who are willing to explain the “why.”

Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE

2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for the accounting profession.

Rob Brown and Chelsea Summers walk through 10 data-informed predictions that highlight where firms are headed and where the biggest risks and opportunities lie. Drawing from IPA benchmarking data and ongoing conversations with firm leaders across the country, this episode looks at how multiple forces are converging all at once.

Topics include:

1. Why AI will become fully embedded into firm systems and why governance matters more than ever
2. The emergence of a real productivity divide between firms that modernize and those that don’t
3. Advisory moving from a service line to the strategic center of the firm
4. How the partner role continues to evolve, opening doors to new leadership paths
5. The second wave of private equity and why it looks more disciplined and targeted
6. Global staffing models becoming fully integrated, not just outsourced
7. Why pricing models tied to hours are finally starting to crack
8. How succession challenges are accelerating mergers and combinations
9. And why 2026 may bring the largest year-over-year increase in female partners

This episode isn’t about making bold claims for the sake of it. It’s about identifying patterns, pressures and decisions that firm leaders are already facing and what those signals suggest about the year ahead.

Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE

If 2025 felt different, that’s because it was.

In this special year-in-review episode, Chelsea Summers and Rob Brown step back to examine the defining forces reshaping public accounting. From record-setting mergers to the mainstreaming of private equity, the pace and scale of change reached a new level this year and firm leaders are feeling it.

The conversation covers the headline deals that set the tone, including the Baker Tilly–Moss Adams combination and what those moves reveal about consolidation, capital and competitive pressure. Chelsea shares insights from IPA data on how firms are rethinking ownership models, accelerating advisory growth and investing in technology and AI not just for efficiency, but for client value.

The episode also explores shifts in talent strategy, including stabilizing enrollment trends, expanded recruiting pipelines, the rise of non-equity and corporate-style leadership roles, and the evolution of global teams from short-term staffing fixes to long-term strategic capabilities.

Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE

The accounting profession runs on data — and two of the most relied-upon benchmarking surveys in the industry are the INSIDE Public Accounting Survey and the Rosenberg Survey.

In this episode, IPA’s Executive Director, Chelsea Summers, is joined by Kennedy Backer, Director of the Rosenberg Survey, to discuss:

• How the Rosenberg Survey began and what makes it unique
• The differences and complements between Rosenberg and IPA’s benchmarking data
• How firms are using data to make smarter strategic decisions
• Key findings from the 2025 report: growth rates, turnover trends, demographics and partner structures
• What defines an “elite firm” and how others can follow their example

Whether you lead a top 100 firm or a regional practice, this conversation shows how benchmarking can guide better leadership, smarter management and more sustainable growth.

Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE

Mergers and acquisitions are no longer a side story in public accounting — they’ve become a defining force reshaping the profession. In this episode, Rob Brown and Chelsea Summers unpack the economics, the strategy and the real-world effects of today’s consolidation wave.

They walk through:

• What the numbers show in IPA’s 2025 Practice Management Report
• Why succession, talent challenges and rising technology costs are accelerating deal activity
• How private equity is changing firm structures and leadership models
• The year’s biggest headlines, including the mega-merger in the IPA 100
• What mid-sized firms must do now to stay competitive, independent, or acquisitive
• Integration pitfalls and best practices that separate successful deals from costly missteps

For firms between $20M and $75M especially, this is a moment to define whether you’re a buyer, a seller or an independent competitor with a clear strategy. The landscape is shifting fast and firms that treat M&A as a long-term strategic tool, not a last-minute fix, are the ones that will thrive.

Earn free CPE with Earmark! Take your learning on the go and earn NASBA-approved CPE just for listening to The INSIDE Public Accounting Podcast. Simply listen, take a short quiz, and download your certificate. Start now on the IPA channel in the Earmark app: INSIDE Public Accounting | Earmark CPE

Strategic planning shows up on every agenda, but for many CPA firms it never quite turns into real change. In this episode of the INSIDE Public Accounting podcast, Rosenberg Associates partner Matt Rampe joins Rob Brown to dig into what it really takes to build — and execute — a strategy that holds up in a disrupted marketplace.

Drawing on decades of Rosenberg’s work with firms across North America, plus modern research in psychology, organizational behavior and change management, Matt shares the framework behind his book, CPA Firm Strategic Planning: Your Roadmap for Long-Term Success. From succession and partner alignment to pricing, talent and client mix, he connects the dots between the numbers and the human dynamics that make or break implementation.

They tackle the biggest strategic blind spots: ignoring succession until it’s an emergency, trying to be everything to everyone, chasing top-line growth while partners burn out and treating talent as an HR issue instead of a core strategic lever. Matt also explains why “focus must be an ally of strategy” and how firms can use benchmarking data without blindly copying their peers.

If you lead a CPA firm — especially a mid-sized firm — and you’ve ever watched a beautifully written plan die in the execution phase, this conversation is for you.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why succession planning is both the elephant in the room and a strategic imperative
• How to identify a niche where your firm can be “number one” and defend it
• Ways to balance growth and profitability without burning partners out
• How strategic planning can elevate your entire HR system, not just fill open roles
• The three ingredients that separate firms that execute from those that don’t: accountability, leadership and compensation
• A simple, two-part question every managing partner should ask before the next retreat

Matt also shares what gives him the most hope for the future of the profession — and why, despite all the disruption, shared aspirations inside firms are stronger than ever.