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Accountant's Flight Plan

Accountant's Flight Plan

By: Brannon Poe; Poe Group Advisors
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Welcome to The Accountant's Flight Plan, where we guide you toward building a top-tier CPA firm that you would want to buy. With over 20 years of working with accountants in mergers and acquisitions, Brannon Poe, CPA delves into engaging and vital topics with industry leaders. Unpacking everything from transition planning and accounting practice sales to practice management and firm development, Brannon equips you with the tools you need to build the practice of your dreams. Whether you are navigating firm growth or exploring the nuances of succession planning, join us to learn actionable insights that will empower and inspire you to love your firm again.

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Episodes
  • How CPA Firms Get Recommended by ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity

    How CPA Firms Get Recommended by ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity
    Oct 15 2026
    Business owners are no longer only searching Google for an accountant. They are asking ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity who to hire, then uploading proposals, websites, and LinkedIn profiles and asking the AI whether a firm is the right fit. Ross Simmonds, founder and CEO of the B2B content marketing agency Foundation and founder of Distribution.ai, joins Brannon Poe to explain what this shift means for CPA firm owners.Ross is the author of the Amazon bestseller Create Once, Distribute Forever and has been ranked by BuzzSumo among the top content marketers in the world. In this episode, he explains generative engine optimization (GEO), the practice of shaping your content so AI platforms recommend your firm. Fewer than 5% of Americans pay for an AI subscription, but business adoption is far higher. That means the business owners your accounting practice serves are already using these tools to make buying decisions.Traditional SEO still forms the foundation of a strong accounting firm website. GEO adds a new layer built on niche service pages, case studies, awards, community involvement, and content distributed across LinkedIn, YouTube, Reddit, and podcasts. Ross also explains why these same signals support recruiting, since job candidates now research potential employers through AI before they apply.The Conversation Covers:How business owners use AI to discover, compare, and evaluate CPA firmsWhy a “Who We Serve” page with niche sub-pages helps AI match your firm to the right clientsHow generative engine optimization differs from SEO, and why your firm needs bothWhy employer branding shapes whether candidates find your accounting firm at allHow to test your AI visibility accurately by logging out before you searchWhy AI-written content needs your own expertise before it goes liveReputation has always driven growth in public accounting. AI platforms are now one of the places that reputation gets built, and firms that tell their story clearly across channels give both people and AI a reason to recommend them.This Episode Is For: CPA firm owners curious about how AI search affects client acquisition, accounting firm leaders ready to strengthen their online visibility without hiring an agency, practice owners wondering how to stand out to candidates researching firms through AI, and anyone interested in what generative engine optimization means for the accounting profession.Q&A Section: How are clients finding CPA firms differently today? Ross Simmons, founder of Foundation and Distribution.ai, explains that clients are using AI platforms like Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity not just to discover accounting firms but to evaluate them. They upload proposals, screenshots, and firm websites and ask the AI directly who they should hire.What is generative engine optimization and why does it matter for accounting firms? Generative engine optimization, or GEO, is the practice of optimizing your content and online presence for AI platforms rather than just Google search. Ross explains that the signals that influence AI recommendations, including YouTube videos, Reddit threads, reviews, and social content, are different from traditional SEO ranking factors.What should a CPA firm's website include to show up in AI search results? Ross recommends creating specific "Who We Serve" landing pages for each client type or industry your firm works with. AI platforms crawl these pages to match your firm to relevant search prompts, so specificity matters more than general descriptions.How can a CPA firm build visibility without a full-time marketer? Ross suggests starting with an SEO audit using a tool like Ahrefs' Let I Do, then using a content distribution platform to spread existing content across LinkedIn, Facebook, and other channels. The goal is to get your story out to more places so AI platforms have more signals to work with.Timestamps:00:00 - Welcome and guest introduction: Ross Simmons, founder of Foundation and Distribution.ai01:14 - How search is shifting from Google to AI and what that means for CPA firms03:21 - How ChatGPT changed the search experience and why adoption is faster inside businesses than among consumers07:03 - How the entire buyer's journey has changed: discovery, consideration, and comparison in the AI era08:57 - Why "Who We Serve" landing pages help LLMs match your firm to the right clients10:54 - How AI platforms evaluate employer brand: values, culture, community involvement, and awards15:33 - What GEO is and how it differs from traditional SEO17:40 - Practical low-lift tools for CPA firms: Ahrefs, MCP connectors, and Distribution.ai20:17 - Common content mistakes: checking your own AI ranking while logged in, and copy-paste AI content23:07 - Ross's story: a fantasy football blog, a borrowed suit, and a C-suite meeting in MiamiDownload Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively ...
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    28 mins
  • Why CPA Firm Succession Starts the Day You Hire

    Why CPA Firm Succession Starts the Day You Hire
    Oct 8 2026
    Many CPA firm owners wait until they're ready to retire to ask who can replace them. Susan Stutzel, CPA, business performance coach, and co-owner of Partners Coach Inc., believes that question should start the day a new hire walks in the door. In this episode of The Accountant's Flight Plan, Brannon Poe and Susan explore how developing leadership and professional skills at every level builds a stronger accounting practice and a smoother path to firm succession.Susan brings more than 25 years of experience in public accounting, including roles at a top five national firm, a regional firm, a small business, and a Fortune 500 company. She has seen why succession plans stall: owners with no one ready to lean on, managers measured only on chargeable hours, and staff who never hear what the path to partnership looks like. One firm she worked with believed no one wanted to become a partner. Once someone asked, staff and senior managers said they were interested.Brannon adds the buyer's perspective. Many firm owners contact Poe Group Advisors years before they plan to sell, and that early start pays off. Buyers want great teams and well-run practices, and a lot can be accomplished in a few years. Susan notes that an owner who isn't growing their team becomes the bottleneck, which makes any transition harder.The Conversation Covers:How developing leadership skills early creates successors from within your CPA firmWhy owners who stop growing their teams become the bottleneck to firm successionHow one firm learned its staff wanted partnership once someone askedWhy tying manager bonuses only to chargeable hours slows leadership developmentHow AI is changing the way firms train the next generation of accountantsWhy buyers look for strong teams when evaluating an accounting practiceSusan's advice for firm owners planning ahead is a shift in role: move from being the expert in the room to creating more experts in the room. The team you build today shapes the options you have when you're ready to sell.This Episode Is For...This episode is for accounting firm owners planning a sale or transition in the next five to ten years, partners ready to identify and develop their successors, owners curious about what buyers look for in a CPA firm, and leaders wondering how to reduce owner dependence before stepping back.Q&AWhen should a CPA firm owner start succession planning?Susan Stutzel, CPA and co-owner of Partners Coach Inc., recommends starting the day new staff join the firm. Building leadership and business development skills at every level creates successors long before the owner is ready to retire.Why do buyers care about a CPA firm's team?Brannon Poe, founder of Poe Group Advisors, notes that buyers want great teams and well-run practices. Firm owners who start preparing several years before a sale have time to strengthen both.How can firm owners find successors within their own staff?Susan suggests asking directly. Many staff and senior managers are interested in partnership but never hear about the opportunity. Open conversations about career paths often reveal future leaders already inside the firm.What makes a CPA firm harder to sell?When the owner is the bottleneck and no one else can lead client relationships or the team, a transition becomes more difficult. Developing capable leaders reduces owner dependence and makes the firm more attractive to buyers.Timestamps:00:00 - Welcome and guest introduction: Susan Stutzel, co-owner of Partners Coach Inc. 02:35 - Why AI can amplify expertise but cannot build trust or lead an effective feedback conversation 04:19 - Professional skills are where knowledge transforms into real impact for clients and colleagues 05:11 - Is technical knowledge being commoditized, and what replaces it as the differentiator? 07:00 - Why managers need to unlearn how they were trained and rethink development entirely 08:34 - Why niche expertise got the profession this far and why it is no longer enough on its own 10:02 - Why Susan refuses to call them soft skills: these are business skills, and they are often the hardest to learn 12:36 - What it means to build a great place to work across hybrid and remote arrangements 15:41 - What firm owners should be communicating to high performers and what staff should be advocating for 16:02 - Case study: no one interested in partnership because the conversations simply were not happening 19:04 - Young firm owners building tech-forward niche practices and outearning traditional partners 23:28 - What courageous leadership looks like when there are no complete answers 25:28 - The Kubler-Ross loss curve and why your team has to work through what you already processed 27:12 - Growing yourself alongside your firm: why the owner who stops growing becomes the bottleneck 29:59 - What Susan wishes more CPA firm owners understood about leadership development 30:27 - The best firms start development at onboarding, not at partner elections 31:14 - ...
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    38 mins
  • 10x Multiple, 90% Cash at Close: Why Buyer Fit Matters in Accounting Firm M&A

    10x Multiple, 90% Cash at Close: Why Buyer Fit Matters in Accounting Firm M&A
    Sep 29 2026

    One CPA firm owner received 11 offers and chose the buyer he liked best. That buyer paid above asking price even after learning the firm's cash flow was lower than reported. Outcomes like that happen when sellers have leverage. In this episode of The Accountant's Flight Plan, Brannon Poe and Morry Brown, Poe Group Advisors' Regional Market Leader for California, look at what matters after price in accounting firm M&A: buyer fit, leverage, and control of the timeline.

    About a third of CPA firm owners on Poe Group Advisors webinars say they have received an unsolicited letter of intent. Morry explains why LOI terms are almost always the best they will be, why diligence tends to lower them, and why the exclusivity clause is usually the only binding part of a non-binding LOI. One seller spent six figures in attorney fees on a one-on-one deal that fell apart at the last minute.

    A structured process with multiple buyers changes those dynamics. When a buyer backed out of a San Francisco deal in early January, Poe Group Advisors brought in a backup buyer and closed in two weeks, before tax season began. That firm sold for a 10x multiple with 90% cash at close. Brannon and Morry also cover partner alignment, how to define success a year after closing, and why the selling season for CPA firms runs from June through December.

    The Conversation Covers:

    • Why LOI terms are usually the best they will be, and how diligence tends to lower them
    • Why the exclusivity clause is the one binding part of a non-binding LOI
    • How a backup buyer closed a San Francisco deal in two weeks after the first buyer backed out
    • How a seller with 11 offers got his preferred buyer to pay above ask
    • Why defining success a year after closing helps CPA firm owners choose the right buyer
    • How clustering buyer conversations creates real momentum and stronger terms

    Price matters in any accounting practice sale. But for most CPA firm owners, the deal they feel good about a year later is the one where the buyer fits their clients, their team, and their goals.

    This Episode Is For...

    This episode is for CPA firm owners who have received an unsolicited offer and are wondering how to evaluate it, partners ready to align on goals before exploring firm succession, and public accounting leaders curious about how multiple buyers change leverage in an accounting firm M&A process. It is also for owners who care deeply about their clients and staff and want a buyer who will take care of both.

    Timestamps:

    • 00:00 - The Price Is Right. But Is the Buyer Right?
    • 01:30 - Morry Brown's background in equity research and private capital
    • 03:00 - Why a third of CPA firm owners have received an unsolicited LOI
    • 06:30 - Why most Accounting firm owners care about clients and staff as much as price
    • 09:30 - Why LOI terms almost always get negotiated down in diligence
    • 10:45 - Six figures in attorney fees on a one-on-one deal that fell apart
    • 12:30 - The due diligence deadline red flag in a CPA firm sale
    • 14:30 - A lower offer right before Christmas and the sunk cost trap
    • 17:00 - How a backup buyer closed a San Francisco CPA firm deal in two weeks
    • 22:30 - The exclusivity clause: the binding part of a non-binding LOI
    • 27:30 - Aligning partners and defining success before a firm succession process
    • 32:00 - A Nashville Accounting practice buyer with a bigger vision
    • 36:30 - Why time kills deals and how clustering buyer conversations helps
    • 40:30 - 11 offers and a buyer who paid above ask for a Texas cloud firm
    • 44:30 - How seller mindset helped drive a 10x multiple with 90% cash at close
    • 47:00 - Why August and the June to December window matter for CPA Firm sales
    • 50:30 - Separating business risk from legal risk in the purchase agreement


    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
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    51 mins
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