Accounting Voices

In this episode of Accounting Voices, Rob Brown discusses key predictions for the accounting profession in 2026 based on insights from 48 industry leaders. The conversation covers themes of automation, revenue shifts from compliance to advisory, the integration of AI in accounting practices, talent sustainability, and the ongoing trend of consolidation within the industry. The episode emphasizes the need for firms to adapt to rapid changes and prepare for future challenges, particularly during busy seasons.
Takeaways
The month-end close process will be automated by 2026.
Audits will be completed in under five hours.
Advisory revenue is set to surpass compliance revenue.
Firms will budget for AI as they do for headcount.
AI will become the first staff accountant in firms.
50% of firms will use AI assistance systematically.
Consolidation in the industry will intensify.
Busy seasons will continue to be challenging for firms.
Change is inevitable in the accounting profession.
Firms must stay relevant and adapt to new trends.

You can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/z-4VrkN3Ksc
Come and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices
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The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoices
Rob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrown
If you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

In this episode of Accounting Voices, Rob Brown discusses the evolving landscape of leadership in the accounting profession. He emphasizes that technical excellence is no longer sufficient for leaders, who must now embrace emotional literacy, adaptability, and strategic thinking to navigate the complexities of modern business. The conversation highlights the importance of trustworthiness, effective people management, and the need for leaders to develop AI skills to stay relevant in a rapidly changing environment.
Takeaways
Technical excellence is the price of entry for accountants.
Leaders must transition from technical experts to enterprise leaders.
Emotional literacy is crucial for effective leadership.
Change management differs from change leadership.
Delegation is essential to prevent burnout.
Trustworthiness cannot be automated and is vital for leadership.
Every firm member will need AI operator skills by 2026.
Strategic heresy involves letting go of outdated practices.
Leaders should view their firms as products requiring systems thinking.
Humanity and judgment are key attributes for future leaders.

You can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/gyfVzKISy78
Come and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices
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The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoices
Rob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrown
If you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

In this episode of Accounting Voices, we continue our Reflections 2025 series with a different kind of question:
What moment actually changed how leaders think about the accounting profession?
Across 48 conversations, a clear pattern emerged.
2025 became the year the profession was forced to look in the mirror — and many leaders didn’t like what they saw.
This episode explores the assumptions that quietly collapsed:
The idea that technical excellence alone is enough to survive
The belief that only accountants can run accounting firms
The illusion that private equity is a guaranteed exit
The comfort of reactive advisory instead of proactive leadership
And the dangerous gap between AI experimentation and governance

From the Deloitte Australia AI scandal, to the rise of non-accountant COOs, to push-button data migrations eliminating long-accepted friction, this conversation maps the strategic fault lines now defining the profession.
You’ll hear insights from leaders including:
Alice Grey Harrison on the irony of firms failing to give themselves strategic advice
Sagar Ahuja on the quiet death of partner consensus
Becky Livingston on governance failures masquerading as AI failures
Trow Trowbridge on the cost of being reactive
Ira Rosenbloom on the myths surrounding private equity
Ben Taylor on why long-held technology assumptions finally broke

At its core, this episode asks a confronting question:
If your firm were your own client, would you still be hired?
2025 wasn’t about better tools.
It was about better thinking.
And once the mirror is held up, you can’t unsee what’s reflected.
You can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/3NKN3q3dfsY
Come and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices
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The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoices
Rob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrown
If you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach...

In this episode of Accounting Voices, Rob Brown shares the most honest reflections yet from 48 industry leaders, partners, and practitioners. After asking one tough question, “What disappointed you in 2025?”, a clear pattern emerged.
The problem wasn’t a lack of technology.
It wasn’t AI.
And it wasn’t ambition.
It was execution.
From shiny new tools layered onto broken processes, to decision paralysis, vendor overpromising, outdated partner models, and firms mistaking activity for progress, this episode breaks down why the profession feels stuck despite unprecedented opportunity.
You’ll hear powerful metaphors, sharp warnings, and uncomfortable truths about why agreement without action is holding firms back, and why courage, not more tools, is now the missing ingredient.
If you’re a firm leader, partner, or professional navigating change, this episode will challenge how you think about technology, strategy, talent, and accountability.
You can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/rStqAfRmxDU
Come and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices
◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢
The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoices
Rob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrown
If you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.

In this powerful episode of Accounting Voices, Rob Brown reveals the findings from an ambitious project: interviewing 48 senior leaders across the accounting profession and asking them the same five questions about the year that changed everything.
This episode focuses on Question 1: What defined 2025? And the answer is uncomfortable but critical: 2025 was not a year of progress. It was a year of separation.
You’ll hear how:
AI stopped being “innovation” and became baseline infrastructure.
Private equity permanently changed the profession’s operating model.
Legacy processes collided with modern technology.
Talent pressure exposed broken cultures and outdated firm models.
The profession entered a deep identity crisis.
The “velocity gap” between firms is now a serious threat.

You can watch this on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/01w0gDWxE6E
Come and join our Accounting Voices Collective on Linkedin to find out more about our shows and virtual networking events: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accounting-voices
◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢
The Accounting Voices Podcast serves accounting firm leaders, managers and partners looking to build their executive presence, influence and credibility both internally and externally. Host Rob Brown delivers insights to help professionals strengthen their personal brand, stay informed about industry changes and navigate disruptive forces affecting accounting business models and trends. Check out the show on your preferred podcast app or platform, or go to the Accounting Voices YouTube channel for all of the episodes in video format. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoices
Rob works with consultants/experts in the accounting space via personal interviews to create video snippets and thought leadership pieces. If you have success stories, valued expertise or a brand that needs amplifying, but lack the time to create thought leadership or video content, chat with Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrown
If you'd like to sponsor the show and elevate your brand with our audience, reach out to show host Rob Brown on LinkedIn and his team will reach out to fix up a chat to explore.