Stay ConnectedHave you wondered what it takes to thrive in the accounting industry? Or how the experts established their successful careers? Learn from industry experts with Canopy.
In each episode of the Practice Success Podcast, Canopy takes a deep dive with accounting professionals, exploring their career trajectory, extracting advice for firms, and discussing the latest trending topics.
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Why Your Best People Burn Out When Work Lives in Spreadsheets
With Lera Kooper, COO and Owner of Proactive Advisory Group
Capacity isn't an operations problem. It's a leadership one.
In this episode of Canopy Practice Success, Luke Frye talks with Lera Kooper, COO and Owner of Proactive Advisory Group, about the hard calls a growing firm makes on time and staffing. Every yes is a no somewhere else, and Lera makes that trade deliberately instead of discovering it at the bottleneck.
She walks through how she tiers clients, the math behind hiring versus optimizing, and what she says to a client when the firm has taken on too much. She also makes a direct case for keeping time sheets in a fixed-fee firm, not for billing, but as a diagnostic for whether a process has gone stale or a team member needs support.
Then she names what she turned down. Marketing spend, Google Ads, and an offer to be acquired, because the client base she already has is the asset she'd rather work first.
If you're protecting a high performer who's quietly buried, or deciding between a hire and a better process, this one gives you a framework and the numbers behind it.
What You'll Learn
Connect With Lera
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lerakooper/
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Why Delegating Tasks Without Authority Keeps Firm Owners Stuck
With Lera Kooper, COO and Owner of Proactive Advisory Group
Define Good, Episode 2 of 5: Delegate Authority, Not Tasks
What does it actually take to hand off a piece of your firm?
In this episode of Canopy Practice Success, Luke Frye talks with Lera Kooper, COO and Owner of Proactive Advisory Group, about the gap between delegating tasks and delegating authority. Lera is based just outside Seattle with team members nationwide, and she treats her own workload the way she treats any inefficient system. She maps it, audits it, and redesigns the parts that don't hold up.
Lera explains how handing over authority forced her to get specific about the result she wants instead of the path someone takes to get there. She describes why she documents processes as burnout prevention, how she separates "only I can do this" from "I've always done this," and what happens when the work you're best at is no longer the work worth your time.
The conversation then moves into predictions. Lera agrees the profession has a talent shortage, and she argues the bigger problem is a shortage of firms people want to work for. She makes the case for scoping and billing upfront, building teams that move into advisory work faster, and staying remote capable by design. She also shares the habit she uses to protect her attention: no Reels, no TikTok, no YouTube Shorts.
If you run a firm and you're still the bottleneck on work someone else could own, this episode gives you a practical place to start.
What You'll Learn
Connect With Lera
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lerakooper/
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Why Treating AI Like a New Hire Beats Chasing Every Tool
Treat AI Like a New Hire (Define Good, Episode 1 of 5)
With Lera Kooper, Owner and COO of Accountability Services
Most AI conversations start with the tool. This one starts with the job description.
In this episode of Canopy Practice Success, host Luke Frye, CPA, Accountant in Residence at Canopy, talks with Lera Kooper, owner and COO of Accountability Services, about the rule that keeps her firm's AI adoption grounded: onboard a new tool the same way you onboard a new person.
Lera explains why she hands AI the tasks that require the least professional judgment first, how she sets expectations and weekly check-ins the way she would for any team member, and why a year spent documenting SOPs turned out to be the real prerequisite. She also gets candid about one rollout her firm paused, not because the tool underperformed, but because no one owned the standard for how to use it. Her words: "we haven't had the resources to go in and define good in our use of that type of tool."
The conversation also covers what changes when bookkeepers and staff accountants spend more time in front of clients, where automation still stalls today, and how small firms can use their speed to close the efficiency gap with much larger ones.
If you're deciding what to hand to AI next, or trying to work out why your last rollout stalled, this episode gives you a practical order of operations from someone running it inside a fast-growing firm.
What You'll Learn
Connect With Lera
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lerakooper/
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In this episode of Canopy Practice Success, Luke Frye explains how he built his own tax practice to $500,000 in recurring revenue in a little over four years without raising a dollar. He walks through the math on a single S-Corp client, six touchpoints a year instead of one, and why the quarterly projection is the piece accountants undercharge for most.
Luke also compares what he learned as the first accountant at Bench.co, where Facebook ads drove growth, with what he had to do on his own: chambers of commerce, BNI groups, and teaching classes at camera stores to reach photographers. He explains why he runs his sales pipeline in HubSpot with the same rigor his partner runs the client list, why he's a Deming guy about visualizing work, and why he thinks accounting firms should stop building their own software.
The conversation closes on private equity and succession, and Luke's argument that you should decide how your partnership ends while you're still happy in it.
If you're building a firm you actually want to own, this episode shows how recurring revenue comes together one touchpoint at a time.
What You'll Learn
Connect With Luke
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukefrye/
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How Writing Built a Niche CPA Practice for Freelancers and the Self-Employed
With Jonathan Medows, CPA, Founder and Managing Member of Medows CPA and Founder of CPA for Freelancers®
Most accountants don't write. Jonathan Medows built a firm on it.
In this episode of Canopy Practice Success, Jonathan Medows shares how he went from one client and a Craigslist ad in 2004 to a 15-person New York City firm serving freelancers, creatives, clergy, and independent professionals. The niche wasn't a plan. It came from paying attention to which clients he actually enjoyed serving, and where he added the most value.
Jonathan explains why he writes constantly, how that content teaches him and his staff as much as it attracts clients, and why articles are showing up in AI-driven search results for the exact questions his ideal clients are asking. He also walks through the workflow he built to route returns by risk level, the culture of accountability he looks for when hiring, and why he'd rather let a client leave than fire them.
The conversation closes with rapid fire advice: the deduction New York firms are too cautious about, why new business owners go backwards before they go forward, and the one habit every self-employed person needs.
If you're building a firm around a specific type of client, or wondering whether content marketing is worth the time, this episode gives you a practical, unglamorous look at what it actually takes.
What You'll Learn
Connect With Jonathan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-medows-cpa-9729702/
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The Software Mistake That's Quietly Costing Your Clients Money
With Alicia Katz Pollock, Owner of Royalwise
What happens when a business owner thinks QuickBooks is easy enough to run on their own, and it isn't?
In this episode of Canopy Practice Success, Alicia Katz Pollock, the "Queen of QuickBooks" and owner of Royalwise, breaks down the gap between what Intuit teaches and what firms actually need to know. She walks through the most common (and most expensive) QuickBooks mistake she sees, why certification only gets you to the fundamentals, and how she built a training business that goes far deeper than any 10-minute tutorial.
The conversation covers how Royalwise evolved from in-person classes to a national training and coaching community, why firms are shifting from bookkeeping into advisory, and how AI-driven reporting tools are finally giving bookkeepers the data they need to have real advisory conversations. Alicia also makes the case for niching by client style or size, not just industry.
Whether you're a bookkeeper looking to move into CAS, a firm owner deciding whether to train your clients or do everything for them, or someone who just wants to get more out of the software you're already paying for, this episode is packed with practical, real-world takeaways.
What You'll Learn
Connect With Alicia
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciakatzpollock
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and follow Canopy Practice Success wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Why Firms Keep Falling for AI Hype, and How to Actually Use It Well
With Jason Staats, Founder of Jason On Firms
How does a firm separate real AI progress from another landing page dressed up as a breakthrough?
In this episode of Canopy Practice Success, host Luke Frye sits down with Jason Staats, who ran a $5 million accounting firm before launching and selling a SaaS product and becoming one of the most trusted voices in accounting on AI strategy. Jason explains why validating new tools with peers beats trusting any coach, YouTuber, or vendor, and walks through the real security gap between consumer and business AI plans, including why redacting client data isn't the safety net most firms think it is.
The conversation covers far more than tools. Jason and Luke dig into how firms can use AI to restore human touch points instead of replacing them, why cutting junior hires to lean on AI creates a talent pipeline problem down the road, and what the latest IRS guidance on AI in tax prep actually gets right. They also tackle capacity planning without toxic time tracking, why "protecting the client list" is the highest-leverage work an owner can do, and how PE, staffing shortages, and AI are reshaping the profession at the same time.
Whether you're a partner deciding what to greenlight, a solo practitioner trying to learn without a team around you, or an operations manager trying to bring skeptical partners along, this episode offers a grounded, no-hype look at where AI actually helps and where it doesn't.
What You'll Learn
Connect With Jason
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jstaats/
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and follow Canopy Practice Success wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Why Operational Infrastructure Matters More Than Chasing Growth
With Jennifer Witts, Partner in Client Advisory Services at CohnReznick
Most accounting firms treat growth as the goal instead of the outcome. Jennifer Witts, a CPA and Partner in Client Advisory Services at CohnReznick, has spent her career building the operational backbone that lets CAS practices grow without breaking their client service.
Jennifer walks through why defining an ideal client profile comes before any conversation about sales, how verticalization lets teams build real expertise instead of learning fifteen different systems, and why the hardest skill in scaling a practice is learning to say no to the wrong client. She also breaks down the operational warning signs, poor retention and rising staff turnover, that signal a firm isn't ready for more growth, and why lifetime value is the metric most firms overlook.
Whether you're trying to move upmarket, fix a retention problem, or just build the systems to support the growth you already have, this conversation gives you a practical framework for scaling responsibly.
What You'll Learn
Connect With Jennifer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferwittscpa/
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and follow Canopy Practice Success wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Trust, Self-Awareness, and the Stories Leaders Tell Themselves
With Lori Zukin, CEO and Founder of Zukin Leadership
Most trust problems in accounting firms aren't interpersonal. They're structural.
In this episode of Canopy Practice Success, organizational psychologist and executive coach Lori Zukin breaks down what trust actually is, why it breaks down in firms, and what leaders can do about it. Lori draws on 25 years of coaching executives across professional services, her work facilitating leadership programs for Simon Sinek's Optimism Company, and her experience running leadership immersions for high-potential accountants at Baker Tilly.
The conversation covers the psychology behind trust, self-awareness, and the stories we tell ourselves about colleagues — including a deceptively simple exercise that separates facts from opinions and immediately reduces conflict. Lori also shares the framework she uses to help leaders understand their state of mind and why getting above the line before a hard conversation changes everything.
Whether you're a partner navigating a PE transition, a manager stepping into a new leadership role, or someone who's wondered whether an executive coach might help — this episode gives you a clear and practical picture of what the work looks like.
What You'll Learn
Connect With Lori
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lori-zukin-19a317a/?skipRedirect=true
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and follow Canopy Practice Success wherever you listen to podcasts.
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Why Timely Financials Are Table Stakes, Not the Destination, for CAS
With Michelle Voyer, Director of Client Advisory Services at CohnReznick Advisory
Most CAS firms exert everything they have just to deliver the monthly package. That's the problem.
In this episode of Canopy Practice Success, Michelle Voyer, CPA, MBA, and Director of Client Advisory Services at CohnReznick Advisory, shares why the race to produce timely, accurate financials is where too many practices stop — and how AI and automation are finally making it possible to go further.
Michelle brings 17 years of building and scaling CAS across small firms, tech platforms, and national organizations. The conversation explores what it actually takes to move clients from basic financial reporting to real advisory relationships, how to build technology expertise without burning out your team, and why the right response to imposter syndrome is building the right network around you.
Whether you're leading a CAS team at a large firm or scaling one from scratch, this episode offers an honest, practical look at what's working, what's overhyped, and what's worth your attention right now.
What You'll Learn
Connect With Michelle
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michellevoyer/
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and follow Canopy Practice Success wherever you listen to podcasts.
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