Thrivecast: A Podcast for Accountants

In this episode of the Thrivecast, Jason Blumer sits down with longtime friend and CPA leader Barrett Young to talk about the messy, honest journey of building a firm—and the transitions that shape us along the way.  Barrett shares his story from becoming a CPA, to launching his own virtual firm, to eventually closing it and joining an 80-year-old accounting firm where he is now a partner. Along the way, he wrestled with burnout, the pursuit of “freedom,” and the deeper realization that purpose, culture, and meaningful work matter more than simply escaping the traditional model of public accounting.  Together, Jason and Barrett explore what it really means to be an entrepreneur in the accounting profession, why lifestyle firms and scaling firms often create tension in the industry, and how leaders must filter advice to build the firm that actually fits their life and calling.  They also dig into Barrett’s work helping business owners with succession planning and exit strategy, highlighting the uncomfortable but necessary conversations family businesses often avoid—and why ignoring those conversations can destroy both companies and families. This episode is an honest look at leadership, vision, failure, and growth. If you’re building a firm, questioning your direction, or navigating major transitions in your career, this conversation will challenge and encourage you.

Kenji Kuramoto is the Founder and former CEO of Acuity, a pioneering outsourced accounting and fractional CFO firm that built and maintained financial functions for thousands of innovative entrepreneurs. Under his leadership, Acuity became one of Accounting Today’s Top Firms for Technology and a Top Firm to Work For, before merging into Sorren in 2025. In this episode, Kenji joins Jason M. Blumer, CPA, to unpack what really happens when you step away from something that’s still working. He shares the full story behind Acuity’s 20-year journey, the decision to run a proactive merger process, and why he ultimately chose not to continue into the next chapter with Sorren—despite being Acuity’s founder and leading the proactive merger process. The conversation explores the emotional reality of leadership transitions: identity loss, grief, relief, clarity, and the discipline required to not hold on too long. Kenji reflects on the surprisingly anticlimactic nature of closing day, the importance of timing your exit well, and how staying deeply connected to the profession helped him navigate life after stepping away. Today, Kenji is an investor, founder, and advisor focused on reimagining the future of the accounting profession. He is the founder of 404 Invests, an early-stage investment firm backing Accounting Technology, SaaS, FinTech, and Crypto companies. Earlier in his career, Kenji served as CFO of an Inc. 5000 tech company and began in the assurance practice at Arthur Andersen. If you’re a firm owner considering succession, a merger, retirement, or your own next chapter as a leader, this episode offers rare honesty and perspective you won’t often hear.

In this episode of Thrivecast, host Jason M. Blumer, CPA sits down with Salim Omar, CPA—nationally recognized CPA firm consultant, author, and industry thought leader—to explore how CPA firms are evolving in response to changing demographics, advancing technology, and shifting expectations among firm owners. With more than 30 years of experience in the accounting profession, Salim has worked closely with firm leaders at every stage of growth, helping them rethink their firms, strengthen communication, and plan intentionally for what comes next. Salim shares his journey from building and running a successful CPA firm to focusing on consulting, including his transition to virtual operations and the strategic advantages that come with it. Together, Jason and Salim discuss the real-world benefits and challenges of running a virtual firm, managing global teams, and maintaining strong team dynamics in distributed environments. A central theme throughout the conversation is the importance of understanding your audience—clients, team members, and potential successors—and how that clarity drives smarter decisions and sustainable growth. The discussion also dives deep into the complexities of mergers and acquisitions within the accounting profession. Salim explains why many deals struggle after closing, often due to communication breakdowns, cultural misalignment, and unclear expectations. He highlights the critical role sellers play after an acquisition and why their leadership and engagement are essential to successful transitions and long-term firm health. Drawing from his book, The CPA Firm Exit Playbook, Salim offers practical guidance for firm owners navigating what he calls the “exit evolution path.” Rather than viewing an exit as a single transaction, Jason and Salim explore how firm owners can intentionally design their next chapter—whether that means selling, merging, scaling back, or continuing to contribute in a new capacity. The conversation also touches on leadership beyond traditional retirement and how CPA firm owners can align their professional futures with personal fulfillment. The episode concludes with a forward-looking discussion on the growing impact of AI on the accounting profession. Salim shares why AI is both a powerful opportunity and a necessary adaptation for firm leaders, and how embracing technology thoughtfully can elevate advisory services, improve efficiency, and shape the future of CPA firms.

This Thrivecast episode, the final one of 2025, features a solo conversation led by Jason, who reflects on seasons of change and intentional leadership as he looks ahead to 2026. Drawing on nearly 25 years of firm ownership and 15 years of leading Thriveal, Jason explores how change—whether chosen or forced—can become a catalyst for growth when approached strategically. He shares personal insights on how markets evolve, teams shift, and leaders must continually reassess where they are most needed and what they are truly committed to building.Jason outlines a significant pivot within his accounting firm, which is broadening its long-standing niche focus to serve entrepreneurs more generally after recognizing major shifts and challenges within its previous target market. Rather than waiting for disruption to dictate the next move, he explains why proactively adapting alongside the market is essential. That same philosophy is being applied to Thriveal, which is entering a new season after 15 years of operating as a broad, open community for firm owners around the world.Looking ahead, Jason explains how Thriveal is choosing depth over scale by narrowing its focus and restructuring into two core programs designed specifically for growing and scaling firms. The Venture program serves firm owners with five or more team members, while the Ascent program supports firms generating one million dollars or more in revenue. By limiting enrollment and moving away from multiple community membership levels, Thriveal is creating a more intimate, high-commitment environment where firm owners receive consistent accountability, coaching, and peer connection throughout the year.The episode also details several intentional changes that support this deeper focus, including sunsetting the Deeper Weekend conference, reshaping master classes, expanding self-paced courses, and developing future workshops connected to the newly released book Scale with Purpose. Throughout the episode, Jason encourages listeners to view change as a core leadership responsibility—one that requires courage, clarity, and a willingness to let go of what is familiar in order to build something more meaningful. The conversation closes with an invitation to firm owners who feel ready for this next season to explore whether Thriveal’s Venture or Ascent programs are the right fit for their growth in 2026.

In this episode of The Thrivecast, Jason Blumer interviews Heath Alloway, Growth Partner at Sorren, who brings extensive experience from BKD and the Upstream Academy. Heath introduces a transformative framework he calls the "four pillars of success": culture, people, clients, and wise growth. This sequencing is deliberate—growth sits last because it exists to fuel the other three, challenging the profession's tendency to pursue revenue targets disconnected from organizational health. Heath draws a critical distinction between healthy and unhealthy growth. Firms growing too rapidly with misaligned clients experience culture rot, elevated turnover, and declining engagement, while strategic growth creates space to say yes to the right opportunities and invest meaningfully in team development. He addresses a counterintuitive reality: humans process thousands of thoughts daily, with 80% skewing negative and 95% being repetitive. Heath advocates for fundamental reorientation, asking: "When you think about the future, if it hasn't happened yet, why would you choose to think about everything that could go wrong?" This shift from defensive positioning to intentional optimism becomes the foundation for sustainable transformation. The conversation explores evolved approaches to business development in accounting. Heath challenges the conventional wisdom that business development belongs exclusively to partners, arguing that early exposure throughout team members' careers transforms what could be a shocking transition into natural professional evolution. He provides tactical frameworks rarely executed: identify your top three prospective clients by name (most partner groups cannot), prioritize cross-selling within existing relationships where trust already exists, and proactively request introductions from clients who genuinely want to see you succeed. His role extends beyond traditional growth activities to include facilitating strategic planning retreats and leadership development for clients—services that internal surveys identified as highly requested offerings, revealing that clients are inviting deeper partnership if firms are willing to see beyond compliance work. Heath acknowledges COVID's paradoxical gift to the profession, noting it forced changes firms should have made voluntarily: fee increases reflecting actual value, termination of misaligned client relationships, and more intentional investment in team connection. His concern is that firms might abandon these strategic gains as they return to task-focused execution, forgetting the cultural intentionality that emerged during crisis. The episode concludes with Heath reframing business development anxiety through a powerful metaphor: if you were a doctor with the cure for a rare disease, wouldn't you feel obligated to share it? Accountants possess gifts that can genuinely transform client businesses and communities, yet fear and introversion often prevent initiating the conversations where that value could be realized. His message to the profession is both challenge and invitation: "This profession will do more for you than you can ever do for it." The path forward requires moving beyond reactionary growth toward intentional design—building firms where strategic choices about clients, team development, and cultural investment align with a clearly articulated vision of who we are becoming, demonstrating that sustainable growth emerges not from grinding harder but from thinking more clearly about what we're building and why it matters.