Accounting
Founder Files: Stephen Buller broke the Big Four mold
While most accountants dread conducting on-site inventory observations — often considered one of the rote tasks shoved onto those at the bottom of the food chain — Stephen Buller loved them.
While working for a Big Four firm, he remembers going to a lumber yard in his home state of Washington for an inventory count. He recalls walking around the snowy fields in soaked sneakers and socks, looking every bit the ill-dressed, out-of-place accountant, but loving every moment of it.
“I really enjoyed those experiences because I got to see the nuts and bolts of the business,” Buller said. “I think a lot of what I’ve taken into my own business now is that numbers are just numbers. Is a million dollars a lot? I don’t know, what’s the context? Is this a good revenue number? Am I paying too much for payroll?”
“The numbers are not enough,” he said. “You have to have context in the business.”
It’s one of the reasons he was never content working at the Big Four. Buller wanted to spend his hours helping business owners put more money in their bank account, not telling the Securities and Exchange Commission that a company’s finances check out.
“I never felt much satisfaction from the actual work that was being accomplished, and maybe that has to do with the intangible nature of numbers,” he said. “The final delivery of a $100,000 audit is a single page, written up, signed by the partner that basically says, ‘We don’t find any problems with your finances.’ That’s just the industry — it’s not necessarily a criticism of that product.”
‘It was really painful for me’
Buller studied accounting at the University of Washington. He was a member of Beta Alpha Psi, the accounting and finance honors society. From his interactions with recruiters through the society, he interned at the Big Four firm before graduating with his master’s degree and joining full time. But it wasn’t what he expected.
“It was really painful for me,” he said.
Buller didn’t enjoy the number of hours spent behind a desk. While the firm had an efficient and detailed audit methodology, he felt as though seniors and managers were always creating more work — even after the job was done.
“There were a couple of people I worked with, supervisors and managers, who bucked this trend,” he said. “They were really focused on, ‘These are the things we need to get done, and when we get those done we’re done. We don’t have to work hours we don’t need to.'”
He said it boils down to the billable hours you can charge a client: “I got the sense that partners never wanted to report fewer hours because that might justify a cut in the fee.”
Buller felt his proposed ideas for improving processes were usually shut down before even being considered. “This isn’t necessarily a criticism directly of [the firm] but just of any very large organization,” he said, referencing the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality.
He also disliked the lack of work-life balance: “The overall perspective of the public accounting industry is that 45 to 50 hours a week is a break. That’s like vacation to them.”
Buller left the firm in 2010 after about three years. He jumped around a variety of tech companies, startups and public companies as an accountant and controller. Around the same time as leaving the Big Four firm, Buller took his first swing at building his own company. He dropped a few thousand dollars on setting up a website to start an e-commerce business selling self-defense and security products, like pepper spray and tasers. The venture was unprofitable and he jumped ship after one of his managers told him he needed more time before he’d be ready to run a business.
He finally started his own practice, Buller Accounting, in 2015 after acquiring a bookkeeping firm from a local tax accountant who was selling. Buller’s firm offers a variety of services including bookkeeping, in-house payroll and more. With his five employees, he manages about 50 clients, mostly small-business owners based in Washington State and the Northwest Coast.
‘We can do things differently’
Buller’s creed is that he can do things differently at his firm.
“I felt like at [the Big Four firm] I was not treated like a human being, with thoughts and feelings, good ideas and bad ideas, wants and dreams, and hopes and fears. I felt very much like I was a tool. I was meant to be used, and when my productivity or patience had run out I was to be discarded. And I think that is awful,” he said. “I think there are plenty of good things that I take from [the Big Four firm], and then there are things that I say we can do differently.”
But Buller isn’t trying to rebuild the wheel. One of the things that he carries on from his time in the Big Four is the mantra, “If it’s not documented, it’s not done.”
Oftentimes, a business owner hiring an accountant doesn’t necessarily care how the work gets done — just as long as it gets done. Problems usually don’t arise until someone is audited, it’s tax season, or they receive a surprise letter from the IRS. That’s why showing his work is so important.
“Everybody messes up from time to time, and we can do our best to build processes that avoid mistakes, but they will still happen,” Buller said. “And so our real goal should not necessarily be to ensure no mistakes ever happen, but to ensure we can support what we did and why we did it.”
Where Buller does diverge from big firms is in his pricing model. He explained, “For me running my business, a huge part of being successful is knowing how much revenue is going to come in, and how many expenses are going to go out.”
It seems simple, he said, but it’s hard to do for many business owners who don’t know anything about accounting. For instance, when Buller tells a client they need to amend a filing, which may take a couple hours and result in an additional $500 added onto their bill, clients can feel blindsided.
So instead, Buller works with his clients for a couple of months to develop a thorough scope of what services they actually need, and then he quotes them a flat-rate fee. “If we do work outside of that scope, I do my best to tell the client ahead of time, ‘This is outside of scope, I think it’ll take about this much. Is that OK?’ And then anything that’s in scope that just happens to take us longer, then that’s on us.”
“So I just need to manage my hours very carefully and see what clients are consistently going over budget or under budget, and adjust accordingly,” he added.
For clients that consistently take him and his team less time than he has budgeted, he’ll voluntarily reach out and tell them he’s decreasing their bill by a certain amount. For clients that consistently take more time, he explains what he missed in the estimate that constitutes a higher bill, but he purposefully works on a month-to-month basis so as not to make clients feel as though they’re locked in to an unfavorable agreement.
Buller’s first piece advice, for young accountants especially, is the reminder, “You don’t know everything.”
“I think a really good way to start your career is to go to work in an industry that interests you. Work for a company, boss, team and people that you respect and enjoy,” he said.
He also does not recommend trying to start a business right out of college, warning that most people will lack the experience and knowledge necessary to do so effectively. “Instead, I would go to work for somebody who does what you want to do, learn as much as you can from them about what not to do and what to do, and then maybe move on to starting a business.”
And as someone who did not feel like he fit into the traditional accountant mold but loved the accounting itself, Buller emphasizes the broad scope for applying accounting skills: “Once you have that framework and you understand the debits and credits, the different accounts and how it all works, you can look at any business with a perceptive eye.”
“A lot of businesses come out of a couple of people working at some company, seeing the same complaint over and over again, and then saying, ‘Why don’t we start our own business and solve this problem?'” Buller said. “That’s the heart of entrepreneurship — seeing a problem and solving it — and people will pay you to do that.”
This story is part of
Jody Padar, an author and speaker known as “The Radical CPA,” and Katie Tolin, a growth strategist for CPAs, together launched a training and technology platform called XcelLabs.
XcelLabs provides solutions to help accountants use artificial technology fluently and strategically. The Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs and CPA Crossings joined with Padar and Tolin as strategic partners and investors.
“To reinvent the profession, we must start by training the professional who can then transform their firms,” Padar said in a statement. “By equipping people with data and insights that help them see things differently, they can provide better advice to their clients and firm.”
The platform includes XcelLabs Academy, a series of educational online courses on the basics of AI, being a better advisor, leadership and practice management; Navi, a proprietary tool that uses AI to help accountants turn unstructured data like emails, phone calls and meetings into insights; and training and consulting services. These offerings are currently in beta testing.
“Accountants know they need to be more advisory, but not everyone can figure out how to do it,” Tolin said in a statement. “Couple that with the fact that AI will be doing a lot of the lower-level work accountants do today, and we need to create that next level advisor now. By showing accountants how to unlock patterns in their actions and turn client conversations into emotionally intelligent advice, we can create the accounting professional of the future.”
“AI is transforming how CPAs work, and XcelLabs is focused on helping the profession evolve with it,” PICPA CEO Jennifer Cryder said in a statement. “At PICPA, we’re proud to support a mission that aligns so closely with ours: empowering firms to use AI not just for efficiency, but to drive growth, value and long-term relevance.”
The accountant the world urgently needs has evolved far beyond the traditional role we recognized just a few years ago.
The transformation of the accounting profession is not merely an anticipated change; it is a pressing reality that is currently shaping business decisions, academic programs and the expected contributions of professionals. Yet, in many areas, accounting education stubbornly clings to outdated, overly technical models that fail to connect with the actual demands of the market. We must confront a critical question: If we continue to train accountants solely to file tax reports, are we truly equipping them for the challenges of today’s world?
This shift in mindset extends beyond individual countries or educational systems; it is a global movement. The recent announcement of the
The CIMA/CGMA proposal for 2026 is not just a curriculum update; it is a powerful manifesto. This new program positions analytical thinking, strategic business partnering and technology application at the core of accounting education. It unequivocally highlights sustainability, aligning with IFRS S1 and S2, and expands the accountant’s responsibilities beyond mere numbers to encompass conscious leadership, environmental impact and corporate governance.
The current changes in the accounting profession underscore an urgent shift in expectations from both educators and employers. Today, companies of all sizes and industries demand accountants who can do far more than interpret balance sheets. They expect professionals who grasp the deeper context behind the numbers, identify inconsistencies, anticipate potential issues before they escalate into losses, and act decisively as a bridge between data and decision making.
To meet these expectations, a radical mindset shift is essential. There are firms still operating on autopilot, mindlessly repeating tasks with minimal critical analysis. Likewise, many academic programs continue to treat accounting as purely a technical discipline, disregarding the vital elements of reflection, strategy and behavioral insight. This outdated approach creates a significant mismatch. While the world forges ahead, parts of the accounting profession remain stuck in the past.
The consequences of this shift are already becoming evident. The demand for compliance, transparency and sustainability now applies not only to large corporations but also to small and mid-sized businesses. Many of these organizations rely on professionals ill-equipped to drive the necessary changes, putting both business performance and the reputation of the profession at risk.
The positive news is that accountants who are ready to thrive in this new era do not necessarily need additional degrees. What they truly need is a commitment to awareness, a dedication to continuous learning, and the courage to step beyond their comfort zones. The future of accounting is here, and it is firmly rooted in analytical, strategic and human-oriented perspectives. The 2026 curriculum is a clear indication of the changes underway. Those who fail to think critically and holistically will be left behind.
In contrast, accountants who see the big picture, understand the ripple effects of their decisions, and actively contribute to the financial and ethical health of organizations will undeniably remain indispensable, anywhere in the world.
Congressional Republicans are siding with Donald Trump in the messy divorce between the president and Elon Musk, an optimistic sign for eventual passage of a tax cut bill at the root of the two billionaires’ public feud.
Lawmakers are largely taking their cues from Trump and sticking by the $3 trillion bill at the center of the White House’s economic agenda. Musk, the biggest political donor of the 2024 cycle, has threatened to help primary anyone who votes for the legislation, but lawmakers are betting that staying in the president’s good graces is the safer path to political survival.
“The tax bill is not in jeopardy. We are going to deliver on that,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Friday.
“I’ll tell you what — do not doubt, don’t second guess and do not challenge the President of the United States Donald Trump,” he added. “He is the leader of the party. He’s the most consequential political figure of our time.”
A fight between Trump and Musk exploded into public view this week. The sparring started with the tech titan calling the president’s tax bill a “disgusting abomination,” but quickly escalated to more personal attacks and Trump threatening to cancel all federal contracts and subsidies to Musk’s companies, such as Tesla Inc. and SpaceX which have benefitted from government ties.
Republicans on Capitol Hill, who had — until recently — publicly embraced Musk, said they weren’t swayed by the billionaire’s criticism that the bill cost too much. Lawmakers have refuted official estimates of the package, saying that the tax cuts for households, small businesses and politically important groups — including hospitality and hourly workers — will generate enough economic growth to offset the price tag.
“I don’t tell my friend Elon, I don’t argue with him about how to build rockets, and I wish he wouldn’t argue with me about how to craft legislation and pass it,” Johnson told CNBC earlier Friday.
House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington told reporters that House lawmakers are focused on working with the Senate as it revises the bill to make sure the legislation has the political support in both chambers to make it to Trump’s desk for his signature.
“We move past the drama and we get the substance of what is needed to make the modest improvements that can be made,” he said.
House fiscal hawks said that they hadn’t changed their prior positions on the legislation based on Musk’s statements. They also said they agree with GOP leaders that there will be other chances to make further spending cuts outside the tax bill.
Representative Tom McClintock, a fiscal conservative, said “the bill will pass because it has to pass,” adding that both Musk and Trump needed to calm down. “They both need to take a nap,” he said.
Even some of the House bill’s most vociferous critics appeared resigned to its passage. Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, who voted against the House version, predicted that despite Musk’s objections, the Senate will make only small changes.
“The speaker is right about one thing. This barely passed the House. If they muck with it too much in the Senate, it may not pass the House again,” he said.
Trump is pressuring lawmakers to move at breakneck speed to pass the tax-cut bill, demanding they vote on the bill before the July 4 holiday. The president has been quick to blast critics of the bill — including calling Senator Rand Paul
As the legislation worked its way through the House last month, Trump took to social media to criticize holdouts and invited undecided members to the White House to compel them to support the package. It passed by one vote.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune — who is planning to unveil his chamber’s version of the bill as soon as next week — said his timeline is unmoved by Musk.
“We are already pretty far down the trail,” he said.
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