Accounting
Franchising offers alternative to partnership route
One statistic really jumped out at me from the annual CPA Career Satisfaction survey co-authored by my friend
From my podcasts and speaking engagements, I’d have to agree that many talented and highly motivated professionals are wondering whether the traditional partner track is still worth it considering the time, stress and strain on personal relationships (and health) it requires. Fortunately, more alternatives are emerging that can offer CPAs a great lifestyle and substantial financial upside.
Take
Instead of sacrificing relationships with family, friends and spouses to garner one of your firm’s coveted partner slots, you can become a principal at firms like Dark Horse through the Accelerator Program. This can be especially intriguing to managers or senior managers at a traditional firm who are deciding whether to stick it out and try for becoming a partner.
The Dark Horse Principal Accelerator Program was created for entrepreneurially minded CPAs who want to build a scalable book of business without the personal and financial sacrifices required of starting a firm from scratch. Accelerators go through a training program that acclimates them to the firm’s tech stack, followed by sales training and one-on-one coaching. After completing the training, principals begin building their book of business by fielding inquiries from potential Dark Horse clients. To facilitate their growth, Accelerators have full-time and fractional professional personnel support at their disposal. After successful completion of the program, participants can become equity principals of the firm.
It’s an investment on Dark Horse’s part as well, “requiring four to nine months of intensive ‘X’s and O’s’ training and coaching,” said Birky.At the end of the training program, Birky said participants typically have a book of business worth $200,000 and they’re eligible to become principals. “It’s similar to being a partner at a traditional firm,” said Birky. But, since Dark Horse is a C corp, its principals are W-2 employees who also have equity in the form of stock options, plus bonus potential based on the profitability of their book of business.
Not your typical one-third/one-third/one-third
Like Birky, I believe this approach is very different from the one-third/one-third/one-third model of a traditional firm. That’s when one-third of revenue goes out as partner compensation, one-third goes out for staffing, and one-third goes out in overhead. By contrast, Dark Horse runs specific P&Ls every day for each book of business so it can calculate how much of each principal’s profit goes into the profit split with the firm. That way, it always knows how much in direct expenses is being allocated to each principal. As a result of its leaner and more horizontal structure, Birky said Dark Horse principals are typically bringing home 40% to 50% of their revenue as compensation vs. 33% that’s more common in the industry. In essence, Dark Horse is accelerating each principal’s earning potential and eliminating the frustration of having to share staff. Likewise, team members don’t get frustrated by having eight different bosses making demands of them at the same time.
I can relate to that situation. When I was in the client accounting services practice of a large firm, I was a manager overseeing a team of a dozen people. I felt like I had nine or 10 bosses making requests of me at the same time, and my team was getting pulled in every direction. This kind of stress definitely took a toll on my team and I know it affected many of their marriages and relationships.
While I don’t have scientific research to back this up, I can tell you anecdotally there are a lot more second, third and fourth marriages at accounting firms than in the general population. I’ve also noticed a higher percentage of never-married employees in their 40s and 50s at larger firms than in the general U.S. population.
Fortunately, more firms are creating alternative paths for employees who want to excel, but who don’t want to “sell their soul to the firm” in order to make partner. Dark Horse’s Accelerator Program is one way for talented managers in our profession to retain some work-life balance. They want to make more money now; they don’t want to wait another five or ten years to make partner at a traditional firm.
CPA firm as C corp
Next, you may be wondering if there are any issues running a CPA firm as a C corp, the way Dark Horse does. In California, where Dark Horse was formed, it’s considered an accountancy corp, so it can be either a C corp or an S corp. Birky said Dark Horse originally went with the S corp to make things simpler, but it eventually converted to an C corp, so it can someday take outside investment. Birky said outside investors tend not to like S corps. Also, Dark Horse is a play for volume and scale, so it won’t be that far in the future when it will exceed the 100-shareholder limit for S corps.
Birky said Dark Horse offers stock options to staff members once they become principals, and then annual grants thereafter. But the firm also has ways for equity to get down to the staff level. When Dark Horse gives a grant to a principal, the firm might tell him or her: “Hey, you earned 20,000 shares. Would you like any of this share grant allocated to your team?”
If they say, “Yes, $5,000 should go to my accounting manager,” then they can allocate those shares as a restricted stock award. The employee gets taxed on the award, but they don’t have to pay to exercise it, Birky explained. Further, Dark Horse allows employees to sell up to 20% of their vested shares back to the firm, and the firm will buy those shares at the attractive 409(a) price because it is also issuing options at the same price. (Note: I cover partner model alternatives in more detail in my new book “
Clearly the accounting industry is evolving beyond the traditional partnership model. Firms like Dark Horse CPAs are offering lucrative alternatives that provide better work-life balance, increased earning potential and equity opportunities. These new models intentionally address burnout, retain talent and create more flexible career paths in the accounting profession. What’s not to like?
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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