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E137: The Benefits of Being a CPA with Fieldguide’s Byron Patrick

by Sean Boyce

VP of Customer and Operations at Fieldguide Byron Patrick joins me to discuss why CPAs have a bad reputation online, the advantages of having an accounting background and how firms can keep their accountants engaged with their work.

Byron Patrick is the VP of Customer and Operations at Fieldguide, Chairman of the Board of the Maryland Association of CPAs and is recognized as an industry leader on technology topics impacting CPAs.
Byron specializes in helping CPAs and small businesses leverage technology and speaks at industry conferences around the country. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of Accounting Automation:
  • The CPA tattoo Byron has.
  • Why CPA’s have a bad reputation.
  • The opportunities there are in accounting.
  • The echo chamber in accounting subreddits.
  • The advantages of having an accounting background.
  • How firm owners can keep their accountants inspired.
  • The difference between working in tech and working in accounting.
  • How to transition from accounting to tech work.
Resources:
Connecting with Byron Patrick:
Connecting with the host:

Quotables:

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  • 17:07 – “The idea of turning people off of a path of accounting, which I think has just been one of the most satisfying and rewarding paths I could have taken is unfortunate to me because we should proud of the impact that we have and if you sit back, look at it and think about the clients you’ve helped, the employees you’ve helped, I have a hard time getting stuck in that echo chamber of dissatisfaction with the accounting profession as a whole.”
  • 22:40 – “Talk to your staff, talk to your team, find out what inspires them what gets them excited and see if there are ways that you can put them in a position to deploy those talents beyond just the day-to-day books. Keep in mind there’s a whole lot of people out there, they love doing audits, they love doing taxes, put them in a position to do those things. But for those who might not be so excited about sitting down doing a tax return, they’re crazy talented people with likely a lot of potential to do great things so why not find a way to maintain that talent.”
  • 25:12 – “Boosting profitability and getting around some of those hiring challenges is all about finding waste, getting that time back and reinvesting it in a more productive way that can really be an element that also serves a win for your time that keeps them out of boring busy work.”