Beyond The Ledger

Raquel Hardy, Senior Director of Accounting Operations at Parkland Health, did not set out to spend three decades in accounting. She enrolled at LSU to become a veterinarian, changed course in her junior year, and landed in accounting because, as she put it on a recent episode of Beyond the Ledger, it was easy and she loved math. That accidental starting point eventually led to a career spanning e...

Jed Gifford has built a career around one simple belief: everyone has a unique "Sizzle Factor"® that sets them apart. Known for his ability to spot talent, build relationships, and help people reach their potential, Jed has spent his career connecting opportunity with people. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Broadcast Journalism, Jed began his professional journey i...

In a workplace still shaped by hybrid schedules, remote communication and shifting expectations around professional growth, relationships have become more than a soft skill — they are a career advantage. Gallup’s latest workplace reporting shows that global employee engagement has fallen to 20%, reflecting a broader challenge for organizations trying to keep people connected, motivated and investe...

Work doesn’t feel the way it used to. Between new tech, changing expectations, and the constant pressure to keep up, a lot of people—even those who look successful on paper—are quietly wondering what’s next. In fact, recent workforce studies suggest a large share of employees feel disengaged or uncertain about their next move, despite appearing to have it all together. It’s not uncommon to feel st...

Stepping into a leadership role today isn’t just a step up—it’s a shift into constant visibility, where expectations arrive immediately and the margin for error narrows. As organizations flatten structures and demand faster decisions, newly promoted leaders are expected to deliver impact from the outset, often without the space to fully adjust. According to leadership development research, 60% of...

Global mobility is reshaping the modern workforce, with millions of professionals relocating each year in pursuit of opportunity, stability, or growth. Yet behind the headlines of talent migration lies a quieter, more difficult truth: restarting a career from scratch—even after years of success—is far more common than people expect. In fact, many skilled immigrants face underemployment in their fi...

Career advice in finance and accounting often centers around promotions, titles, and compensation. But in an era where professionals frequently change jobs every few years—the average American worker now stays in a role for less than four years—industries are facing growing talent shortages and reevaluating what long-term career success looks like. The question many professionals are asking today...

The CFO seat is being rewritten in real time. Today’s finance leaders are expected to drive growth, lead enterprise-wide systems transformations, and shape AI strategy—while still keeping the close, controls, and capital story airtight. Gartner reports that 59% of finance leaders are already using AI in the finance function, underscoring how rapidly the role is expanding beyond traditional reporti...

Leadership pipelines are under pressure. Companies are moving faster, roles are becoming more cross-functional, and high-potential talent is expected to deliver beyond narrow job descriptions earlier in their careers. At the same time, the World Economic Forum estimates that 39% of workers’ core skills will need to evolve by 2030 to keep pace with business change—raising the stakes for how organiz...

For years, management best practices emphasized uniformity: standard processes, standardized expectations, and treating everyone the same in the name of fairness. But today’s workforce looks very different than it did in the late 1990s and early 2000s. With multi-generational teams, shifting attitudes toward work-life balance, and an increased focus on emotional intelligence, leaders are being for...

Workplace flexibility has shifted from a culture debate to a retention lever—especially as more professionals are becoming parents later, right when they’re stepping into mid-management and executive-track roles. Childcare and caregiving logistics don’t just strain families; they strain talent pipelines, and the companies that treat parenting as a “personal issue” are often the same ones wondering...

In a moment when AI tools, creator platforms, and decentralized media are reshaping how companies grow, founders are being forced to rethink what actually drives long-term success. According to Forbes, citing CB Insights research, 42% of startups fail because there simply isn’t a market for their product or service. As markets move faster and business models evolve more frequently, the ability to...

Leadership today is being reshaped by a simple lesson many leaders learn the hard way: a team full of people who think the same way won’t get you very far. Research shows that teams with deeper diversity—meaning differences in perspectives, values, and cognitive frameworks—consistently outperform more uniform teams in creativity, innovation, and complex decision-making. Today, as organizations dem...

Leadership conversations are shifting as companies navigate rapid change, tighter labor markets, and evolving employee expectations. Teams want leaders who show up with humility, clarity, and a genuine investment in people—traits that can’t be faked and can’t be automated. And with studies consistently linking team engagement to the quality of direct leadership, understanding how effective leaders...

Success today looks different—defined less by stability and more by the freedom to adapt and evolve. Professionals across industries are reimagining their careers, moving away from predictable ladders toward paths that reflect purpose and balance. What once meant climbing steadily toward partnership or promotion now often means taking bold pivots or pursuing second acts that better align with pers...

The accounting pipeline is in flux. After years of decline in new graduates, the AICPA reported that bachelor’s completions fell 7.8% in 2021–22 and master’s fell 6.4%. In Fall 2024, undergraduate accounting enrollment rebounded by about 12%, while graduate enrollment continued to dip, underscoring a profession still recalibrating its talent model. For those building or advancing their accounting...

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of accountants and auditors will grow by about 5 percent between 2024 and 2034. That growth is fueled by a combination of factors: companies facing increasingly complex regulatory requirements, an expanding economy that requires financial oversight at every level, and ongoing retirements and career shifts that continue to open up positio...