On The Books

At Intiut Connect, Jaclyn Anku, Principal Program Manager of ProAdvisor, was able to catch up with Professor David Waite of Utah Valley University who brought a group of accounting students to this year’s event. In Episode 14, we profiled Professor Waite and accountants Brittany Brown and Dan Luthi and their first-of-its-kind Client Advisor Services course at the university. Check out episode 14 f...

Tune in to this episode of On The Books as host Jessica McCracken gives a sneak peek at the upcoming Intuit Connect conference in Las Vegas. Learn about what to expect at the tentpole event, including the main stage lineup featuring Intuit leaders, Queen Latifah, Brene Brown, John Foley, Vanessa Van Edwards, and Carla Hall. Jessica also details new event features like the Intuit Theater and Intuit...

On this episode of On the Books, hosts Ted Callahan and Jessica McCracken welcome Dan Hood, Editor-in-Chief at Accounting Today, to discuss the biggest trends and disruptions facing the accounting profession, particularly as firms look ahead to 2026. Dan shares his take on the multiple crossroads the industry faces, focusing on the significant impact of technology (especially AI), ongoing staffing...

In episode 21, Chris Willams, CEO of System Six summarized the key focus areas of any merger or acquisition as “get the keys to the technology and focus on the people.” Practically, what is entailed in‌ getting the keys to the technology? Erin Hutton and Janelle Fox have lived this experience. Both were accounting firm leaders at a large top 40-firm and now work at Intuit helping firms navigate te...

Private equity and accounting. Let’s talk about it. Hosts Ted Callahan and Jessica McCracken talk with Jacob Schoeder, founder and CEO of Asecend Consulting about what private equity investment means for accounting, if this is a phase or a durable reality in the industry, and other growth strategies available for firms. The trio talks about what role innovation plays in determining growth strategi...

In this episode of On the Books, Ted and Jessica sit down with Chris Williams, the founder of System Six, a fully remote outsourced accounting business with 50 team members across three countries, to talk about the human side of mergers and acquisitions. The group talks about best practices in identifying firm goals before stepping into an M&A conversation, the right mindset for those conversa...

Here is a much-needed dose of accountant wisdom. Get ready for a deep dive into the evolving world of Client Advisory Services (CAS). In this episode, Ted and Jessica are joined by special guest Kane Polakoff, Partner and Practice Leader at CohnReznick and a pioneer in the CAS space. The trio talk about the increasing demand for CAS and its rapid growth, with CohnReznick experiencing over 60% prac...

In our latest On the Books episode, we explore the insights gathered from the 2025 Intuit QuickBooks Accountant Technology Survey. The survey sheds light on accountants' perspectives on the current technology landscape, including the benefits and challenges you face, as well as the evolving nature of your work. Key findings include insights into technology standardization, the integration of AI in...

“Our mantras have been, ‘we will turn it on for every firm once we’ve earned the right’ and ‘every click matters.’” If you have been curious about the new QuickBooks Accounting Agent, we can help. In this episode of On the Books, Michael Hitchcock, VP of Product for Core FMS at Intuit, joins Ted and Jessica to delve into the AI Accounting Agent, an important piece of the groundbreaking new agentic...

Meet your AI-sherpa, your guide, in this new accounting frontier. Chad Davis, Co-Founder and Partner of LiveCA, joins Ted and Jessica to talk about his journey with AI in accounting. Chad's interest in AI grew as he saw its potential to revolutionize the accounting industry. He has since become a leading expert and speaker on the subject, implementing robust AI solutions in his firm and fostering...

You may have heard. QuickBooks is getting a glow-up. In this episode of the podcast, Ted and Jessica sit down with Joe Preston, Vice President of Product and Design at Intuit, to explore the exciting new QuickBooks experience. Joe talks through why these changes and why now. He also details the multi-month journey to develop the new changes team's focus on providing new tools to improve productivi...

How do you talk about your firm? How do you find new clients , or honestly, how do new clients find YOU? How do you (gasp!) market your services? Referrals remain strong, but there's a whole world of communication methods and ideas that have entered the industry.   Business development doesn't look the same as it did just a few short years ago. Social media , always-on content, video, audio … ther...

It’s graduation season, and in this episode, we explore a groundbreaking university class that is changing how students learn about Client Advisory Services. Recorded live at Utah Valley University, Intuit’s Jaclyn Anku interviews Accounting Professor David Waite, Brittany Brown, CEO of LedgerGurus, and Dan Luthi, Partner and COO at Ignite Spot. They discuss a pioneering new class that integrates...

Intuit receives over 15,000 pieces of feedback specifically from accountants every year. What in the world do we do with it all? In this episode of 'On the Books,' Ted Callahan and Jessica McCracken are joined by Karla Uribe, Director of Accountant Product at Intuit,, to delve into the essential role of accountant feedback in product development. Karla shares how her team collects and prioritizes...

That sentiment is best expressed by four accounting industry experts who have spent the past two years giving targeted product feedback to Intuit. Meet Matt, Lisa, Korey, and Ben - all members of Intuit Accountant Partner Council, all have spent time with product teams to shape the future of Intuit products that are critical for accountants. Ted and Jessica talk with the group about their time on...

In this slightly off-the-rails (books?) episode, Ted and Jessica answer your listener-submitted questions. We tackle Intuit’s investment in direct-to-client services, the relationship between QuickBooks Online and AI over the next 5-10 years, how does Inuit really respond to accountant feedback; and we give an update on innovations announced at Intuit Connect 2024. And if Ted and Jessica had to sw...

Solving the accounting talent shortage, industry expertise, restaurant recommendations - we have a little bit of everything. In this episode of On the Books, Ted and Jessica are joined by Chris Macksey, CEO of Prix Fixe Accounting, to talk about the growing importance of client industry expertise, the growth of niche firms, and why knowing more about a client’s macro environment is as important as...

Meet Simon Williams, the new vice president of the Accountant Segment at Intuit.    In this episode of On the Books , Simon shares his experience at Adobe and the BBC (he is originally from Wales, as you will hear), setting up partner groups, and navigating the first wave of AI adoption . Simon talks about his vision for strengthening the partnership between Intuit and accountants, emphasizing a c...

In a special episode of On the Books, guest hosts Nayo Carter-Gray and Tony Proctor welcomed Kevin Smoot and Hope Brown, and Al-Nesha Jones, to discuss their personal and professional journeys in the accounting field as Black accountants. Hear how all got their start in the industry, some of the challenges they face in their business, and the importance of mentorship and intentional networking. Th...

Part of an accountant’s work is to know the financial health of their clients. In this episode, we explore the latest Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index Annual Report, which provides insights into the current state and future prospects of small businesses in the US, Canada, and the UK.  Ted and Jessica talk with Intuit’s Simon Worsfold and KC Eames of Dark Horse  about the findings which highl...

Have you ever thought “Intuit is a confusing place. I’m not sure who I need to talk to about my issues,”? We know it can be hard navigating the inner workings of a tech company to get the solutions you and/or you clients need.   In this episode of On the Books, we introduce you to two Intuit leaders trying to solve this problem. Rony Branch and Jorge Olavarrieta lead our Accountant Sales and Partn...

Happy New Year! Welcome 2025. Let’s set some goals for your firm. Kenji Kuramoto, Acuity Founder and CEO, joins us today to talk about all things new year planning. Kenji and Acuity’s firm leaders have implemented a thorough elevation process to look back on the past year and goal-setting standards into the next. Kenji details their process, talks about timing (January?!), and the benefits he's se...

“You have one company Intuit trying to serve a diverse set of customers, we are going to have blind spots, we are going to get things wrong. We don’t know everything. So if we operate under the context of that, then it immediately frames that dialogues are so important - open candid dialogues are so important because only through those are we going to be able to course correct and adapt.” In this...

 ‘Tis the season for clean books ready for compliance! Join us as we talk with Amy Walker and Paul Glantz. Amy is a client advisory services accountant. Paul spends his time on the tax side. They joined forces in 2021 to form Walker Glantz CPA to give their clients a more cohesive approach to both accounting and tax advisory and filing. Paul and Amy discuss the challenges of CAS and tax practices...

On this On the Books episode, we dive into accounting continuing education. We hear a conversation between Jaclyn Anku, Principle Program Manager for ProAdvisor and Helena Tosh, Associate Director of Learning Design with Gamma Media. Jaclyn and Helena joined forces to redesign the new ProAdvisor Academy training. They talk about what is new in the training and what painpoints this new launch seeks...