Find your unique voice in the profession, and don’t be afraid to innovate.

Accounting ARC

With Donny Shimamoto.

Center for Accounting Transformation

Greg Kyte defies every stereotype of the typical accountant. Kyte, a licensed CPA and in-house accountant for a company managing medical office buildings, is also a stand-up comedian.

In a recent interview on Accounting ARC, hosted by Donny Shimamoto, CPA, CITP, CGMA, Kyte discussed his unconventional journey and how he uses humor to engage audiences in the accounting field.

MORE Accounting ARC: Rachel Bashore: A Lawyer's Case for Reinventing Accounting | Beyond the Basics in Ethics Education | Bailey Lenart: From Ledger Sheets to Transformational Change | Election Tax Plans: What CPAs Need to Know | Leadership for the Future: Stakeholders, Sustainability, and Strategic Vision | In-Person Conferences Still Essential | Non-Accountants in Accounting: A Game-Changer for the Profession

Before entering accounting, Kyte spent over a decade teaching middle school math. Reflecting on the shift, Kyte recalls, “After 10 years, I realized I wasn’t enjoying teaching anymore, and I knew it was time for a change.” Driven by his longstanding interest in numbers and the promise of stability, Kyte made the leap to accounting. “I had always loved math and organization, so accounting was a natural fit,” he adds.

Kyte’s current role as an in-house CPA for a commercial real estate company involves a blend of accounting and property management, including overseeing financial operations, contract reviews, and even some maintenance oversight.

"I get to make up my title to fit whatever circumstance I'm in," he says with a laugh. "If I want to flex on somebody, I'm the CFO. If I'd like to dodge responsibility, I'm an accounts payable clerk."

The future of accounting will be strategy, communication, analysis, and proactive support.

The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Rebecca Driscoll went out on her own at a young age when a partner at the CPA firm where she was working encouraged her. “You're not cut out for this path that we have in a traditional accounting firm,” Driscoll recalls him telling her. “You're different, so you should go be different.”

She already had a book of business as a staff accountant, but on the traditional path at that firm, it would be another decade before she could be considered for partnership.

At the end of 2023, faced with the challenges of parenting two kids under two and recognizing that leading a growing firm wasn’t her passion, she sold 80% of her firm and retained just a few clients. Driscoll reports that when she “canceled out the noise and busyness of all these clients and the employees, I would net out at the same take-home that I was already making.” Her husband has also joined her firm, taking over the bookkeeping side of the business.

The name of her business, Conscious Accounting, came from a client who remarked that she was different from “regular accountants” because she was conscious and aware of her clients' issues and proactive about providing them with what they needed.

14 MORE TAKEAWAYS: More Rebecca Driscoll Disruptor Notes

MORE: Disruptors

MORE CPA TRENDLINES PODCASTS and VIDEOS: Rory Henry: Create the Return on Relationships | Mike Mksymiw: Be the Leader You Wish You Had | Terrell Turner: Build a Solid Business Showing Up as Yourself | Kelly Mann: Be the Bull in the China Shop | Alicia Katz Pollock: Create a Human-Centric Business | Nancy McClelland: Be the One Your Clients Ask First | Alan Whitman: Stop Accepting the Status Quo | The Disruptors | Sean Duncan: Discover Your Own Genius | Ingrid Edstrom: True Wealth Is Not Financial | Chris Hervochon: Be the Leader You Want to Work For | Caleb Jenkins: Firm Growth Requires Owners to Shift Roles |Ira Rosenbloom: Don't Merge for the Money | Adam Lean: Get Out of the Accountant's Trap | Geraldine Carter: Charging More is Better for Your Clients

SEE THEM ALL here.

Challenging the CPA mindset.

Capstone Conversations
With Jean Caragher

Rea & Associates is transitioning from a traditional CPA-centric model to a broader advisory role, aiming to offer services such as IT consulting and wealth management.

Becca Johns, director of practice growth, tells Jean Caragher in this episode of Capstone Conversations that the move demands major shifts in the firm’s internal mindset and culture, including redefining roles, retraining staff, and effectively communicating the new value proposition to clients.

Full show notes here | More Capstone Conversations here | Follow Jean Caragher on CPA Trendlines here. | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | Catch Jean Caragher every Friday with Gear Up for Growth here |