Ryan Lazanis, CPA, here.
When I started my cloud accounting firm in 2013, I didn’t want it to look like anything on the market.
It was a scary yet exciting time, as I tried to prove out this new business model.
Luckily, it worked, and I was able to successfully scale it (and sell it) after just 5 short years.
I then started Future Firm to help push the industry forward once again.
I’ve been lucky enough to help thousands of firms across the globe unlock freedom and growth in their business.
And if you know me, it’s no secret that I’ve long been attracted to firms doing things differently.
We can learn a lot from each other…
So this year, to inspire other firm owners out there, my team and I have compiled a list of the Top 50 Modern Firms to help peel back the curtain on what some of the coolest firms on the planet are doing.
(And yes, we have definitely forgotten some awesome firms on the list, so apologies if that’s you!)
Let’s take a look…
Criteria for Selecting Modern Firms
This is not a list of the “largest accounting firms.”
It isn’t a list of firms with the most impressive clients either (although one firm does have Steve-O as a client, which is pretty neat).
This is not a list featuring the Big Four accounting firms and other corporations you’ve heard about hundreds of times before…
Nor is it a list of prominent member firms from prestigious accounting organizations.
Instead, it’s a list of firms that you can learn from.
These are firms helping clients from individuals and startups to small businesses and middle market companies…
In ways that are worth paying attention to.
This is a list of firms that are pushing the accounting industry forward.
Here are our selection criteria:
- Tech-forward: Using AI, automation, or cloud tools in smart, intentional ways.
- Recurring revenue models: Making smart use of subscriptions or productized services.
- Creative marketing: Building visibility through content, transparency, or standout branding.
- People-first culture: Prioritizing team flexibility, well-being, and growth.
- Unique client experience: Delivering services or experiences that break the traditional mold.
- Sustainable and profitable: Maintaining healthy profit margins and running a sustainable business.
We handpicked every firm in this list — no applications, no nominations, no sponsorships.
No one paid to be featured.
Interesting Takeaways and Statistics From the Top 50 Modern Firms
Before we get to the list, I’d like to share some findings you’ll find valuable.
We looked at each of these firms and crunched the numbers to come up with the following research:
60% of the Top 50 Modern Firm owners work 40 hours or fewer a week
The accounting industry is infamous for long working hours.
But what does “long hours” mean?
After aggregating research with help from ChatGPT, this is what we found:
55% of accounting firm owners work 50+ hours per week, with a staggering 90% working more than the standard 40 hours.
This is a big difference from the Top 50 Modern Firm owners:
Only 4% of the Top 50 Modern Firm owners work over 50 hours.
60% of the group worked 40 or fewer hours per week, with 20% working 30 or fewer hours.
72% of the Top 50 Modern Firm owners charge over $1,000 per month
We turned to Ignition’s 2025 U.S. Accounting and Tax Pricing Benchmark — which I helped them create — to understand how much firms charge per month for accounting and bookkeeping.
Here are the findings:
Only 22.9% of them charge above $1,000 per month, with 33.3% charging below $500 (which I consider the bare minimum for “healthy” pricing).
Again, this is a stark contrast to what the Top 50 Modern Firms charge.
Check this out:
72% of the Top 50 Modern Firms charge over $1,000 per month.
Impressively, almost a third of them (32%) are charging double that — over $2,000 per month.
If you’re interested in more statistics like this…
Or, more importantly, if you want to learn how you can do this in your own firm…
You’ll want to check out our Top 50 Modern Firm report.
It’s packed with actionable findings based on real-world data to help you start building profitable and sustainable firms like the ones on this list.
Get the full report here:
And now, without further ado, it’s time for the list of the Top 50 Modern Accounting Firms!
The Top 50 Modern Firms
1. Full Send Finance
Full Send Finance is very good at branding and positioning.
They have great leaders in Roman Villard and Stacey Feldman, and they’re also constantly pushing forward-thinking services like data automation and fractional data support.
- Firm owner: Roman Villard & Stacey Feldman
- Site: https://www.thefullsend.com/
- Team size: 11 to 20
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000+ per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Focusing on brand and digital presence to drive positive outcomes for brand connectivity/recognition, sales enablement, and recruitment efforts.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Trying to grow “fast” or rush any new initiative has only led to more challenging outcomes. The more slowly we’ve navigated into big changes, the better the outcome has been from the beginning.
2. Acuity
Kenji Kuramoto and Matthew May, co-founders of Acuity, are pioneers of running a virtual accounting firm. Acuity has a team of over 100 people and is acquiring different firms to keep growing.
Kenji and Matthew are down-to-earth people who are always finding ways to help the accounting community. They also have a YouTube channel where they cover various accounting topics called Drink While You Think.
- Firm owners: Kenji Kuramoto and Matthew May
- Site: https://acuity.co/
- Team size: 100+
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Matthew: To view our technology vendors as business partners and adapt our service offerings as their solutions evolve.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Matthew: There is no finish line, only a journey.
3. Around Finance
Around Finance is one of the top accounting firms in Ireland, and they provide full-service accounting services to small businesses, marketing agencies, tech startups, and e-commerce companies.
Around’s intricate tech stack is what allows them to deliver services to a wide range of clients in the way they do. They are led by Richie Lennon, a veteran CPA with experience as a CFO and LEO mentor.
- Firm owner: Richie Lennon
- Site: https://aroundfinance.ie/
- Team size: 5 to 10
- Average price charged per business client: $500 to $749 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
The most impactful strategic decision was narrowing our focus to three core sectors: e-commerce, marketing agencies, and tech-driven businesses.
This specialisation allowed us to build deep industry expertise, deliver tailored reporting and advisory solutions, and attract clients who value strategic insight, not just compliance. It also helped us build a team of purpose-driven accountants who want to turn up, make an impact, and add real value to the businesses they serve.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Early on, I made the classic mistake — low pricing and taking on the wrong clients.
It left me stretched thin, underpaid, and unable to deliver the kind of high-impact work I was trained to do. I couldn’t hire, worked long hours, and came dangerously close to burnout. That was my wake-up call.
I drew a line in the sand — let go of the wrong clients, raised my prices, and focused only on the industries where I knew I could add more value than a traditional accountant. That shift changed everything. I started enjoying the work again, became profitable, and attracted A-players who share the same mission.
4. Blueprint Accounting
Blueprint Accounting is led by Brian Clare, one of the top automation experts in the accounting industry. The firm does a lot of great automation work for its clients.
In addition to running Blueprint, Brian builds apps that help fellow accountants with automations.
- Firm owner: Brian Clare
- Site: https://www.xyblueprint.com/
- Team size: 5 to 10
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999/month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Being pickier with client selection. We don’t take everyone that comes through our virtual door, and that has led to working with better clients and having a happier team.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Outbound sales are really hard. As with anything new, you have to dedicate time and attention to learning and improving on it. I wasted easily $40K by not putting enough attention to my outbound sales process.
5. GrowthLab
GrowthLab specializes in CFO work like succession planning, employee compensation, and transaction advisory services. They are led by Daniel Gertrudes.
GrowthLabs helps both firms and clients automate. Through its STRMS services, the firm also builds custom workflow automations to eliminate manual tasks.
- Firm owner: Daniel Gertrudes
- Site: https://www.growthlabfinancial.com/
- Team size: 21 to 50
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 0 to 10 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Over the past 11 years, several strategic decisions have shaped GrowthLab into the firm it is today, but the most transformative was shifting my mindset as a leader from ‘what got us here’ to “what will take us forward.”
Initially, the acquisition of bookkeeping businesses starting 10 years ago laid the foundational scale and provided the platform to attract amazing talent, many now core to our leadership. Recognizing the importance of aligned incentives, my second pivotal decision was offering equity to key strategic employees, deeply embedding shared ownership and business continuity.
Next, positioning GrowthLab firmly as an FP&A-first firm defined our market niche and value proposition, differentiating us in a crowded market. Hiring two AI automation engineers for our STRMS Team provided both a competitive advantage and financial and operational flexibility, reinforcing our commitment to innovation and AI-driven efficiency.
Yet, ultimately, the strategic decision with the deepest impact was recognizing that our next stage of growth required a new leadership mindset. Embracing difficult yet necessary decisions—those that challenged my own comfort zone—has proven critical to securing GrowthLab’s future, benefiting our employees, customers, and stakeholders alike.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
The hardest lesson I’ve learned is the importance of truly letting go—not just delegating tasks, but stepping back and giving my team the space to lean into their strengths and find their own voice. Early on, I struggled to trust my team fully, unconsciously stifling their growth and our potential. It took losing some cherished relationships and confronting tough feedback from trusted peers, therapists, and coaches to finally recognize this. Once I embraced letting go, the entire firm began operating differently. True systems, processes, and a real management operating framework emerged naturally, showing me that the best way to lead effectively is sometimes by stepping aside.
6. LiveCA
Founded by Josh Zweig and Chad Davis, LiveCA is a well-recognized name in online accounting in Canada.
At one point, they were one of the biggest online accounting firms in the world, but they made a brave decision to scale back. Now, they’re very happy with how much they’re making and the lifestyle their team enjoys.
A huge part of their success is because they’re very clear about the clients they want: they don’t deal with companies with less than a million in revenue. Chad is very big on building automated systems as well.
- Firm owners: Josh Zweig and Chad Davis
- Site: https://www.liveca.ca/
- Team size: 50 to 100
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Josh: Our transition to a scalable and transparent pricing model using budgeted hours.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Josh: Accounting firms aren’t tech companies.
7. Celerity
Celerity is an excellent example that you don’t have to provide every “traditional” accounting service to be a profitable firm.
They don’t offer any tax services. Instead, they focus on the things they are good at: specializing in QBO and Netsuite. What’s cool is how they’ve turned Netsuite, a platform many accountants do not want to use, into a good source of leads.
- Firm owner: Tailor Hartman
- Site: https://celerity.io/
- Team size: 5 to 10
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000+ per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Value pricing, focusing on relationships, and networking with other accountants.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
One person can really screw up the culture at your firm. Spend more time hiring the right person.
8. Little Fish Accounting
Little Fish Accounting began as a side project by its founder, Keila Hill-Trawick. She started off by helping her friends manage their taxes.
Little Fish is heavily focused on personalization. This is why, despite their relatively small firm size, they are able to provide services of the highest quality to their clients.
- Firm owner: Keila Hill-Trawick
- Site: https://www.littlefishaccounting.com/
- Team size: 5 to 10
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Deciding how to serve in a way that was streamlined so that we could take on clients more easily and personalize as needed, without starting from scratch.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
It is much better to hire from the bottom up than top down, but I didn’t know that at first. Once I did, I found that the faster I was able to delegate client delivery work, the more time I had to think about how to improve the firm as a whole.
9. Rigits
What can I say about an accounting firm that has Steve-O as a client?
Rigits offers a strong value proposition: clarity, confidence, and proactiveness. The firm began with an honest passion, too: Julia Kelly discovered how much she enjoyed the financial management aspect when she was running a business.
- Firm owners: Julia Kelly and Elizabeth Karube
- Site: https://rigits.com/
- Team size: 5 to 10
- Average price charged per business client: Prefer not to say
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 50+ hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Julia: Fixed fee pricing. Predictable income = happiness.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Julia: Do not have accounts receivable. We don’t invoice clients, we collect their billing info when they sign the contract bill them automatically. We learned that lesson when COVID hit, and we had a huge balance of AR. Having to make collections calls at the start of a global pandemic when the world was shutting down was very painful. Additionally, we’ve had to kiss goodbye to several big invoices throughout the years where we did a huge amount of work and the client just disappeared. Lesson learned!
10. Dillon Business Advisors
Led by Marcus Dillon, Dillon Business Advisors has a big focus on CFO and advisory work. They work with several industries, ranging from real estate brokers and engineering firms to dentistry and veterinary professionals.
DBA provides a unique, “Team of 3” system to clients, where three experts are assigned per client: a client controller, a client service manager, and a client CFO.
- Firm owner: Marcus Dillon
- Site: https://www.dillonadvisors.com/
- Team size: 11 to 20
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000+ per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 20 to 30 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Identifying ideal clients and defining service plans, and only accepting new ideal clients in ideal service plans. Then, exiting and monetizing non-ideal clients to create capacity for new ideal clients.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
The owner is the bottleneck, and you have to delegate to elevate to grow.
11. Tri-Merit
Tri-Merit specializes in tax-saving strategies and is headed by Randy Crabtree, who has been included in Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.
Randy is a firm owner who loves giving back to the community. He’s also the host of the Bridging the Gap conference, which he founded to bring accountants together so they can learn and share ideas with each other.
- Firm owner: Randy Crabtree
- Site: https://tri-merit.com/
- Team size: 50 to 100
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Aligning people’s skills and passions with their role.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
It took me too long to realize that the best role for me was not managing partner. Once we made the switch. That’s when we were really able to significantly grow, and I was able to concentrate on the areas that I’m most passionate about.
12. The Fractional CFO
The Fractional CFO is one of the earliest firms in South Africa that I heard about. The firm is led by Mike Powell, and its main goal is to help businesses achieve financial freedom.
They excel in providing advisory services — they were a finalist for the South African Emerging Firm of the Year award two years in a row.
- Firm owner: Mike Powell
- Site: https://www.thefractionalcfo.co.za/
- Team size: 5 to 10
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
To hire great people.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
To say no to the wrong opportunities.
13. Erica Goode, CPA
Unlike many firms, Erica doesn’t focus on scaling. Instead, she puts work-life balance at the very top of her priority list — 15-hour work weeks and making the money she needs to be happy.
This probably isn’t what many people would visualize when they think about a successful firm. However, Erica is paving her own path and building the exact business that she wants. And ultimately, that’s more impressive than any preconceived notion of what a successful firm should look like.
- Firm owner: Erica Goode
- Site: https://www.ericagoode.com/
- Team size: 1
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 10 to 20 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Setting boundaries – about how much I work, who I work with, and how much I charge. I wouldn’t have the firm I have without boundaries.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Following someone else’s dream for my career, instead of my own. It’s okay to choose a path that looks different than everyone else’s.
14. Two Roads
Two Roads was founded by Adam Slack, one of the first people to get into online accounting. The firm was named the first Firm of the Future by Intuit.
Two Roads is good at creating solutions for real problems. For example, when Adam encountered issues with uncategorized bookkeeping transactions, it led to the creation of an app called Uncat that addresses that specific problem.
- Firm owner: Adam Slack
- Site: https://www.tworoadsco.com/
- Team size: 50 to 100
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
We consolidate all of our clients into the same software stack, enabling us to be as efficient as possible. We also have a remote workforce that allows us to retain the best and brightest in the field.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Your clients’ happiness can’t be your responsibility. Sometimes you just have to part ways. Another one would be, charge what you are worth, not what they are willing to pay.
15. Ascend Consulting
Ascend Consulting is an advisory-heavy firm. Its founder, Jacob Schroeder, realized that tax wasn’t where he wanted to focus, which is why he designed Ascend to be one of the most focused advisory firms in the industry. Their services revolve around helping businesses preserve wealth through their expert strategies.
Jacob is a big believer in saying “no” — not so he could work on more things, but so he can set aside time for other important things like health and family time.
- Firm owner: Jacob Schroeder
- Site: https://www.ascendllc.co/
- Team size: 2 to 4
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000+ per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Splitting off our bookkeeping and tax practices to fully focus on advisory services.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Learn to delegate and to say no. It isn’t worth working 80 hours a week, and many times, the Who is as powerful (if not more powerful) than the How.
16. The Graf Tax Co.
The Graf Tax Co. is a small-sized firm. However, it’s known inside the accounting space because its owner, Logan Graf, gives back to the community with his own community.
Logan regularly shares content on LinkedIn and YouTube about how he runs his firm, day-to-day operations, and even challenges they face.
- Firm owner: Logan Graf
- Site: https://www.graftaxco.com/
- Team size: 2 to 4
- Average price charged per business client: $100 to $499 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Raising my rates dramatically for those not at my current market rate.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
When you realize you need to hire someone, it’s too late.
17. FinOptimal
When accounting firms — or businesses, for that matter — encounter a problem, their first instinct is to find an app that can solve that problem. FinOptimal, however, breaks down the problem and just builds the app themselves.
With Jesse Rubenfeld at the helm, FinOptimal takes a proactive approach to processes. They don’t wait for inefficiencies to pop up before they think about automating something. Accruer, one of the apps they built, has helped many accountants save hundreds of hours on accruals.
- Firm owner: Jesse Rubenfeld
- Site: https://www.finoptimal.com/
- Team size: 5 to 10
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000+ per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Tom Zehentner (Director of Growth and Product): Embracing “Can we automate it?” as a niche.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Tom Zehentner: Saying no to work that doesn’t fit our ICP.
18. Connected Accounting
Connected Accounting was started in 2019 by Marie Greene to provide peace of mind for entrepreneurs and business owners.
The firm’s branding and website are top-notch.
And with over 100 clients in a variety of industries, they still maintain a 100% NPS score, likely due to two of their core values: reliability and clear communication.
Clients praise Connected Accounting not only for providing great accounting services but also for helping them find ways to grow their businesses. Marie, who is well-known in the accounting community, was also nominated for Ignition’s Top 50 Women in Accounting awards.
- Firm owner: Marie Greene
- Site: https://www.connectedaccounting.co/
- Team size: 11 to 20
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
3-tier pricing.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Hire fast, fire faster. I often do not follow this.
19. A2 Advisers
Having worked with several small businesses for over a decade, A2 Advisers’ founder Luke Templin saw that the biggest value they could provide is financial guidance and doubled down on it. That’s why A2 Advisers is thriving as an advisory-only firm.
What makes Luke’s approach unique is that he doesn’t just focus on the numbers. He helps clients grow holistically and offers guidance on everything from operations to hiring. It’s why he writes The Mind of a CFO, his newsletter on strategic thinking for business owners. Luke also has a CAS-focused newsletter for firm owners called the CAS Cache.
- Firm owner: Luke Templin
- Site: https://www.a2advisers.com/
- Team size: 2 to 4
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 20 to 30 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
My most impactful strategic decision was stepping out of the traditional firm structure to build an advisor-only model. I saw firsthand that the highest value we deliver isn’t tax prep and bookkeeping—it’s clarity, insight, and strategic guidance. a2advisers was born to offer precisely that.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
I thought I had to do it all, and held on too long. It cost me time, clarity, and momentum. Everything changed once I built the right team and let go of the day-to-day. It gave me the space to explore new ventures, like building FinDaily.io and launching The Kick C@$ community, and travel more. The freedom came from trust.
20. Nimbl
Nimbl is an accounting firm founded by Dave Olsen, who transitioned from a Big Four auditor to a contract CFO for startups. He established Nimbl to provide comprehensive accounting, tax, and offshore staffing services after he saw the need for scalable financial solutions.
As Nimbl expanded, the challenge of managing IT infrastructure for a global, remote team became apparent. In response, Olsen initiated an in-house IT solution, which evolved into Nimbl Tech. This division now offers managed IT services, including device management and cybersecurity training.
- Firm owner: Dave Olsen
- Site: https://trustnimbl.com/
- Team size: 50 to 100
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Creating a corporate organizational structure (as opposed to a partnership model) and investing in a leadership team with specialists at the head of functions and service lines.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
The importance of delegating functions and outcomes (not tasks) while still providing close oversight and creating a sense of urgency. No matter how good your people are, no one is going to care as much, want to move as fast, or see the full picture as clearly as an owner.
21. Ignite Spot Accounting
Founded by Eddy Hood and led by COO Dan Luthi, Ignite Spot is a fully remote accounting firm serving hundreds of clients across the U.S. They specialize in outsourced CFO, controller, and bookkeeping services, focusing on businesses in the $2 to 10 million revenue range.
Ignite Spot has embraced automation and cloud-based tools to streamline workflows and enhance client service. Their mission: to help businesses become debt-free and more profitable.
- Firm owners: Eddy Hood, Dan Luthi, and Ryan Steck
- Site: https://www.ignitespot.com/
- Team size: 21 to 50
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
One of the most impactful strategic moves Ignite Spot made was launching AccountingForChildCareCenters.com, a dedicated niche offering focused on the financial needs of childcare centers.
By focusing on this specific vertical, we were able to:
Address real, industry-specific challenges – Childcare centers operate under tight margins, shifting enrollments, licensing requirements, and often manage subsidies or grant funding. A general accounting approach doesn’t meet those needs effectively.
Deliver a more specific service – We built the offering around what these businesses actually need, whether it’s specialized reporting, forecasting, or navigating funding rules, so our support is more relevant and actionable.
Stand out in the market – Instead of competing with every general bookkeeping firm, we created a clear point of differentiation. That helped us attract the right clients and build trust quickly.
Establish ourselves as industry experts – Owning the brand and domain gave us visibility in the childcare space and positioned us as a trusted resource, not just a service provider.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned as a firm owner is that process isn’t optional — it’s essential. In the early days, we were moving fast, making decisions on the fly, and doing what we had to do to grow. But over time, the cracks started to show. Without clear, consistent processes, things got messy. Team members worked differently, clients got uneven experiences, and I ended up being the go-to for everything. It wasn’t scalable, and it definitely wasn’t sustainable.
We made the decision to slow down, step back, and start building real processes — not just in theory, but in practice. From how we onboard clients to how we deliver our services and communicate as a team, we’ve worked hard to create structure where there used to be improvisation. It’s still very much a work in progress, but we’re already seeing the fruit. Clients are more confident in how we operate, and our team is more aligned and empowered. The stress is lower, the output is better, and we’re finally creating a business that can grow without burning everyone out. It’s not glamorous, but it’s one of the most valuable investments we’ve made.
22. Bean Ninjas
Bean Ninjas specializes in eCommerce businesses, with operations in Australia, the U.S., and the U.K. Founded in 2015 by Meryl Johnston, the firm has grown from a small startup into an award-winning company. Meryl’s secret to success? Niching.
Wayne Richard, a former Hewlett-Packard finance leader, joined Bean Ninjas in 2016 and became a partner in 2019. He now leads the U.S. division as Partner and COO and brings deep expertise in cloud accounting and automation.
- Firm owner: Meryl Johnston
- Site: https://beanninjas.com/
- Team size: 21 to 50
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week (Meryl notes that she spends only 5 to 10 of those hours at Bean Ninjas)
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Niching. We changed our positioning from bookkeeping for online businesses to eCommerce growth accountants.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Persisting for too long when a team member isn’t working out. Occasionally, there are extenuating circumstances for poor performance, but generally, it is highly unlikely you can turn an under-performer into a rockstar.
23. My Finance Team
My Finance Team, co-founded by Andrew Coulson and Matthew Tucker, offers UK-based startups and SMEs a scalable alternative to building an in-house finance department.
They have three pricing tiers: Finance Associate, Finance Manager, and Finance Partner. My Finance Team combines real-time KPI dashboards, strategic coaching, and flexible support plans to help clients grow profitably without the stress of managing a full finance team.
Firm owners: Andrew Coulson and Matthew Tucker
- Site: https://www.myfinanceteam.co.uk/
- Team size: 21 to 50
- Average price charged per business client: $750 to $999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Andrew Coulson: Focus on a technology-led outsourced finance function.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Andrew: You can’t — or should — do everything when growing. Delegate sooner.
24. ConnectCPA
Co-founded by Mike Pinkus and Lior Zehtser, ConnectCPA is one of Canada’s earliest and largest cloud accounting firms.
With over 100 team members across the globe, they offer a “plug-and-play” virtual finance department for scaling businesses. ConnectCPA’s tech-forward approach and fixed-fee model have made them a go-to for SaaS and eCommerce businesses.
- Firm owners: Mike Pinkus and Lior Zehtser
- Site: https://www.connectcpa.ca/
- Team size: 100+
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000+ per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Mike Pinkus: Building a strong leadership team and implementing EOS.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Mike: At scale, time tracking across every department is imperative.
25. Calmwaters Cloud Accounting
Helping accountants with their own accounting is what Calmwaters Cloud Accounting does, and they do it well. Founder Kellie Parks knows firsthand how easy it is for firm owners to put their own books on the back burner, and she’s built a business around fixing that.
Beyond bookkeeping, Kellie has created several workflow templates that help firms run a tighter, more automated ship. She’s well know in the industry for her tech saviness.
- Firm owner: Kellie Parks
- Site: https://www.accounting4accountants.com/
- Team size: 2 to 4
- Average price charged per business client: $750 to $999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 20 to 30 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
We have tightly defined our accounting tech stack and services, which tie directly to our ideal client.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Not to spread ourselves too widely on the services we offer. Now we stick with what we are good at, what we love to do, so we can bring the highest value to our clients.
26. AMLB
AMLB is a Canadian accounting firm that combines financial expertise with a strong commitment to community and purpose-driven work. Co-founded by Moez Bawania and Ally Ladha, the firm offers virtual CFO services for businesses and non-profits.
AMLB shines in its expertise in the not-for-profit sector. The team works directly with executive directors and boards to maximize program funding, improve cost allocation, and keep organizations audit-ready.
- Firm owners: Moez Bawania and Ally Ladha
- Site: https://amlb.ca/
- Team size: 11 to 20
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000+ per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 50+ hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Moez Bawania: Defining clearly who we serve and how we serve them. We serve growth-oriented Canadian entrepreneurs and non-profits with at least $1 million in revenue. We do this via our fully cloud-based virtual finance services with bookkeeping as a mandatory part of our offering. This allows clients and us to have access to timely and high-quality financial data for productive performance discussions.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Moez: Culture eats strategy for breakfast.
27. Momentum Accounting
Momentum Accounting, led by founder and CEO Nikole Mackenzie, helps founder-led businesses scale by focusing on five key levers that drive growth and profitability: cash flow, profit, people, technology, and routines.
Nikole is recognized in the accounting space for her expertise in modern accounting practices. She actively shares insights through her LinkedIn articles and YouTube videos, where she covers topics like cash flow management and financial habits that set successful businesses apart.
- Firm owner: Nikole Mackenzie
- Site: https://momentumaccounting.com/
- Team size: 5 to 10
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000+ per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Narrowing our focus to clients we can create the best outcomes for.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Always be selling (keep the pipeline hot) even when things are good.
28. 1st Step Accounting
1st Step Accounting operates virtually and provides accounting and tax services to small business owners across the U.S. It was founded by Nayo Carter-Gray, a recognized thought leader in the accounting profession.
Beyond her client work, Nayo contributes to the broader accounting community through initiatives like the Taking Your Firm Virtual Summit. She also established a scholarship fund at Coppin State University to support aspiring accountants.
- Firm owner: Nayo Carter-Gray
- Site: https://1ststepaccounting.com/
- Team size: 5 to 10
- Average price charged per business client: $750 to $999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Holding a daily virtual office hour/co-working session.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Get paid in advance of service beginning. I had to take a client to collections for over $4,000 because I originally billed after the fact. I won the case, BTW, lol.
29. Avalon Accounting
Avalon Accounting is a Canadian firm that provides modern accounting services with educational content for small business owners. Beyond offering bookkeeping and tax services, Avalon has developed a suite of free and paid online courses designed to help entrepreneurs understand and manage their finances effectively.
Their YouTube channel, with over 24,000 subscribers, features videos that simplify complex financial topics, which makes them accessible to a broader audience.
- Firm owners: Joe Collins, Jonathan Candel, Paul Sharpe
- Site: https://www.avalonaccounting.ca/
- Team size: 21 to 50
- Average price charged per business client: $750 to $999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 10 to 20 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Joe Collins: Team roles and structure.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Joe: The details matter — a lot!
30. GATP Solutions
GATP Solutions, founded by Nikhar Mathur, is a tech-forward accounting firm based in India. They provide bookkeeping, tax, payroll, and virtual CFO services to startups and seven-figure businesses across various industries.
GATP Solutions has developed customized automated processes that lead to accurate books, timely reports, and a clear understanding of clients’ businesses. Their services are designed to be “touch-free and invisible,” meaning business owners can focus on growth without ever thinking about accounting tasks.
- Firm owner: Nikhar Mathur
- Site: https://gatpsolutions.com/
- Team size: 21 to 50
- Average price charged per business client: $100 to $499 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Hiring for value, implementing AI, and being part of the community.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Not everything needs to be resolved by me — everything does get resolved on its own time.
31. Trio Accounting
Trio Accounting is led by Nickie Sheehan, who proudly holds the title of Chief Encouragement Officer. It is a New Zealand-based firm that offers accounting and business coaching services.
Trio also specializes in supporting women-led businesses with the goal of providing freedom and financial success. Nickie’s empathetic approach has made Trio a trusted partner for many entrepreneurs.
- Firm owner: Nickie Sheehan
- Site: https://www.trioaccounting.co.nz/
- Team size: 2 to 4
- Average price charged per business client: $100 to $499 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 20 to 30 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
The way I chose to resource my firm has been my best strategic decision. I use a combination of in-house accountants and have partnered with a fantastic outsourcing provider. My in-house accountants are part-time working mums who have a huge amount of flexibility. We focus on outputs, not on when or where they do the work. This has enabled them to spend extended periods of time visiting family overseas, juggle the challenges of school holidays, and fit work around all the other things in their lives that matter to them.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
The most important thing is working with the right people with the right attitude… whether that is your team or your clients. It’s taken me a while to have the courage to exit people who aren’t the right fit quickly instead of ignoring the issues and hoping things will get better. It never does.
32. Reconciled
Founded by Michael Ly, Reconciled is a fully remote accounting firm that has grown into one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., earning a spot on the Inc. 5000 list multiple times.
Aside from accounting and advisory, Reconciled also offers outsourced HR services. They help growing companies with setting up an HR team, and they provide training and continuous support.
- Firm owner: Michael Ly
- Site: https://www.reconciled.com/
- Team size: 21 to 50
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 10 to 20 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Hire great leaders and empower them to lead.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Not everyone loves changes — especially accountants.
33. Outsourced CFO
Outsourced CFO (OCFO) is a South African firm that provides financial management services to startups and scaling businesses. OCFO offers cloud, accounting, automation, and CFO consulting services.
OCFO has been recognized for its innovative approach — it was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in South Africa in 2017 and 2019. It was also honored as Xero Partner of the Year in 2024.
- Firm owners: Jacques Le Grange, Louw Barnardt, and Dana Pretorius
- Site: https://www.ocfo.com/
- Team size: 100+
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Jacques Le Grange: Empowering leaders of client divisions (CFO, Bookkeeping, etc) to run the service lines as autonomously as possible and scale up methodology implementation.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Jacques: Get the right people on board. Don’t shop while hungry.
34. FirstLink Business Solutions
Founded by Richard Oliver, FirstLink is leading the charge in modern, tech-forward accounting in the Caribbean. The firm helps businesses level up with virtual CFO services, legal and HR support, and a full suite of back-office solutions.
Richard’s vision extends beyond the Caribbean — he also founded CFO Lifeline, a firm that provides CFO services to professional services firms like marketing agencies and legal practices, in the United States.
- Firm owner: Richard Oliver
- Site: https://firstlinktt.org/
- Team size: 11 to 20
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
The single most strategic decision that had the biggest positive impact on FirstLink Business Solutions Limited has been embedding technology and innovation as a core value from day one. When we launched the firm in 2015, we made a deliberate decision to adopt cloud-based technology at a time when most firms and businesses in the Caribbean region were still relying heavily on desktop-based software like Sage 50 and QuickBooks Desktop.
This mindset positioned us as early adopters and pioneers. We were the first in our country, Trinidad and Tobago, to use Xero as a 100% cloud accounting software platform, and we didn’t stop there. We then adopted OCR tools such as AutoEntry and Dext (formerly Receipt Bank) long before they became commonplace. In November 2019, we became the first firm in the Caribbean to implement Karbon as our practice management software. We also leveraged Futrli as a forecasting and reporting tool to help our clients make more informed decisions.
These decisions transformed the way we work. Our team operates with far greater efficiency and can handle a much larger volume of work without compromising quality. Manual, repetitive tasks have been dramatically reduced, allowing our staff to focus on higher-value advisory services. This shift has improved employee satisfaction, client experience, and our ability to scale.
Today, we even have a dedicated staff member whose sole focus is on technology and automation. This is a role that didn’t exist when we started, but is now central to our operations. That one strategic decision in 2015 to prioritize innovation and cloud technology has become the foundation for our growth, agility, and ability to lead the way in modern accounting in our region.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
One of the hardest but most valuable lessons I’ve learned as a firm owner is that building a scalable team requires far more than hiring competent or experienced individuals. I started FirstLink Business Solutions Limited when I was just 26, and by the time I hired my first employee at 28, I was still very much in the trenches, learning and building as I went. In those early days, with a team of fewer than five, it was easier to maintain close, personal connections. Culture happened naturally.
But as we grew beyond 15 team members, I started to see the cracks. Despite hiring people with impressive resumes and technical knowledge, our employee retention rate dropped from over 90% to around 60%. It became clear that we were hiring the wrong people. Not necessarily because they lacked skills but because they weren’t aligned with our firm’s values, vision, or ways of working.
The lesson? Technical competence alone doesn’t build a sustainable or scalable team. Cultural fit, attitude, and adaptability are just as if not more important. You can teach skills, but you can’t teach someone to care, to be proactive, or to truly want to grow with the firm.
35. Accounting Prose
Accounting Prose stands out for its sharp branding and systems-first approach. Founded by Enzo O’Hara Garza, the firm focuses on startups and service-based businesses that need accounting, HR, and automation support.
Enzo is a self-proclaimed “Automation Nerd” and brings deep expertise in workflow design and tech automation. Their approach is shaped by principles of Bodhisattva and Kaizen — a focus on continuous improvement, empathy, and thoughtful systems.
- Firm owner: Enzo Garza
- Site: https://accountingprose.com/
- Team size: 11 to 20
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000+ per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Implementing AI and making automations to reduce the tedium and allow us to do higher-value work. Hired a salesperson to free up my time as an owner and sell our services upmarket.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Hire people who are smarter than me, and don’t hold on to tasks because I’m worried they won’t be done correctly. Document all of my processes to close the knowledge gap for those folks taking on that work.
36. QBK Accounting
QBK Accounting, co-founded by Hector Garcia, has carved out a niche as one of the most recognized QuickBooks-centric practices in the profession.
Hector, a CPA and Advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor, is widely known for his deep expertise in QuickBooks and commitment to educating both clients and fellow accountants. He’s also a member of Intuit’s Trainer/Writer Network and regularly presents at major industry events like QuickBooks Connect.
- Firm owner: Hector Garcia
- Site: https://qbkaccounting.com/
- Team size: 5 to 10
- Average price charged per business client: $750 to $999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Niche down to QuickBooks Online work.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
That price is a number, and value is a feeling.
37. Anomaly CPA
Anomaly CPA rapidly scaled by focusing on subscription-based services for startups, real estate investors, and digital businesses. It was co-founded by John Malone and Greg O’Brien.
The firm has a team scattered across the U.S., the Philippines, and India. Anomaly CPA was featured in the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies of 2023 and the 2022 Best Firms for Technology.
- Firm owners: Greg O’Brien and John Malone
- Site: https://www.anomalycpa.com/
- Team size: 21 to 50
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Operating a fully remote firm since inception in late 2018. We have grown 100% organically via digital marketing and team expansion throughout the world.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Growth and scale are different things. For a period, we grew too fast without the right systems in place. Scaling is very difficult and much harder than “growing.” We are now fully focused on scaling.
38. YBL
Founded by Ross Libbey, YBL is a Canadian accounting firm that has grown from a home-based operation into a team of over 30 professionals. It offers virtual CFO services, tax planning, and back-office management to industries like real estate, health and wellness, and construction.
Mike Libbey, serving as COO, has been instrumental in YBL’s expansion and innovation. He has been recognized with the TODD SKINNER Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Peter Perry & Business Achievement Awards.
- Firm owners: Ross Libbey and Mike Libbey
- Site: https://ybl.ca/
- Team size: 21 to 50
- Average price charged per business client: $750 to $999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Mike Libbey: Pulling myself off of client work and delegating as much as I could to free myself up to focus on operations and strategy.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Mike: Don’t wait until it’s too late to hire.
39. Ghost Crew
Ghost Crew offers CFO advisory, accounting, and business tax solutions to small business owners. Tammy Little, the founder, has over 30 years of experience working in corporate and public accounting firms.
Aside from its reputation as a great service firm, Ghost Crew has also been recognized as a great place to work. It operates as a fully remote team and promotes a culture that puts employee well-being first.
- Firm owner: Tammy Little
- Site: https://www.myghostcrew.com/
- Team size: 5 to 10
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000+ per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Systemization.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
That I can’t be afraid to hire people who can do things that I don’t excel at, and that I don’t have to do every job myself.
40. Pasquesi Partners
Founded by Rob Pasquesi, Pasquesi Partners specializes in accounting and tax solutions for growth-stage businesses.
Rob is also known for his educational outreach through the Rob CPA YouTube channel, where he shares insights on tax planning and financial strategies. Additionally, he mentors startups at institutions like the Founder Institute and 1871.
- Firm owner: Rob Pasquesi
- Site: https://pasquesipartners.com/
- Team size: 5 to 10
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000+ per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Proposal — 3-tier pricing options and saying no to prospects that are not a good fit.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Hiring good people early. I waited too late.
41. Protea Financial
Protea Financial has carved out a clear niche, and they’re doing it really well. Founded by Zane Stevens, the firm focuses almost exclusively on the wine industry, offering outsourced accounting services to wineries and vineyards across the U.S.
Under Zane’s leadership, Protea has built a remote team across two continents and developed a reputation for delivering clean financials for a complex, inventory-heavy industry.
- Firm owner: Zane Stevens
- Site: https://proteafinancial.com/
- Team size: 21 to 50
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000+ per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Creating a niche in the wine space.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
You cannot do it all. Delegation and trust are critical to success.
42. High Rock Accounting
Founded by Liz Mason, a CPA and tech-savvy operator, High Rock Accounting has built a reputation for providing highly professional services with a strong focus on people and process.
High Rock takes pride in its “humans first” mindset, which applies to every decision they make. Liz is building a team where people come first and innovation is encouraged.
- Firm owner: Liz Mason
- Site: http://highrock.co/
- Team size: 5 to 10
- Average price charged per business client: $2,000+ per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
We only hire A-players and take on interesting and meaningful clients.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Service professionals get taken advantage of frequently, and I could spend 100% of my time giving it away if I were not careful.
43. Conscious Accounting
Conscious Accounting, founded by Rebecca Driscoll and owned by Nicole Davis, has found success in productizing parts of the business. They’ve leaned into tools to eliminate AR headaches and improve onboarding, which led to an 85% revenue boost and a massive drop in admin time.
Beyond services, Conscious Accounting offers a line of digital products like bookkeeping courses for small businesses and real estate agents. This expands their impact by making financial tools accessible to even non-full-service clients.
- Firm owner: Nicole Davis
- Site: https://conscious-accounting.com/
- Team size: 11 to 20
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 20 to 30 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
We introduced new service tiers (A, B, C client segmentation) several years ago. This created clarity around client expectations and internal workflows, ensuring high-value clients receive high-touch service. This has contributed to a very low attrition rate since inception and higher revenue/profits by super-serving current clients instead of always adding new ones.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
One lesson I’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner is that delegation without planning is just passing the buck.
In the past, I’ve handed things off without a clear plan, without measurable outcomes, and without a system to track what actually got done. And that always came back to bite me in the form of dropped balls, misalignment, and frustration for everyone. I more clearly understand that delegation is a leadership skill, not just a task management tool.
44. Finness Advisory
Led by John Finnegan in Perth, Finness Advisory is a small firm with sharp branding and a modern mindset. They focus on service-based businesses and offer fixed-price monthly plans that bundle in automation, fast turnaround times, and strategic advice.
John’s built a firm around being proactive — he helps clients actually understand their numbers so they can grow and make smarter decisions. It’s a clean, tech-forward model built for busy entrepreneurs who want clarity and no complexity.
- Firm owner: John Finnegan
- Site: https://businessaccountantsperth.com.au/
- Team size: 2 to 4
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
The most impactful strategic decision was shifting to an advisory-led accounting firm, supported by a 3-tiered pricing structure. We now offer clear service packages tailored to different stages of business. Ranging from essential compliance to hands-on strategic support. This has helped us move away from trading time for money, set better expectations with clients, and confidently price the value we deliver. It’s also allowed clients to choose their level of support, which creates buy-in and opens up more meaningful advisory conversations. As a result, we’ve seen stronger relationships, more consistent revenue, and a more scalable business model.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
One lesson I’ve learned the hard way is that trying to be all things to all businesses only leads to burnout and blurred boundaries. Early on, I said yes too often. Yes to underpriced work, yes to misaligned clients, yes to being constantly available. The scarcity mindset! It wasn’t sustainable. I’ve since learned the importance of setting clear expectations, choosing the right clients, and valuing the impact we deliver. That shift has been crucial in building a healthier, more focused, and more rewarding firm.
45. ICONAC
Iconac is an accounting firm that specializes in providing business management services to artists, musicians, and creatives. They have offices in Los Angeles, New York, and London. It was co-founded by Stephen Pell and Daniel Berrocal.
Daniel Berrocal possesses a background in electronic music that shaped the firm’s mission: real support for people building careers in the spotlight. It’s no surprise that they were included in Billboard’s Top 100 Business Managers in 2024.
- Firm owners: Daniel Berrocal
- Site: https://iconac.com/
- Team size: 11 to 20
- Average price charged per business client: Prefer not to say
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
One of the most impactful strategic decisions we have made has been committing to hiring intentionally, prioritizing the right people over filling roles quickly. We are willing to wait for team members who not only have the skills but also align with our values, client service standards, and long-term vision.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
I learned the hard way that trying to do everything myself isn’t sustainable. Early on, I wore every hat, thinking I could manage it all. However, over time, I realized the value of trusting others and delegating tasks to people who are experts in their respective fields. It’s allowed me to focus on what I do best while building a stronger, more capable team around me.
46. Hall CPA
Brandon Hall left the Big Four early in his career to build something different: a virtual, subscription-based firm focused entirely on real estate investors. Today, Hall CPA (AKA The Real Estate CPA) serves over 800 clients across the U.S., from landlords to large syndicates.
The firm is built around deep tax strategy, automation, and content. They also have a blog, podcast, and newsletter. It’s a great example of how niching down, productizing services, and focusing on client education can scale a firm fast.
- Firm owner: Brandon Hall
- Site: https://www.therealestatecpa.com/
- Team size: 50 to 100
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Requiring clients to go through advisory or accounting before they can buy tax preparation services. It enables us to provide more value and holistically serve the clients needs. It also helps to ensure a smoother tax preparation process compared to only onboarding clients for tax preparation.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Hire more senior/talented people first and let them hire their teams. As firm owners, we often think in terms of cash flow preservation, but we should be considering the drag inexperienced (and less costly) hires will have on our time. This took me years to figure out, and once I made the shift, my practice took off.
47. Dark Horse CPA
Dark Horse CPAs are doing some super cool things. If you’re not already following one of the founders, Chase Birky, on LinkedIn, you’ll get to hear some amazing perspectives of what running a modern firm culture is all about.
Dark Horse gets what a modern firm should look like: more autonomy, better incentives, and a system that puts the accountant first. It’s part firm, part platform, and a really smart example of rethinking what it means to “make partner” today.
- Firm owners: Chase Birky and Max Fritz
- Site: https://darkhorse.cpa/
- Team size: 100+
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 40 to 50 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Justin Kurn (Chief Revenue Officer): Creating an advisory first approach in every engagement, requiring a certain number of touchpoints with every client engagement (forcing advisory/education). Which in turn, streamlined our workflow and increased our average revenue per client over 40% in 1 year.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Justin: It all starts with pricing and scoping, and there really isn’t a clear model or template to go off of, so you just need to try things out and tweak things until you find the right fit. For us, it was removing compliance-only as a service option. But it took us 2 years, some negative reviews, and the loss of a couple of team members (from being overwhelmed in compliance work) to make a drastic change that we needed to build practices to be successful.
48. Lookahead Advisory
Lookahead Advisory is built around proactive tax strategy and business forecasting. It gives small business owners real, practical advice to confidently move forward.
The firm is led by Lorilyn Wilson, a CPA and Personal Financial Specialist, who excels at distilling complex financial concepts into actionable insights. She’s also one of the few accountants who’s seriously making moves on TikTok, with nearly 50,000 followers engaged in her bite-sized accounting insights.
- Firm owner: Lorilyn Wilson
- Site: https://www.lookaheadlive.com/
- Team size: 11 to 20
- Average price charged per business client: $1,000 to $1,999 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Merging three companies into one that had an overlapping client base to provide a better value proposition.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
However long I think something will take, times it by four, and that’s how long it will really take.
49. Resting Business Face
Resting Business Face is run by Michael Eckstein by himself. The brand is as sharp as its name. Michael works almost exclusively with boutique marketing agencies and consultants.
He offers year-round tax, bookkeeping, and financial advisory services. He’s an Enrolled Agent, not a CPA, but what sets him apart is his ability to translate complex tax and financial matters into plain English. Plus, his weekly newsletter, Ordinary & Necessary, delivers micro-articles on profitability, cash flow, and strategy with a touch of humor.
- Firm owner: Michael Eckstein
- Site: https://restingbusinessface.com/
- Team size: 1
- Average price charged per business client: $500 to $749 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 20 to 30 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Figuring out what I actually sell. For example, I offer a year-round tax subscription. It includes a tax return, but clients on it are usually more interested in the year-round support, help with IRS letters, reminders to pay estimates, and a year-end review.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Let bad clients leave, and have the lead flow to replace them.
50. BOSS Advisors
BOSS Advisors, founded by Mike Payne, takes a different approach. They’re part accounting firm and part law firm, structured as an alternative business structure, which is pretty rare in the industry.
This setup lets them offer tax, legal, and advisory services all under one roof. As a result, business owners get a simpler way to get the help they need without bouncing between different firms.
- Firm owner: Mike Payne
- Site: https://www.bossadv.com/
- Team size: 11 to 20
- Average price charged per business client: $500 to $749 per month
- Average number of firm owner working hours: 30 to 40 hours per week
What strategic decision has had the biggest positive impact on your firm?
Offering combined accounting, tax, and legal services.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned the hard way as a firm owner?
Client service has to come first… systems and tech don’t matter if your clients aren’t being contacted proactively and responded to promptly.
That’s It for the Top 50 Modern Accounting Firms of 2025
Whether you’re currently running a firm or dreaming of starting one, odds are – you want it to give you freedom.
Time freedom.
Financial freedom.
And the freedom to actually make a difference in your clients’ businesses.
After running my own firm and coaching hundreds of them in my Future Firm Accelerate program, I can tell you:
Freedom doesn’t happen by accident.
It requires intentional decision-making, as evidenced by these firms.
I hope you take some inspiration from this list and apply it to your own firm.
What firms did I miss? Comment below and let me know.
