The Firmlever Weekly Roundup: Issue #22

This Week's Sponsor:

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Let’s make this quick. Answer these 4 questions to see if offshore hiring could help your firm:

Is your hiring process dragging past 90 days (and still no perfect fit)?

Can your firm support remote team members?

If you had more capacity, could you take on more clients?

If you could hire U.S.-equivalent talent overseas and save ~70% on labor costs, would you?

If you answered “Yes” to even one, it’s time to talk to Cloud Accountant Staffing.

🚀 They place highly skilled Filipino accountants in under 30 days—no ghosting, no stress, no months-long searches.

Fill out this quick form, and they'll share how other firms like yours have successfully made offshore staffing work!

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And now, to this week's Highlights...

The Highlights

1. Finance Dashboard Reporting Template: Streamline reporting by mapping messy GL data just ONCE with a smart template (Excel/Sheets). Instantly generate professional P&Ls, Balance Sheets, and visual dashboards to save hours and impress clients. (This free Firmlever Community Template courtesy of Joe Manganelli of Amalgam).

   

2. VIDEO EDITION: Buying an Accounting Firm in 2025: Trends, Valuations, and Key Success Factors: This report + video provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of the accounting firm acquisition market in the United States, with a specific focus on firms with $1-5M in revenue. A data-rich, 12-page report on accounting firm acquisitions. Includes valuation ranges, emerging niches and deal structure examples. Now includes an optional video edition where I share my personal thoughts and research. For just the full PDF report without video, you can access here.
   

   

3. Beyond $3/Hour: What Actually Works in Offshore Staffing: I recently asked on LinkedIn what actually works for firms like ours in 2025, and the response from experienced peers was incredible (over 90 comments). I've compiled the best insights from 20+ firm owners and insiders into a new Firmlever article covering realistic costs, effective models, integration must-dos, compliance flags, and more – real-world advice cutting through the noise. If you're navigating offshoring, check out this crowdsourced guide for strategies that genuinely move the needle.
    

Brought to you by:

No more underpricing your services or leaving money on the table when it comes to closing higher margin advisory clients. With Taxplow, you can now confidently price your services based on outcomes, not hours. Generate tax, bookkeeping and outsourced CFO strategies using AI in seconds, not days.

What Else I'm Tracking This Week:

1. A New Directory for the Best AI Tools: Search and filter through hundreds of the top AI tools launching every day. As of today there are over 1035 tools, some of my favorites including an AI SDR Agent (sorry digital agencies) and Taxplow (full disclosure: I'm actually the founder)--a platform that helps accountants stop leaving money on the table.

2. BrowseComp: a new benchmark from OpenAI that measures the ability of AI agents to locate hard-to-find information: This a potentially HUGE breakthrough from OpenAI this week and highlights AI's growing ability to conduct deep, complex web research, finding obscure information far beyond simple searches. For accounting and professional services, this matters because it signals a future where AI agents could tackle sophisticated tasks like navigating intricate regulations, performing in-depth due diligence, or researching complex precedents – accelerating knowledge gathering and potentially shifting human focus towards higher-level strategy, verification, and client advisory. This advanced research capability is a key development to watch as it could significantly reshape how we handle information-intensive work. R&D Tax Credit AI research agent, anyone?
   

   

3. ChatGPT can now reference all past conversations to create more personalized responses: ChatGPT now automatically draws context from your entire conversation history to personalize responses. While this could potentially train the AI on your firm's specific workflows or communication style over time, the 'total recall' feature immediately raises critical concerns about client confidentiality and data privacy. Although opt-outs exist, please don't use for client data.

4. Podcast Invite: The next round of scheduling is now open for guests on my new podcast, Pitch Your Firm. (Apply Here):

The Pitch Your FIrm Podcast

In our latest episode that just dropped today, you will learn:

• How Joe scaled his accounting venture from zero to nearly $10 million in just six years with no outside investment

• How a “one-month retirement” followed until his entrepreneurial itch returned

• Why going from services to software can skyrocket efficiency—without losing the personal touch

The “17 hours saved per month” secret—and how it transforms the way accountants get things done

Invite Friends, Get Free Stuff

Copy & share your referral link to invite others to join my newsletter. Unlock cool stuff when you do:

https://bit.ly/firmlever

1 referral: The Top 25 Growth Strategies for Accounting Firms: 2025 Edition (ebook)
5 referrals: Any premium playbook or resource of your choice up to $497 for free
15 referrals: 60 Minute 1-on-1 Coaching Call with Me ($600 value)

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