In this episode of The Accountant’s Flight Plan Podcast , we sit down with Jody Padar, known across the industry as The Radical CPA , to discuss how artificial intelligence is reshaping the accounting profession. Jody shares her journey from founding one of the first cloud firms in 2010 to working in tech startups like Botkeeper and now launching her newest venture, XcelLabs . Her mission is to prepare firms for 2030 by building AI-first practices that leverage automation to expand the capacity for empathy, client connection, and creativity in order to transform advisory work. Timestamps: 00:00: Using AI strategically to enhance advisory work 01:06: Jody’s career journey and launch of XcelLabs 04:00: PE capital, fintech, and aging leadership disrupting the accounting industry 08:00: How money movement and tech are transforming accounting 10:11: How to leverage AI to build deeper client relationships at scale 13:20: PE-driven competition for top accounting talent 14:26: Using AI to rewrite firm operations and scale 15:24: ChatGPT, Claude, and creative thinking over automation 23:20: Using AI for unbiased performance feedback 27:35: Book Recommendation: Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can and Can’t Do Link to full listing: https://poegroupadvisors.com/practice/sc2038/ Firm Highlights: - Young, energetic owner committed to staying 10+ years to run and grow the firm. - Selling 70–100% equity, with plans to offer key employees an ownership stake. - 3+ CPAs on staff and over 20 employees. - High-net-worth clients with strong loyalty and consistent referrals. - 78% of services tied to business clients.
