Joe Woodard has trained over 150,000 accounting professionals and spent his career studying what separates firms that grow from firms that stay stuck. His answer? It almost always starts with pricing.

In this conversation, Joe walks through the Woodard Ideal Practice Model, which focuses on seven key areas of operational excellence: brand, services, clients, technology, process, engagements, and team. But the most actionable insight he shares is simpler than a seven-part framework. He says the very first lever any firm should pull is pricing, and he lays out a specific strategy for doing it. Double the price on your bottom 20% of clients. If half of them stay, you have the same revenue. If all of them leave, you get the capacity back. Either way, you win.

Joe also shares a measured perspective on AI adoption, noting that mass adoption in accounting is still 12 to 18 months away and that the best thing practitioners can do right now is learn directly from the developers of the platforms they already use.

This episode is for firm owners curious about how to create capacity without hiring, practitioners ready to revisit their pricing strategy before the next busy season, leaders wondering where to start with advisory services, and anyone interested in a practical framework for building a more valuable practice.

Timestamps
00:14 - Introducing Joe Woodard: founder of Woodard, host of Scaling New Heights
02:03 - How Joe's practice led to Scaling New Heights and a coaching and consulting division
04:01 - The shift from compliance to advisory: what is holding CPA firms back
06:01 - Skill set and mindset working together: cash flow projections, dashboards, and KPIs
07:16 - The downward spiral: too busy to invest in new skills, team pressure, and turnover
09:18 - Applying the Pareto Principle to your CPA firm client base
10:42 - How to move methodically through the full client base after creating capacity
12:19 - How pricing improvements affect CPA firm valuation: revenue per FTE and clients per million
13:33 - Why the mindset block comes back around when targeting larger advisory clients
16:34 - How to reinvent your service structure instead of just improving the existing one
19:05 - Why most accounting firms are under-contracted and what to do about it
20:13 - AI adoption in accounting: where the profession is now and how fast it is moving
22:30 - Xero, QuickBooks, and Intuit: how AI integrations are already changing daily workflows
24:08 - Joe's story: his daughter, a butterfly named Alicia, and a mockingbird
27:01 - Book recommendation: "A World Without Work" by Daniel Susskind
29:03 - Where to find Joe Woodard online: woodard.com

Download Now: https://poegroupadvisors.com/accounting-practice-academy/increase-letter/

Price increases are nothing to fear. The real challenge is effectively informing clients of these changes. Our templates will help you demonstrate your value and help clients understand the increases necessary to keep your firm afloat.

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- (1) Major Fee Increase Letter Template
- (1) 20% Fee Increase Letter Template

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The Ideal Practice Model: Seven Areas That Transform a CPA Firm