The Conversation We Didn't Know We Needed

The AI-Native Accounting Foundation only launched in February, but the podcast just hit its one-year mark, and that’s the milestone I want to share some insights from in this newsletter - because it’s the thing that put everything else into motion.

When we recorded the first episode, we genuinely didn’t know what to expect. There was no content calendar, no growth strategy, no plan for a foundation. We’d just noticed a gap: nobody was having dedicated & honest conversations about AI in the accounting & finance profession. Everything out there was either breathless hype or vague reassurance, and neither one helped a firm leader figure out what to actually do on Monday morning. So we created a place to surface that conversation around hype versus real progress, what’s working, what isn’t, and the strategies firms are using…successfully.

We didn’t set out expecting an audience, we set out to test whether the gap we saw was a real need. A year later, we have our answer: 8,000 to 11,000 views/listens per episode across YouTube & podcast platforms, and it is that response which convinced us the conversation needed more than a microphone. The awards, the scholarships, the research and education work (the whole Foundation, really) grew directly out of that proof. The podcast told us the need was real, and everything since has been building an infrastructure to meet it.

To mark the podcast’s first year, here’s a fun recap video of our incredible guests, and a quick breakdown of each episode (if you haven’t seen some of the older episodes, I highly recommend going back to take a listen).

• Episode 001 — Dawn Brolin (Powerful Accounting) & Matt Gardner (Hiline): The episode that started it all — practical first steps for modernizing a firm instead of waiting for AI to be perfect.

• Episode 002 — Dan Luthi (Ignite Spot): Automation should absorb the workflow so people can own the relationship, not the other way around.

• Episode 003 — Lindsay Stevenson (BPM at the time of recording): How BPM got to 80% daily Copilot usage firmwide, and why grassroots adoption beat any top-down mandate.

• Episode 004 — Joe Woodard (Woodard Group): Skepticism isn’t the enemy, it’s a sign the firm hasn’t shown its team a real efficiency win yet.

• Episode 005 — Ron Baker (THRESHOLD): Why the billable hour doesn’t survive this transition, and what a value-priced, subscription-based firm actually looks like.

• Episode 006 — Dan Wernikoff (LegalZoom and former Intuit), Craig Walker (former Xero) & Jeff Seibert (Digits): Three builders’ view of the 2030 playbook, the software stack tomorrow’s CPA firm runs on is already being built today.

• Episode 007 — Kane Polakoff (CohnReznick): Repositioning CAS as the firm’s growth engine instead of its most commoditized offering.

• Episode 008 — Susan Coffey (AICPA-CIMA): AI in accounting has to stay auditable, and younger CPAs are the fastest path to firmwide fluency.

• Episode 009 — Randy Johnston (NMGI): MCPs, not APIs, are about to become the default way accounting software talks to AI.

• Episode 010 — Daniel Hood (Accounting Today): Firms under $1B are outgrowing the giants, and it’s growth that’s funding the technology — not the reverse.

• Episode 011 — Kimberly Ellison-Taylor (KET Solutions): Stop measuring AI by cost savings alone — measure it by productivity, impact, and governance.

• Episode 012 — Allan Koltin (Koltin Consulting): The firms that come out ahead are the ones that stop selling compliance and start selling value.

• Episode 013 — Thomas DeMayo (PKF O’Connor Davies): Fix the knowledge layer before you buy a single tool — how PKF rolled AI out to 1,800 people without a layoff.

• Episode 014 — Carla McCall (AAFCPAs): Culture, not capital, is what let AAFCPAs continue to lead with organic growth.

• Episode 015 — Pascal Finette (radical): AI is coming for cognitive work before routine work, and the ability to outlearn your competitors matters more than any single tool.

You can stream all of these great episodes on YouTube or on your favorite podcast platforms, with CPE available via Earmark.

To every guest who gave us an hour and didn’t hold back — Dawn, Matt, Dan L., Lindsay, Joe, Ron, Dan W., Craig, Jeff, Kane, Sue, Randy, Dan H., Kimberly, Allan, Tom, Carla and Pascal — thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I learn from every one of you, and I respect each of you more than you probably know.

One year in, the conversation is getting even more candid, and much more consequential. We’re only just getting started!

— Kacee Johnson, Executive Director

We recorded this one right after presenting the inaugural AINA Award winners live on the keynote stage at Scaling New Heights — congratulations again to CBIZ, Financial Optics, Armanino, and Angel Zhen CPA. With that energy still in the room, Barry Brown from the Foundation’s Advisory Council, joined me and Bebe Kim (AINA co-founder) to dig into a distinction we think most firms are missing: Giving people access to AI is adoption. Redesigning how work gets done, and measuring what changes, is where real results begin to develop.

Plus, looking at firms of every size, we broke down why rolling out the tools deliberately is producing very different outcomes than rolling them out fast.

One of our Advisory Council members, Ellen Choi of Edgefield Group, just opened up something we think is worth your attention. For the first time, Edgefield is taking the same live, hands-on AI training it runs inside leading firms and opening it to public enrollment as part of its #AugustAIChallenge.

What sets it apart is that participants learn the tools live with qualified instructors, working through real accounting workflows — actually doing the work, not watching slides about AI.

Four cohorts start in August, all live over Teams and CPE eligible:

• Microsoft Copilot Foundations — practical command of Copilot across Microsoft 365 for everyday firm workflows

• Microsoft Copilot Cowork — delegating complete, multi-step work to Copilot as a digital colleague

• Microsoft Copilot Agents Workshop — building and deploying your own Copilot “lite” agent

• Claude Foundations — from prompting fundamentals to delegating multi-step, file-based work in Claude Cowork

AINA community members get 20% off with code EDGEAINA09. Highly recommend — learn more at edgefieldgroup.co.

Applications are open for the AINA Scholarship Program: two $5,000 scholarships for accounting and finance students who aren’t waiting for the profession to catch up — students who are already building, experimenting, and developing practical AI use cases that solve real problems. Winners also get a podcast feature, a six-month mentorship with an Advisory Council member, and introductions for potential internships or apprenticeships.

If you know an undergrad or grad student who fits that description, please share the program with them. Applications close September 15, 2026. Details and the application are at ainativeaccounting.org/aina-scholarship-program.

And finally, none of this work would be possible without the support of our sponsors. A huge thank-you to our founding sponsor, Digits, and to Truewind, BILL, Karbon, Fieldguide, Black Ore, Aider, Filed, 4impactdata, Vega and Ignition for believing in the Foundation’s mission and helping us move the profession forward.

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