Live Replay WebinarBasic level

The Firm of 2030: Stop Fixing the Work. Rebuild the Way Work Works

★★★★★ 4.5 · 11 attendee ratings

AI didn’t just make accounting faster. It broke the traditional firm model. Most firms are responding by adding more tools, hiring more staff, or waiting for clarity. But none of those solve the real issue. The problem isn’t tax complexity. It’s workflow. This session connects the future vision of the Firm of 2030 with the reality inside firms today, where document chaos, manual processes, and late-stage errors are quietly draining time, profitability, and team capacity. Attendees will see why fixing workflow is not just an operational improvement. It is the first move in reinventing the firm. By shifting to a model where AI handles execution, humans deliver judgment, and systems create scale, firms can unlock capacity, move into advisory, and build a business that actually works. This session is not about incremental change. It is about recognizing what’s broken and taking the first step to rebuild it.

CPE Credits1
Field of Study Information Technology
Instructor Jody Padar

Ways to save

Pay with a credit pass

This course is 1 credit, paid from your credit balance at checkout.

The 10-Credit Pass ($275.00) pays for it and leaves you 9 credits for more.

Year-end bonus: up to 5 free credits through Dec 31.

Certain conditions apply: not valid for the Federal Tax Update. Pass terms

Watch

1:50 Why Workflow Fixes Transform Entire FirmsAutomation isn't just about doing more with less. When you fix your workflows, you unlock the real opportunity: the freedom to reimagine what your firm can become. Jody Padar explains why firms that make this shift now will stay relevant in 2030—and how you can compete on human value, not just speed. Watch to discover what's possible next. 3:56 What AI Can't Do Yet: Why Accountants Stay ValuableAs knowledge becomes freely available online, what really makes you valuable? Jody Padar reveals why interpretation, context, and relationship are your unfair advantage—and how to divide work between automation and human expertise. The future isn't fewer professionals; it's smarter use of human talent where it matters most. 3:55 From Preparer to Decision Architect: Your Identity Must ShiftAI won't replace CPAs—it will replace what they used to do. Jody Padar reveals why the real shift isn't about technology, but about identity and evolving from compliance expert to strategic advisor. Discover how advisory needs to become embedded in every client interaction, not treated as a premium add-on. Watch to understand where pattern recognition and relational intelligence fit into the firm of 2030. 1:28 The Frustration Nobody Says Out Loud About AI at WorkJody Padar voices what many accounting professionals are thinking: if years of education, licensing, and expertise don't matter anymore, why pursue this profession at all? This candid moment from 'The Firm of 2030' challenges how firms are deploying AI tools. If this resonates with your team, it's time to rethink your workflow design.

What's included

Every registration comes with the course materials — yours to keep.

  • Course handout PDF
  • Additional course files PDF

Course details

Recommended CPE credit
1
Field of study
Information Technology
Program level
Basic
Delivery method
Group Internet Based
Prerequisites
None
Advance preparation
None
Course number
26c01504

CPE Today (Devmatics, LLC) is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors (Sponsor ID 167619). State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website, nasbaregistry.org. For information about our refund, complaint, and program cancellation policies, see Company Policies or contact [email protected].

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Your instructor

Jody Padar

Jody Padar

· ★ 4.0 instructor rating

Jody Padar, CPA is a leading voice of transformation in the accounting profession. Known as The Radical CPA, she pioneered the cloud firm model and has been recognized on Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People list for over a decade. A three-time author and sought-after advisor, Jody has spent her career helping firms evolve – across traditional practices, cloud-based models, and high-growth fintech...

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Attendee feedback

Common questions

I'm worried that AI will replace me. Is this course going to make me feel worse about that, or does it actually address what I should be learning instead?

Jody's core message is that AI will replace what you currently do—the data entry, the document sorting, the compliance boxes—not you as a professional. The course reframes your identity shift from "preparer of reports" to "decision architect" and "strategic advisor." You'll learn where your irreplaceable human value lies: interpretation, context, judgment, and the relationships you build with clients. The path forward isn't defending your old role; it's evolving into the advisory work that AI cannot do.

My firm is still drowning in document chaos—emails, texts, PDFs being printed, no standard process. Can I really jump straight to AI and automation, or do I need to fix basics first?

Fix your basics first. The course hammers on this: throwing new technology onto a broken workflow doesn't fix the foundation. Jody walks through the six stages of modern tax workflow (intake, organization, extraction, complex data handling, tracking, and advisory), but document management is the linchpin—if you fix that, everything else upstream fixes itself. GruntWorx automation handles the repetition that's currently draining your most expensive labor. Only after your workflow is intentional and organized can you layer AI on top effectively.

How much of this is theoretical strategy versus actual hands-on examples I can apply to my firm immediately?

The course is heavy on hands-on workflow redesign. Jody walks through real inefficiencies: the 30+ minutes lost per client in document chaos, the two- to three-times slower turnaround, team frustration. She then shows the division of labor across automation, AI, and humans, and maps the exact six stages where you make intentional changes. She doesn't just tell you advisory is the future; she explains the Navi product that scores client conversations on clarity, authenticity, and engagement—giving you a concrete metric and coaching tool you can implement this tax season.

Do I need to be a tax CPA, or is this useful for preparers, EAs, and firms of different sizes?

This course speaks directly to CPAs, tax preparers, EAs, and firm owners of any size. Jody explicitly addresses the one-person firm (stuck doing the lowest-value work themselves), the solo practitioner without extra staff, and multi-partner shops with competing workflows. She even notes that the identity shift applies whether you do complex tax planning or simple 1040 returns—the latter can pivot to auxiliary services like insurance or financial planning. The workflow and advisory principles apply regardless of credential or firm structure.

I run a small 1040 shop, not a complex tax practice. Will I actually be able to use the advisory model and compete, or is that only for big firms?

The course explicitly debunks the "one size fits all" myth. Jody says small shops don't have to pursue deep tax planning; you could add auxiliary services—insurance, financial planning, or other value adds—to shift your business model while using the same workflow discipline and advisory mindset. Even when Jody owned her firm, her team never worked more than 50 hours during tax season because of automation and right pricing, not headcount. The advisory operating system isn't about complexity; it's about showing up with judgment and relationship.

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