Why Small Firms No Longer Need a Big Budget to Win
Episode Summary
"We can't go out and just upload tax returns to ChatGPT because it's gonna be faster."
Barry Brown, founder of EBITDA Advisors, joins Kacee Johnson and Bebe Kim to explain why the future belongs to firms that adopt AI deliberately, not recklessly.
Looking at firms of every size, they break down why AI adoption and AI results are turning out to be two very different things.
Hosted by Kacee Johnson, fintech innovation leader and Principal at Radical, AI-Native Accounting is the podcast at the crossroads of AI and the future of finance. Engage in monthly discussions with firm owners, tech pioneers, and visionary accountants. Explore real-world applications of AI, uncovering how it's streamlining processes and enhancing decision-making. Discover what's working, what's emerging, and what's on the horizon in the world of accounting technology.
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Featured Guests
Barry Brown
Founder, EBITDA Advisors LLC
Barry C. Brown is the founder of EBITDA Advisors LLC, a consulting firm that helps public accounting firms improve performance through strategic technology leadership, operational clarity, and disciplined AI adoption. He serves as a Fractional CIO for CPA firms across the country, bringing nearly 30 years of experience leading technology and operations at a large regional accounting firm — including more than 20 years as CIO and eight years as COO. Barry bridges a gap that few advisors can: he speaks the language of both accounting firm leadership and enterprise technology strategy. His engagements are grounded in the realities of CPA firm economics — partner profitability, staff utilization, busy season constraints, and the complexity of deeply embedded tax and audit platforms. He translates technology decisions into business outcomes that managing partners and COOs can act on.
Bebe Kim
Head of GTM, Digits
Bebe Kim is the Head of GTM at Digits. A 3x founder and YCombinator alum, she sold her first business and went public with her first company, led GTM at Atrium to Series B, and joined Digits with her seed stage startup Basis (FP&A tool). An attorney by trade and Top Women to Watch by the American Bar Association, she is particularly interested AI's impact to professional services like legal and finance both from a product perspective and from a responsible AI systems perspective.
Your Host
Kacee Johnson
Digits Advisor & Innovation Partner
Kacee Johnson is a leading figure in the accounting profession, recognized among Accounting Today's Top 100 Most Influential People, CPA Practice Advisor's Top 25 Thought Leaders, and as one of the Most Powerful Women in Accounting. She advises AICPA and CPA.com as an innovation partner and leads the Startup Accelerator program, mentoring startups that shape the profession's future. In 2025, she completed Harvard Business School's Executive Program on Private Equity and Venture Capital and joined the be radical team as a Principal in FinTech Innovation.
