If I Started My Firm From Scratch Today, I'd Build It Completely Different

One Step Better now has its own YouTube channel! Subscribe here so you never miss an episode: ‪@OneStepBetterPod‬ Last episode Matt and Mike asked whether the entry-level staff accountant role still makes sense in a world of AI. This one zooms out: if the work is changing, what does the whole firm look like? Matt spent 45 minutes explaining how his team is built today. Pods, a director of accounting, team leads, managers, senior accountants, staff, interns, a production assistant, plus an offshore team for capacity. It works. It's grown the firm 20% a year for nearly a decade. And then Mike asked the question that's been rattling around both their heads: if you were starting from scratch today, would you build it this way? Matt's answer was no. Not even close. This is a real, unresolved conversation about the rub every firm owner is feeling right now. You can automate the back-of-house production layer more every month. But if you don't change what you're asking your team to do, all you've done is add technology cost on top of the same work. You're not more profitable. You're not serving more clients per person. You've just added a layer. The catch? Matt built a homegrown reporting tool that replaced $2,200 a month in software, and it was done the moment he connected it. No 30 hours of setup, no onboarding drag. That kind of custom build wasn't possible five years ago. Now it is. Which means the whole model, how you staff, how you structure teams, how you price, and how fast you deliver, is shifting under your feet while the work still has to get done at scale. In this episode: The full anatomy of a modern firm, and why Matt would build it completely differently from scratch Why adding automation without changing the work just adds cost, not profit The front-of-house, back-of-house restaurant model applied to accounting production "Can I service 1,000 clients with 30 people instead of 450 with 24?" The homegrown tool that replaced $2,200/month in software the day it was connected The fee pressure that's coming, and why "$250 down the street" changes your math Why your own best people could leave tomorrow and build the same thing you built The real engagement problem: 85% of clients just want the work done, and why that shouldn't stop you from serving the ones who want more Spin off a separate AI-first brand, or pivot the firm you already have? The throughline: the fundamental business hasn't changed. Firms exist to simplify financial complexity so business owners can thrive. Real-time, accurate, on-time data is the mountaintop. Whether you get there human-first or AI-first is the layer in constant flux. Get the mission right, and the chaos underneath gets a lot easier to navigate. 💬 Wrestling with the same questions in your own firm? Drop a comment, send us a message, or share this with a firm owner who's trying to figure out what their team should look like next. 🎙 Want to be a guest? We're opening the show up to firm owners who want to talk shop. Reach out and let's talk. Connect with us: Matt Patrick on LinkedIn → https://hubs.la/Q04fKVdQ0 Mike Shaeffer on LinkedIn → https://hubs.la/Q04fKVdX0 patrickaccounting.com Tired of struggling to find qualified accountants for your firm? Check out Cloud Accountant Staffing's candidate portal. Full of pre-vetted offshore accounting candidates ready to interview as soon as tomorrow → https://portal.cloudaccountantstaffin...