The Unique CPA Heads "Upstream": Leading the Way with Jeremy Clopton
About this episode
Randy Crabtree and Jeremy Clopton discuss leadership, public trust, and the future of independent firms in the accounting industry.
Randy Crabtree steps away from tax season and toward retirement from Tri-Merit, joining forces with Jeremy Clopton of The Upstream Leader for a crossover conversation on Episode 278 of The Unique CPA . AI dominates firm conversations right now, but Clopton argues the real anxiety comes from chasing an uncertain future instead of holding onto what won't change: being the protector of public trust. That anchor reframes everything from staffing fears to succession planning. They dig into leadership structures at growing firms, the false choice between serving clients and running the business, and why hiring managers instead of developing them rarely works. Private equity and M&A come up too, with the two sharing a conviction that independent firms aren't going anywhere, and that the choice between selling, scaling, or staying small comes down to knowing who you actually want to be. Randy closes by dismantling the doom-and-gloom narrative around recruiting, pointing to rising enrollment numbers as proof the pipeline is healthier than the algorithm-driven headlines suggest. Get the full show notes and more resources at TheUniqueCPA.com
People in this episode
Host: Randy Crabtree
Guest: Jeremy Clopton
Topics covered
- leadership
- public trust
- staffing
- succession planning
- private equity
- M&A
- recruiting
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Tri-Merit, The Upstream Leader, TheUniqueCPA.com
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