In episode 173 of the Woodard Report Podcast, Joe Woodard and Heather Satterley discussed layoffs at major firms, the growing role of artificial intelligence, the importance of process discipline, and the human side of running an accounting practice. Lamont Nesbitt also joined the episode for a member spotlight, and Heather closed with a Woodard Report article that tied the whole conversation together.
Heather opened the episode with news that KPMG had closed its U.S. federal audit practice after losing a major engagement with the U.S. Army and was also trimming advisory staff. She pointed out that KPMG is not alone and that other large firms have already started cutting back in recent months. Heather raised a larger question from there. Is the profession simply shifting the work from compliance to advisory, or is the role of the accountant itself changing?
Joe responded by drawing a distinction between role displacement and task displacement. He said audits and tax returns are not disappearing overnight, but the number of people required to perform that work may decline as bots take over more of the entry-level and repeatable tasks. In his view, the profession is still moving toward advisory, though not because the underlying need for tax and assurance work disappears. The shift comes because more of the core production work can now be handled by technology.
Joe then widened the lens and pointed to Meta’s layoffs as another signal that artificial intelligence is already reshaping white-collar work. He and Heather were careful not to frame this as a doomsday message. Their point was that firms cannot afford to ignore what is happening. Heather said plainly that “putting your head in the sand at this point is not an option.”
For the quote of the week segment, Heather shared a line from Jury Duty: Company Retreat. The quote that stayed with her was, “the soul of a company isn't about productivity or profit. It's about the people that make that company.” Heather connected that to a broader concern about automation. Firms can chase efficiency so aggressively that they begin to lose sight of the mission and the people who give the company meaning.
Joe followed with a quote from The Pitt. After a brutal shift, one doctor tells another, “We are the bees that protect the hive.” Joe said that line captures the difference between having a career and living out a calling. He connected it to the best accountants and bookkeepers he has known, the ones who move beyond technical work and understand that they are there to protect, guide, and support the people who depend on them.
Taken together, the two quotes landed on the same idea. Technology matters. Productivity matters. Profit matters. None of that replaces the need for people who care deeply about the work and the lives connected to it.
Heather used the excellent thing learned this week to talk about something very practical. She learned how to make an agent. Her message to listeners was simple and encouraging. “You’re not behind. Just do it.” She explained that after hearing other people talk about agents for a while, she finally set aside time to try it herself and found that the process was much easier than expected.
Joe built on that by saying the best place to start is often the simplest one. A person can go straight to a GPT and say, “I want to build an agent,” or even begin with the more basic question, “What is an agent?” He said people often assume they need to understand everything first, but the real progress begins once they start asking questions and experimenting. Heather added that she had been hearing a lot about MCP servers and initially assumed she needed one, only to learn that she did not. The broader takeaway was that AI often feels more intimidating than it really is.
Joe’s own learning came from reading an older book on AI. He noted that some of the material already felt outdated because the technology is moving so fast. He gave the example of facial recognition research that had changed dramatically in only a few years. For him, the lesson was clear. Firms should not assume that because something did not work well last year, it still doesn’t work today.
Lamont joined the episode to spotlight Thrive Business Services and its leaders, Gayle Goldman and Randi Rose. He focused less on systems or pricing and more on the culture they have built. Lamont said the team’s empathy, professionalism, and resilience have been tested repeatedly, yet they continue to hold fast to a people-first mindset. He described watching them respond to challenges in a way that keeps both care and standards intact.
Joe added that this has long been a core value for them. He said they still experience the full range of emotions that come with leading people through hard situations, but they do not let those moments shake the way they treat others. Heather agreed that this kind of consistency is difficult to sustain and worth celebrating. The member spotlight served as a reminder that culture is not something a firm claims. It is something a firm shows under pressure.
Heather wrapped up the episode by highlighting Donna Reed’s article, The Sacred Ritual of Month-End (An Accountant's Comfort Blanket). She said the article does a strong job of challenging accountants to move beyond a purely historical mindset. Many professionals feel comfortable tying up the month-end close and explaining what happened. Clients, however, want more than a neat summary of the past. As Heather put it, “They want direction.”
This article fit well with the rest of the episode because it highlighted the same challenge from a different perspective. Firms can now access financial data more quickly and use better modeling tools, but the real benefit is not just faster information. The real value comes from helping clients understand what is happening, what it means, and what steps to take next. AI is changing how firms work, and they are being pushed to adapt. The firms that succeed will be those that keep their human touch, use new tools thoughtfully, and stay focused on guiding their clients forward.
🎧 Listen to the full episode at woodard.com/podcast.
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This article was written with the assistance of AI and edited by a human.