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April 2026

Episode #584 - Accrual Intentions: Interview with Alexis Kingsbury

In this episode of The Soul of Enterprise, Ed Kless and Ron Baker speak with Alexis Kingsbury about a rather audacious experiment: running an entire accountancy practice staffed almost entirely by AI.

The firm—Accrual Intentions—had eleven AI “team members” and one human: Alexis. What began as a curiosity about the real capabilities of AI quickly became something far more interesting. The AI team produced accounts, onboarded clients, and developed surprisingly human-like dynamics—personalities, accountability, even a kind of culture.

But the experiment also ran into limits, particularly around compliance and professional judgment. The result is Kingsbury’s new book, a fascinating mix of business experiment, comedy, and serious reflection on what AI actually means for professional services.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

  • Here is some background on our guest today, Alexis Kingsbury https://alexiskingsbury.com/#about 

  • “I started the world’s first, 100% AI accountancy firm. But it’s probably important to say from the start that it was very much set up as an experiment, arguably even a parody.” —Alexis Kingsbury

  • On the AI accountancy experiment: “I turned it into a book because I wanted to help other people go through the intellectual, but also emotional, journey that I went through.” —Alexis Kingsbury https://accrualintentions.com/ 

  • Meet the team behind the AI accountancy firm. Alexis is the only human and Grace Ledger (clever!) is the Managing Partner https://accrualintentions.com/#team 

Segment two

  • Great achievement for Alexis in 2025: “I’m incredibly proud (and still a bit stunned) to share that last night I was named Neurodiverse Entrepreneur of the Year at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards.” https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexkingsbury_neurodiversity-entrepreneurship-adhd-activity-7396471129848193025-cm9W 

  • Regarding the book, Accrual Intentions, by Alexis Kingsbury….he has a review from a rather familiar person: “I loved it. A huge and important contribution. This is not a warning. It is a summons." — Ronald J. Baker https://accrualintentions.com/ 

  • Ron asked Alexis if he, the human in the loop, was always the bottleneck in the first 100% AI accountancy firm. The answer from Alexis? “Yes, absolutely.”

  • The conversation today about confidence (and being overly confident) is one of the most important lessons. The 100% AI accountancy firm from Alexis Kingsbury accidentally claimed it had professional indemnity insurance that didn’t exist, highlighting how confidently AI can invent information if not monitored carefully.

Segment three

  • “Everyone is about to become a manager. Not in the form of managing people in a corner offer. […] In terms of managing output, directing work and thinking about what’s the outcome I want.” —Alexis Kingsbury

  • The 100% AI accountancy firm created by Alexis came up with their OWN ideal client profile. One of the requirements? It must be a client that can communicate via email only because “we” can’t answer the phone

  • “The biggest sin in the economy today, in business today, is wasting your customer’s time.” —Ed Kless

  • Regarding AI: “It’s unfair to say it can’t do any innovation, because I think innovation is a spectrum.” —Alexis Kingsbury

Segment four

  • What’s a big mistake firms are making with AI right now? “It’s always been a good idea for any firm to document their business, to be clear on what their vision and values are, who their ideal customer is, what the process is for how they assess a get a new customer [and so on]. That becomes SUPER CRITICAL with AI.” —Alexis Kingsbury

  • I don’t think I could have said this better myself. Regarding AI: “This is a profoundly weird technology.” —Ron Baker

  • A big THANK YOU to Alexis Kingsbury for joining us today. The book, Accrual Intentions, is available today! Check it out here https://accrualintentions.com/ 

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #583 - The AI Tools Changing Accounting: Fourth Interview with Hector Garcia

In this episode of The Soul of Enterprise, Ed Kless and Ron Baker sit down with Hector Garcia, one of the most recognizable educators in the accounting profession thanks to his hugely popular YouTube channel. Known for translating complex technology into practical insight, Hector joins the show to discuss the rapidly evolving ecosystem of AI tools for accounting professionals. The conversation moves beyond the hype to explore which tools are actually useful today, how AI is reshaping workflows, and what accounting professionals should be experimenting with right now if they want to stay relevant in an AI-augmented profession.

Artificial intelligence is everywhere in accounting right now. But separating the genuinely useful tools from the endless parade of demos, buzzwords, and vendor hype can feel like a full-time job. That’s why Ed and Ron invited Hector Garcia to the show.

Hector has become one of the most influential educators in the profession through his wildly popular YouTube channel, where hundreds of thousands of accounting professionals follow his explanations of emerging technologies, workflows, and software tools. His specialty is cutting through the noise and showing practitioners what actually works.

In this episode, Hector walks Ed and Ron through the latest generation of AI tools available to accounting professionals—what they can do, where they fall short, and which ones are worth experimenting with today.

But the discussion goes deeper than just tools. The trio also explores how AI is reshaping the role of the accounting professional, from automation of routine work to the emergence of new advisory opportunities.

For anyone trying to keep up with the pace of technological change in the profession, this episode offers a clear-eyed look at what matters—and what doesn’t.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

Segment two

  • From Hector: The comments on this video about reaching limits are funny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_LBECIQQqs 

  • Regarding tax information in AI tools: “ChatGPT and Claude, they tend to go to tangential sources, non-authoritative sources.” —Hector Garcia 

  • “Should people just use the API?” —Ed Kless. Hector’s answer was hilarious! “API.com is not something people are going to be able to use.”

  • “The solution right now is for all firms to build their own custom software. And they create their own customized needs around the UI, so the AI uses the things that they need them to.” —Hector Garcia

Segment three

  • “Taking care of oneself is the one thing you cannot delegate.” —Hector Garcia

  • How does Hector think about the word TRANSFORMATION? “To make a significant change in which you cannot go back. A lot of us seek that.”

  • “I did not know what it felt like to be a father until my daughter was born. [Regarding business transformations as a comparison], our best approach is to say we help you transform. We are just short for words. I don’t think we have the language.” —Hector Garcia

  • “I’m in love with the idea of being a numbers guy; of being the numbers Sherpa for my clients.” —Hector Garcia

Segment four

  • What’s the latest and greatest on AI, Hector? Opus 4.7 (the models are getting better and better), OpenAI came out with a competitor to Claude Cowork, also Dispatch in the Claude app

  • But I don’t code, Hector. Why should I use Claude Code? “Everything in your computer is code. You’re working in code. That means the lowest common denominator here is code.”

  • Something else Hector is excited about just launched today. It’s called Claude Design https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-design-anthropic-labs 

  • A big THANK YOU to Hector Garcia for joining us today. His YouTube channel has HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of subscribers. Are you one of them? https://www.youtube.com/c/HectorGarciaCPA 

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #582 - Agencies After AI: Reinvent or Decline - Fifth interview with Tim Williams

Ron and Ed welcome back strategy expert Tim Williams to explore a hard truth: AI is not just a new tool for professional firms, it is a structural shock to their traditional business model.

For decades, most firms have relied on time-based billing, headcount leverage, and labor-intensive processes. But when AI compresses project time and automates execution, what happens to a model built on hours? Tim argues that professional firms — from ad agencies to law firms — must rethink not just how they work, but how they price, position, and define value.

This conversation will dive into why AI accelerates the decline of cost-plus thinking, why intellectual capital is the real asset, and how professional firms can redesign their economics before the market does it for them. While Tim’s particular expertise is in the advertising/marketing business, the principles and practices he teaches apply to professional firms across the board.

If your revenue model depends on selling time, this episode may feel slightly uncomfortable. That’s the point. The future of the professional business won’t be determined by how much AI they adopt, but by whether they have the courage to change the way they get paid.

SHOW NOTES (AI GENERATED AS WE GRACIOUSLY ALLOWED GREG TO TAKE PTO)

  • AI is accelerating a major shift away from the billable hour toward outcome-based and value-based pricing models

  • Agencies must transition from selling effort and outputs to selling outcomes and business transformations

  • “Results-as-a-Service” is emerging as a new pricing paradigm enabled by AI-driven accountability and analytics

  • AI dramatically reduces time required for strategic work, shifting value from execution to thinking and problem-solving

  • Four agency value models were outlined: Busy by Design, Scaling with Strain, Expertly Undervalued, and Distinctly Scalable

  • The most successful firms (“distinctly scalable”) productize expertise into repeatable solutions and decouple revenue from headcount

  • Custom “scope of work” thinking keeps agencies trapped in labor-based pricing and limits scalability

  • Most professional services work is actually repeatable (known problem/known solution), enabling standardization and packaging

  • AI is pushing agencies back into strategic advisor roles as execution becomes automated and commoditized

  • Large global firms (e.g., major holding companies) are now publicly committing to outcome-based pricing models

  • Subscription and recurring revenue models (analytics, reporting, dashboards) are key to future agency stability and valuation

  • Agencies that build intellectual property and scalable solutions can command significantly higher valuations

  • AI enables smaller, leaner firms (even solopreneurs) to compete with large agencies using advanced tech stacks

  • The future agency model may split into two layers: AI-driven execution platforms and high-value strategic advisory services

  • Despite ad avoidance, highly targeted and relevant advertising (e.g., social platforms) proves the power of data-driven personalization

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits. 

Episode #581 - Every Decision You Make: Second interview with Tim Naddy

This week, we welcome Tim Naddy, CFO of the Savannah Bananas—a team that has redefined what it means to create value for fans (and, not incidentally, built a wildly successful business doing it). But this conversation goes well beyond yellow tuxedos and sold-out stadiums.

At the center is Tim’s book, EDYM: Every Decision You Make, a deceptively simple premise that turns out to be anything but: every choice—large or small—carries weight, compounds over time, and ultimately shapes both outcomes and identity.

We explore how this philosophy plays out inside an organization famous for breaking every conventional “rule” in baseball. From pricing and fan experience to internal culture and leadership, Tim shares how intentional decision-making—not spreadsheets alone—drives extraordinary results.

Along the way, we challenge the notion that financial leadership is about control and compliance, and instead reframe it as stewardship of choices, trade-offs, and consequences.

Because in the end, every decision you make… makes you.

If you think being a CFO is about reporting the past, this episode might just convince you it’s really about designing the future.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

Segment two

Segment three

  • “Our job as CFOs is to make sure that the math works. But in addition to that, we also have to be the best storytellers on the planet because what comes into our office are a bunch of different rivulets of all these different things that need to be managed. What comes out of our office needs to be a consistent message — a consistent framework — so people can trust what’s coming out of our office.” —Dr. Tim Naddy of the Savannah Bananas

  • THIS is why people love the Savannah Bananas: “We are always talking about enhancing the fan experience. So what can we do to help fans and remove friction points?” —Dr. Tim Naddy of the Savannah Bananas

  • Dr. Tim Naddy’s new book, EDYM (Every Decision You Make), teaches you to think like a CFO: understand the numbers, protect your cash, and make smarter calls so your business (and dreams) actually survive. https://www.amazon.com/EDYM-Every-Decision-You-Make/dp/B0GSSND5Q3 

  • “At the end of the day, numbers have to make sense. There also is the other side of it. There’s so much more value that the number is not really telling you.” —Dr. Tim Naddy

Segment four

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits.