Half a Million in Six Months: How to Transform Firm Value

Accountant's Flight Plan

Accountant's Flight Plan
Half a Million in Six Months: How to Transform Firm Value
Mar 25, 2026
Brannon Poe; Poe Group Advisors; Bill & Chris Murphy

Bill and Chris Murphy increased their firm's value by half a million dollars in six months. They weren't desperate to sell, just ready to work reasonable hours with clients they liked. So they did something about it. They fired almost all their individual tax clients and more than doubled their fees.

The result? They gained revenue and clients happily paid for the valuable work they provided. Their firm had the capacity to provide even better service to their remaining clients. . And when they sold their firm with us back in 2022, they closed for $500,000 more than their original listing price.
This is a husband-and-wife team who merged their separate practices, worked themselves into the ground, and then made the hard decisions that transformed everything. They cut unprofitable clients, raised prices dramatically, restructured staff workload through weekly meetings, and learned to trust the process even when it felt uncomfortable.

Bill and Chris didn't just sell their firm. They sold a better firm, a more profitable firm, a firm that didn't depend on them working unreasonable hours. And they did it by firing clients who don't fit, charging what they're worth, and trusting that the revenue will come back.
This episode is for firm owners who know there is a better way to build a balanced practice, but haven’t known how to get there. This is a success case study on the power focus! 

Key Timestamps:
02:21 - Bill's biggest roadblock: staying in the weeds and not developing staff
04:18 - The mental, spiritual, and physical toll of holding onto all the work
07:12 - The big move: firing almost all individual tax clients
08:35 - How the first APA lesson paid for the entire workshop
09:57 - The biggest obstacle to letting clients go: themselves, not the clients
12:49 - How pruning clients created capacity for everything else
13:21 - Doubling fees and the apology that worked
14:37 - "I'm sorry for undercharging you before."
16:02 - You have to put the work in, APA isn't passive
17:14 - Monday morning meetings: agenda, time limit, workload reallocation
19:16 - Driving the bus vs. riding in the back seat
24:24 - Book recommendation: Walk Away Wealthy by Mark Tepper

Episode Artwork Half a Million in Six Months: How to Transform Firm Value 21:18 Episode Artwork What Makes an Accounting Firm Prosper? Key Insights from Helping Hundreds of Firm Owners 29:03 Episode Artwork Navigating the Sale of a CPA Practice From A Seller Turned Intermediary 19:03 Episode Artwork The State of CPA Firm M&A: Private Equity, Timing & the Headline Offer Trap 35:38 Episode Artwork The Readiness Test: How to Know If You're Ready to Sell Your Firm 38:42 Episode Artwork AI Won't Replace CPAs. It'll Free Them to Do Work That Actually Matters 42:37 Episode Artwork Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Build a Firm That Prioritizes Mentorship with Yuri Kapilovich 30:59 Episode Artwork The Retention Advantage: How CPA Firms Win the Talent Game 35:59 Episode Artwork When Internal Succession Fails: Why Multi-Partner CPA Firms Are Turning to External Sales 43:18 Episode Artwork From Survival Mode to Sustainable Success in Your CPA Firm with Lisa Smith 38:19 Episode Artwork Building an Offshore Staffing Strategy for your CPA Firm with Nick Sinclair 36:19 Episode Artwork Building Trust and Value In Your Accounting Firm Through Marketing with Kristen Corey 31:31 Episode Artwork The AI-First CPA Firm: Redefining Accounting with Jody Padar, The Radical CPA 31:12 Episode Artwork Modern Accounting In the Age of AI: Scaling Your Firm, Adopting AI, and Maximizing Your Capacity with Mike Schwarz 45:46 Episode Artwork Grow Your Business Meaningfully with Rob Dube 39:36 Episode Artwork Private Equity Market Update in the Accounting Space: With Guest Morry Brown 1:01:19 Episode Artwork Former Seller Raffi Yousefian Talks About How Niching Down Transformed His CPA Firm 33:46 Episode Artwork From the Archives - The Making of Accounting Practice Academy 17:45 Episode Artwork Private Equity, Fit, and the Future of CPA Firm Deals with PGA Intermediary Morry Brown 27:56 Episode Artwork Building a Scalable Firm with Offshoring, AI, and Talent Strategy — with Wayne Findlay 28:58 Episode Artwork Telling a Better Story: Using Personal Branding to Shape Better Accounting Firms with Rob Brown 47:39 Episode Artwork Navigating the Future of Accounting Through AI and Adaptation with Dan Hood of Accounting Today 39:43 Episode Artwork Reduce Staff Turnover Through Cutting-Edge Technology with Dominic Piscopo 29:44 Episode Artwork The Future of Accounting Firms: Embracing AI, Advisory and Finding a Balanced Life with Seth Fineberg 52:14 Episode Artwork The Benefits and Challenges of Working with Family: A Special Birthday Episode w/ Brannon Poe & Bailey Ball 40:23