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As we close out the year, this episode of The Growth Minded Accountant is a little different.

No guest.
No hype.
Just an honest look at what’s coming next for tax and accounting firms.

In this year-end solo episode, Lee Reams II shares his 2026 predictions—not based on headlines or fear-driven narratives, but on patterns he’s seen repeat over the last decade.

The short version:

By 2026, AI will be the standard.
What will separate winning firms from everyone else won’t be technology—it will be relationships.

In this episode, Lee covers:

• Why not using AI will be a problem—but using AI won’t be impressive
• What happens when knowledge and answers become cheap
• Why trust, context, and communication become the real differentiators
• How advisory is moving downmarket, not just upmarket
• Where platform pressure and automation show up first
• Why adoption will be slower than the headlines suggest—and why that’s an opportunity

Lee also reflects on a Forbes article he wrote in 2016 about artificial intelligence and cloud accounting—and why many of those predictions played out almost exactly as expected.

🧠 Read the Forbes article referenced in this episode:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesfinancecouncil/2016/10/11/will-artificial-intelligence-and-cloud-accounting-replace-the-accountants-of-tomorrow/

This episode isn’t about replacing accountants.
It’s about building firms that use automation to free up time—and reinvest it into better relationships.

If you’re thinking about how to position your firm heading into 2026, this conversation is for you.

Happy New Year—and welcome to what’s next.