Top 20 Accounting Influencers to Follow in 2026
Whether you're navigating regulatory shifts, tightening close cycles, or modernizing your tech stack, the voices you follow in the accounting world shape how fast you grow. I've rounded up the best accounting influencers worth your attention—experts who make complex topics clear and keep you ahead of what's changing.
Top 20 Accounting Influencers
Below are the profiles of the top accounting influencers, covering who they are and the impact they've made in this space.
Blake Oliver
Blake Oliver is founder and CEO of Earmark and co-host of The Accounting Podcast, pairing public accounting experience with a career focused on accounting technology, media, and education.
Through his podcasts, writing,…
Blake Oliver is founder and CEO of Earmark and co-host of The Accounting Podcast, pairing public accounting experience with a career focused on accounting technology, media, and education.
Through his podcasts, writing, and Earmark’s podcast-based CPE platform, Oliver tracks the forces reshaping accounting, from AI and automation to talent, pricing, regulation, and firm strategy. His work gives finance and accounting leaders a practical view of where the profession is heading.
Tom Hood
Tom Hood is an accounting strategist affiliated with the AI Native Accounting Foundation, known for decades of work preparing CPAs and finance professionals for technology-driven change.
Hood’s work centers on making accounting…
Tom Hood is an accounting strategist affiliated with the AI Native Accounting Foundation, known for decades of work preparing CPAs and finance professionals for technology-driven change.
Hood’s work centers on making accounting and finance professionals future-ready. He writes and speaks about AI, leadership, foresight, and emerging capabilities, connecting technological disruption with the skills finance teams need to create more strategic value.
Jim Bourke
Jim Bourke is a Withum partner and Managing Director of Advisory Services, leading work across business advisory, cybersecurity, data analytics, transactions, risk, and technology transformation.
Bourke has spent decades at the intersection…
Jim Bourke is a Withum partner and Managing Director of Advisory Services, leading work across business advisory, cybersecurity, data analytics, transactions, risk, and technology transformation.
Bourke has spent decades at the intersection of accounting and technology. He advises on cloud, automation, AI, cybersecurity, and practice transformation while speaking widely across the profession, giving firm and finance leaders a grounded view of how technology changes accounting work.
Jason Staats
Jason Staats is a CPA, former accounting firm operator, and creator behind Jason on Firms. He built the Realize community for accounting leaders and now develops independent resources on technology, AI, and…
Jason Staats is a CPA, former accounting firm operator, and creator behind Jason on Firms. He built the Realize community for accounting leaders and now develops independent resources on technology, AI, and modern firm management.
After years in public accounting, Staats shifted toward helping firm owners rethink how their practices operate. His training, podcasting, app research, and AI content explore better technology choices, systemization, profitability, and sustainable firm models.
Jennifer Wilson
Jennifer Wilson is Partner and Co-Founder of ConvergenceCoaching, where she advises accounting firm leaders on leadership, succession, talent, strategy, growth, and managing organizational change.
Wilson focuses on the people and management challenges…
Jennifer Wilson is Partner and Co-Founder of ConvergenceCoaching, where she advises accounting firm leaders on leadership, succession, talent, strategy, growth, and managing organizational change.
Wilson focuses on the people and management challenges shaping accounting firms, from developing next-generation leaders to succession, changing business models, talent, technology, and growth. Her work helps firm leaders turn broad transformation pressures into practical organizational change.
Randy Johnston
Randy Johnston is an accounting technology educator and longtime K2 Enterprises leader whose work helps CPAs and firms evaluate software, cloud systems, security, infrastructure, and emerging tools.
Johnston translates fast-moving technology into…
Randy Johnston is an accounting technology educator and longtime K2 Enterprises leader whose work helps CPAs and firms evaluate software, cloud systems, security, infrastructure, and emerging tools.
Johnston translates fast-moving technology into practical decisions for accounting professionals. His recent work examines cloud readiness, vendor selection, security, total cost of ownership, and other issues that determine whether firms gain real operational value from technology.
Geni Whitehouse
Geni Whitehouse is President of the Information Technology Alliance and a CPA, technology leader, speaker, and educator whose career bridges accounting, advisory work, communication, and innovation.
Whitehouse has built a distinctive niche…
Geni Whitehouse is President of the Information Technology Alliance and a CPA, technology leader, speaker, and educator whose career bridges accounting, advisory work, communication, and innovation.
Whitehouse has built a distinctive niche translating technical and financial subjects into language business leaders can use. Alongside her ITA leadership, she writes and speaks about technology, advisory services, customer experience, and the evolution of accounting firms.
Kimberly Ellison-Taylor
Kimberly Ellison-Taylor is CEO of KET Solutions and a technology and finance leader with decades of experience in consulting, executive education, accounting leadership, and transformation.
Ellison-Taylor works across business growth, innovation, strategy,…
Kimberly Ellison-Taylor is CEO of KET Solutions and a technology and finance leader with decades of experience in consulting, executive education, accounting leadership, and transformation.
Ellison-Taylor works across business growth, innovation, strategy, technology, and inclusive leadership. Her long Oracle career, accounting profession leadership, consulting, and teaching give her a broad perspective on how finance leaders can manage transformation while building stronger organizations.
Sean Stein Smith
Sean Stein Smith is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Lehman College, author, CPA, and fintech researcher whose work connects blockchain, cryptoassets, AI, financial reporting, and accounting.
Stein Smith has helped bring…
Sean Stein Smith is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Lehman College, author, CPA, and fintech researcher whose work connects blockchain, cryptoassets, AI, financial reporting, and accounting.
Stein Smith has helped bring digital assets and emerging technology into accounting education and professional practice. His research, books, courses, and industry work examine cryptoasset reporting, blockchain, AI, regulation, and the governance questions these technologies create for finance professionals.
Ryan Lazanis
Ryan Lazanis is founder of Future Firm and a CPA entrepreneur who built and sold Xen Accounting before creating education and coaching for owners building modern, scalable accounting firms.
Lazanis uses lessons…
Ryan Lazanis is founder of Future Firm and a CPA entrepreneur who built and sold Xen Accounting before creating education and coaching for owners building modern, scalable accounting firms.
Lazanis uses lessons from building a cloud-native firm to teach owners about pricing, marketing, sales, automation, systems, and scalable service delivery. Future Firm turns those lessons into practical resources for accountants seeking firms that are more efficient, profitable, and less dependent on the owner.
Hector Garcia
Hector Garcia is a CPA, consultant, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, educator, and content creator whose work spans accounting services, software training, advisory practice, and technology adoption.
Garcia is especially known for translating accounting software…
Hector Garcia is a CPA, consultant, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, educator, and content creator whose work spans accounting services, software training, advisory practice, and technology adoption.
Garcia is especially known for translating accounting software into practical workflows for practitioners and businesses. His courses and content cover QuickBooks, AI, advisory services, and emerging tools, helping accountants understand both the mechanics of technology and how it changes client work.
Amy Vetter
Amy Vetter is CEO of The B3 Method Institute, a CPA, keynote speaker, and author whose career combines accounting and technology leadership with workplace well-being and change management.
Vetter’s B3 Method connects…
Amy Vetter is CEO of The B3 Method Institute, a CPA, keynote speaker, and author whose career combines accounting and technology leadership with workplace well-being and change management.
Vetter’s B3 Method connects business performance with sustainable ways of working. Drawing on her finance and technology background, she explores AI adoption, leadership, burnout, mindfulness, and organizational change—issues increasingly central to accounting teams navigating rapid technological shifts.
Kelly Phillips Erb
Kelly Phillips Erb is a tax attorney, writer, and managing shareholder of The Erb Law Firm who built Taxgirl as a platform for explaining tax law, policy, enforcement, and practical taxpayer issues.
…
Kelly Phillips Erb is a tax attorney, writer, and managing shareholder of The Erb Law Firm who built Taxgirl as a platform for explaining tax law, policy, enforcement, and practical taxpayer issues.
Erb has made complex tax developments accessible through years of reporting, analysis, and legal practice. Her work follows IRS guidance, legislation, compliance, enforcement, and taxpayer questions, giving accounting and finance readers a clear bridge between technical tax rules and their real-world consequences.
Brian Tankersley
Brian Tankersley is Director of Strategic Relationships at K2 Enterprises and a CPA and technology educator with decades of experience across accounting, finance, tax, professional education, and IT.
Tankersley has spent much…
Brian Tankersley is Director of Strategic Relationships at K2 Enterprises and a CPA and technology educator with decades of experience across accounting, finance, tax, professional education, and IT.
Tankersley has spent much of his career helping accountants understand the technology behind their work. His combination of accounting, audit, finance, software, writing, and CPE experience makes him a practical guide to selecting and applying tools in professional firms.
Logan Graf
Logan Graf is owner of The Graf Tax Co. and a CPA whose public work combines tax compliance and consulting with practical commentary on tax software, firm workflows, technology, and client service.
…
Logan Graf is owner of The Graf Tax Co. and a CPA whose public work combines tax compliance and consulting with practical commentary on tax software, firm workflows, technology, and client service.
Graf shares a practitioner’s view of modern tax work, including software selection, automation, document collection, workflow design, and the client experience. That mix of technical tax practice and operational experimentation makes his content especially useful to accountants modernizing their operations.
Roman Kepczyk
Roman Kepczyk is Director of Firm Technology Strategy at Rightworks and a CPA-firm consultant focused on production automation, application optimization, workflows, and practice transformation.
Kepczyk works exclusively with accounting firms on the…
Roman Kepczyk is Director of Firm Technology Strategy at Rightworks and a CPA-firm consultant focused on production automation, application optimization, workflows, and practice transformation.
Kepczyk works exclusively with accounting firms on the systems behind tax, audit, client service, and administration. His writing and consulting examine AI, workflow, cloud technology, security, mergers, and operational efficiency, giving firm leaders a detailed view of technology-driven transformation.
Dawn Brolin
Dawn Brolin is CEO of Powerful Accounting and the Designated Motivator for Accounting Professionals, bringing more than two decades of experience as an accountant, educator, and speaker.
Brolin helps accounting firm owners…
Dawn Brolin is CEO of Powerful Accounting and the Designated Motivator for Accounting Professionals, bringing more than two decades of experience as an accountant, educator, and speaker.
Brolin helps accounting firm owners improve pricing, workflows, technology, and leadership. Her books, coaching, speaking, and industry advisory work turn lessons from running her own practice into practical guidance for building more efficient and profitable firms.
Katie Thomas
Katie Thomas is Founder and President of Leaders Online and a CPA turned marketing strategist who helps accounting professionals build authority, generate demand, and communicate their expertise.
Thomas applies an accountant’s perspective…
Katie Thomas is Founder and President of Leaders Online and a CPA turned marketing strategist who helps accounting professionals build authority, generate demand, and communicate their expertise.
Thomas applies an accountant’s perspective to marketing professional services. Her work centers on thought leadership, content, positioning, lead generation, and personal brands, helping accountants and firm leaders turn technical expertise into clearer market visibility and stronger business development.
David Almonte
David Almonte is a Financial Planning and Analysis Senior Manager at Amica Insurance and a CPA whose background includes audit, financial reporting, business intelligence, leadership, and strategy.
Almonte’s career bridges public accounting…
David Almonte is a Financial Planning and Analysis Senior Manager at Amica Insurance and a CPA whose background includes audit, financial reporting, business intelligence, leadership, and strategy.
Almonte’s career bridges public accounting and corporate finance, with work in audit, reporting, analysis, and FP&A. He also writes about leadership, innovation, perspective, and uncertainty, bringing a people-centered management lens to the analytical and strategic responsibilities of modern finance teams.
Rachel Farris
Rachel Farris is a CPA and founder of a boutique tax practice and Tax Stack AI, combining high-net-worth tax strategy with accounting-firm technology, automation, workflow design, and AI consulting.
Farris works where…
Rachel Farris is a CPA and founder of a boutique tax practice and Tax Stack AI, combining high-net-worth tax strategy with accounting-firm technology, automation, workflow design, and AI consulting.
Farris works where technical tax practice meets firm modernization. Alongside complex compliance and advisory work, she develops and writes about AI systems for accountants, focusing on automation, client-facing applications, workflow efficiency, and how smaller firms can use technology to deliver higher-value advisory work.
Selection Methodology
We selected the leaders on this list based on their relevance, demonstrated expertise and impact, professional credibility, and ongoing contributions to the field.
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We look for evidence such as leading meaningful initiatives or delivering notable results within their organizations, developing influential ideas or practices, publishing research or educational resources, speaking or teaching, and other contributions that demonstrate impact within their work or the broader field.
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