Leading the next era of transformation: ExO, AI, and IP at the core 

This article was created as part of a paid partnership with Thomson Reuters.

What if you could deliver 10x more value to your best clients without hiring a single new person?

The accounting profession is entering a decisive decade. Automation is eroding the margins of compliance work, client expectations are rising, and talent is demanding meaningful, flexible careers.

For CPA firms, the challenge is no longer incremental improvement—it is business model transformation. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: standing still is far riskier than transformation.

The three forces that change everything

The most effective pathway forward blends three forces:

• • • The Exponential Organization (ExO) framework – a proven blueprint for scaling value creation by 10X.
    • Artificial intelligence (AI) – to automate, analyze, and accelerate.
    • Intellectual property (IP) – to protect and monetize proprietary processes and advisory insights.

Bringing these forces together? Thomson Reuters Practice Forward and Ready to Advise, along with my experience as a certified ExO Pro Advisor and long-time architect of firm visioning and strategic planning.

This isn’t theory. It’s practical application and comprehensive programs designed to transform how your firm prices, packages, and delivers advisory and consulting services.

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Why the ExO framework is the key

Eight years ago, at Abundance 360, I encountered something that changed everything: Salim Ismail’s Exponential Organization model—a framework for organizations that grow impact and revenue at least tenfold by leveraging new technologies and social structures.

Since then, I’ve integrated ExO attributes into Boomer Consulting’s work with hundreds of CPA firms, while earning certification as an ExO Pro Advisor.

Here’s the breakthrough insight: The question is not “How do we grow tenfold?” but “How do we add tenfold value to our best clients?” That change of the question is transformative. The ExO framework comprises 11 interlocking attributes. Unlike traditional growth models, it does not demand that firms become “10X bigger” overnight.

Most CPA firms can ignite change by focusing on just three or four of these attributes first:

• • • Massively transformative purpose (MTP) – a galvanizing “why” that aligns partners, people, and clients.
    • Staff on demand – a flexible, high-quality talent network that scales with need.
    • Community & crowd – ecosystems of clients, advisors, and partners who co-create solutions.
    • Algorithms & dashboards – AI-driven automation and real-time metrics for decisions.
    • Experimentation & autonomy – the culture of testing, learning, and empowering teams.

Each attribute creates leverage; together they form the operating system of the 21st-century firm.

Experience that accelerates transformation 

Few advisors bring my combination of strategic vision, ExO certification, and decades of hands-on CPA firm leadership. Through Boomer Circles and my widely adopted Transformation Triangle (process, project, and change management), I’ve guided firms through technology shifts, talent transitions, and business model reinventions.

My work begins with visioning and strategic planning. I help partner groups articulate their Massively Transformative Purpose—such as “Designing firms and their clients for success in the 21st century and beyond”—and then align OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) and KBRs (Key Behavioral Results) to that purpose.

From there, I introduce ExO attributes in a staged, 18–36-month roadmap that balances ambition with execution. Because I’m both a certified ExO Pro Advisor and Instant IP certified, I can translate these concepts into the daily realities of tax, audit, CAS, and advisory practices. I help firms move from inspiration to measurable results.

The engine that makes it real: Thomson Reuters 

While ExO provides the blueprint, Thomson Reuters supplies the complete infrastructure to make the transformation operational and achievable: proven methodologies, AI-powered tools, and ready-to-implement advisory services. You, the firm leader, become the Hero. Practice Forward reimagines the core of the firm’s business model:

• • • Structured and proven advisory methodologies that turn ExO’s ‘Staff on Demand’ into reality—deploy specialized expertise without hiring overhead.
    • Value-based pricing frameworks that shift you from hourly billing to advisory relationships, directly supporting your Massively Transformative Purpose.
    • Client-ready engagement templates and deliverables that you can deploy immediately, freeing partners to advise and consult instead of chasing WIP.
    • Comprehensive training and ongoing support to ensure successful service delivery and client outcomes—laying the foundation for your ‘Community & Crowd’ of engaged clients who become referral sources and co-innovation partners.

Ready to Advise complements this transformation by becoming your firm’s intelligent operating system:

• • • AI-powered client insights that automatically identify advisory opportunities across all your clients —making ‘Algorithms and Dashboards’ operational, not theoretical.
    • AI-guided advisory delivery that equips staff at any experience level to confidently execute tax strategies with expert-backed, step-by-step guidance—expanding advisory reach, enabling effective delegation, and ensuring the consistent quality ExO demands to help teams learn fast and scale what works.
    • Client-ready reports that showcase the impact of tax advisory services–highlighting savings, projected outcomes, and future opportunities to help justify advisory fees.

These programs do more than add services. They redefine how your firm creates value, ensuring that ExO attributes become living parts of firm culture.

The AI + IP opportunity you’re missing 

AI is no longer optional. Automated data gathering, real-time dashboards, and predictive modeling free accountants from mundane work and unlock higher-value insights. But here’s the deeper opportunity: capturing and protecting intellectual property. Every methodology, checklist, or advisory framework a firm creates can become Instant IP—digitally recorded and defensible, faster and cheaper than traditional trademarks or patents.

I’ve been a leading advocate of this strategy, helping firms protect and monetize their proprietary know-how so it can scale beyond individual partners and engagements. When combined with our secure platforms and the ExO focus on community and algorithms, Instant IP turns your firm’s collective wisdom into a renewable asset and a durable competitive moat.

Your practical roadmap 

Transformation doesn’t happen by accident. Here’s an intentional, phased approach I recommend:

1. 1. 1. Align partners on purpose – Craft or refine an MTP that excites everyone.
      2. Segment clients by value – Concentrate on the top 20% of clients who drive 80% of revenue.
      3. Select initial ExO attributes – Pick three or four (such as Dashboards, Staff on Demand, and Experimentation) for the first 12 months.
      4. Revisit your business model – Deploy Practice Forward tools to redesign pricing, scope, and engagement to reflect value rather than hours.
      5. Automate and accelerate with AI – Leverage Ready to Advise intelligent automation to eliminate manual bottlenecks, scale operations, and empower teams with guided workflows and actionable client insights that drive high-quality advisory delivery.
      6. Scale and refine – Expand experiments that work; measure results through real-time dashboards and OKRs.

The typical timeline is 18–36 months, but the benefits begin early as teams pilot new services and clients experience higher-value interactions.

The payoff: A future-proof, purpose-driven firm 

Firms that follow this combined ExO-Thomson Reuters path consistently achieve:

• • • Higher revenue per FTE and stronger margins, thanks to automation and value pricing.
    • Stickier client relationships, as services shift from compliance to continuous insight.
    • Top-tier talent attraction and retention, because purpose and autonomy replace burnout and busy seasons.
    • Defensible intellectual property, creating equity that transcends individual partners.

These outcomes are not abstract—they are the natural result of operating like an Exponential Organization while harnessing the proven systems of Thomson Reuters.

Are you ready? 

If your leadership group is asking, how do we secure our firm’s relevance and profitability for the next decade? Now is the time to act.

• • • Are you ready to replace WIP, with wisdom as your primary product?
    • Do you have an MTP that excites partners, staff, and clients alike?
    • Can you start a culture of experimentation that scales advisory/consulting services quickly and safely?

Answering “yes” opens the door to a transformative journey where ExO provides the map, and Thomson Reuters and I will guide and supply resources to accelerate your journey.

The time for transformation is now 

Transformation on this scale is daunting, but standing still is far riskier. With the ExO framework as your operating system, AI as your accelerator, and intellectual property as your equity, your firm can achieve extraordinary, sustainable growth. Under my seasoned guidance and with the proven capabilities of Thomson Reuters Practice Forward and Ready to Advise, you have everything needed to lead—not follow—the next era of the accounting profession.

Where will your firm be in 18 months?

Start here.

The accounting profession’s future belongs to firms that act now. While others debate whether transformation is necessary, forward-thinking leaders are already building their competitive advantage.

Take the first step toward your firm’s exponential transformation with FREE Practice Forward Sample Tools. Download your free tools now →