Episode 16: Live from Xerocon Denver with Matthew May, The Tech CPA
Proudly brought to you by Ignition who we both love and use in our businesses to automate proposals and streamline invoicing. In this episode, Nat and Sarah are live from Xerocon Denver 2026 with Matthew May, one of the most recognisable accountants in the US and the man behind The Tech CPA. They first met him at Xerocon Nashville when he took their microphone during Pass the Phone and told them they were doing it wrong, so this one was always going to be fun. Matthew shares his path from public accounting to co-building Acuity with Kenji Kuramoto, twelve years there, and then joining one of the big American roll-ups. He is now part of Soren, bringing 30 firms under one banner, and he is refreshingly honest about how hard that is when a new group joins every week and every firm is at a different stage with a different tech stack. He talks through what they run (Karbon, the Microsoft stack, QuickBooks and Xero, Intacct, Bill, Ramp, Gusto and ADP) and why they deliberately never become a single ledger shop, because clients should have a choice. The AI conversation is the heart of the episode. Matthew describes the Blockbuster risk facing firms right now, where AI is used to become the best possible version of the old model instead of rethinking what clients actually want. He explains why US data fragmentation, 50 states, sales taxes and messy bank feeds, keeps America a step behind Australia on automation, and how the real challenge is taking a bespoke AI win on one client and turning it into something you can roll out across thousands. They close on the accounting firm of 2030, with Matthew comparing the moment to New York taxis when rideshare arrived. Taxis are still around, but the rideshare market grew to many times the size of the original one. The firms that thrive will be the ones who use better data to reimagine what they offer, not just do the same work faster. He also makes the case for why the profession stays relevant, because it is one of the kindest and most trusted there is, with one warning for anyone who would rather not talk to people. And because nothing at Xerocon goes to plan, you also get a full SD card, a camera dying mid-answer, a phone call from Matthew's mum, an Australian slang test that goes badly (chuck a sickie, servo, knackered, shoey), Denver bin sorting, burnt American coffee and the story of the contraband Xero shoes. We left it all in. Follow, subscribe and share with an accountant who needs a space where the real conversations happen. ☕️ Send us your accounting industry tea and how you are using AI in your firm - hello@accountantsafterhours.com.au or DM on socials. 🔗 Episode links: Matthew May on LinkedIn 💬 Join in on the conversation: - Follow us on Instagram (it’s where we have the most fun) - Like us on Facebook - Follow us on LinkedIn - Watch and subscribe on YouTube DISCLAIMER: This podcast is general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Listeners should seek their own professional advice and conduct their own due diligence before acting on any information discussed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.