Accounting Today recognizes Blake Oliver as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting for 2025
Honored to share that I've been chosen for Accounting Today’s 2025 Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting list.
I'm grateful that their write-up emphasized the purpose behind my work, particularly my use of podcasts and CPE as a platform for reform in areas such as:
improving working conditions in public accounting firms
updating accounting education to align with new career paths
ending the obsession with timesheets and billable hours
increasing diversity in the accounting profession
modernizing financial reporting to reflect an intangible-driven economy
To me, these are all connected.
When earning your CPA requires an extra year of education, and you don’t have a lot of money, pursuing a career in accounting becomes a much tougher choice. Research confirms that these added costs reduce diversity in our profession without delivering any measurable benefit.
When a firm’s economics depend on selling time, burnout is not an accident. It is a feature. Rewarding billable hours forces parents to choose between their careers and their children. It's no wonder that just 21% of partners at firms with 100 or more CPAs are women.
When the language of accounting stays essentially the same for a century, it fails to reflect the world we live in. Investors look elsewhere for insights that traditional financial statements no longer provide. The result? Our value declines, and our profession struggles to attract the best and brightest.
Through The Accounting Podcast and Earmark, we are working to make continuing education more than just a box to check. CPE can be fun. It can be challenging. It can change your perspective. We want CPE that is:
accessible on your phone, on your schedule
affordable for everyone, not just those at big firms
a platform for diverse and independent voices
If this recognition means anything, I hope it is a sign that our profession is ready to rethink how we educate, license, and motivate our people so they can build sustainable and rewarding careers.
Thank you to my podcast co-host and Earmark co-founder, David Leary, to the Earmark team, and to everyone who listens, learns, and challenges us every week.
We still have a lot of work to do. I’ll continue to use this platform to move forward in that direction.
