The Best & Worst Firms in Accounting with Dom Piscopo

Which accounting firms really deliver sane hours and happy teams? Dom Piscopo (Big Four Transparency) reveals this year’s best—and worst—by job satisfaction and hours, including surprising outliers. Blake and David also unpack how AI startups are carving up PwC-style services, why Hazel AI rattled wealth managers and Intuit/Xero stocks, and where GLs still hold a moat. Plus, a practical way to use AI for W‑4/withholding—and an accountant’s take on Carvana’s too-good-to-be-true margins.


Chapters
  • (01:19) - Pets, Candy, Jewelry & Prefixed Dinners: Where the Money Goes
  • (03:14) - Live Chat Shoutouts + Today’s Guest Tease: Big Four Transparency
  • (05:53) - Yours, Mine & Ours: How Couples Split (or Merge) Money
  • (08:56) - Financial Secrets vs. “Cheating”: The Bankrate Survey Findings
  • (11:01) - Meet Dom Piscopo + 2025 Best/Worst Firms by Job Satisfaction
  • (15:43) - How the Rankings Work: Sample Size, Methodology & Office Variance
  • (19:28) - Service Lines Compared: Tax vs Audit vs Advisory Satisfaction Trends
  • (22:28) - Hours Worked Rankings + Do Hours Actually Drive Happiness?
  • (25:04) - Where the Big Four Land: Satisfaction & Hours Benchmarks
  • (26:51) - AI Disruption Debate: “Every PWC Webpage Is a $10B Startup” Tweet
  • (28:47) - AI Startups vs QuickBooks: The SaaS Attack Cycle Restarts
  • (29:55) - Hazel AI Shakes Wealth Management: Tax Planning at Scale
  • (32:19) - Consumers Trust AI Money Advice + A Withholding/W-4 Use Case
  • (35:11) - “Good Enough” AI: How Firms Can Productize & Review AI Work
  • (36:38) - What Humans Still Do: Taste, Comfort, and Serving the Underserved
  • (41:51) - Intuit & Xero Stocks Drop: CEOs Defend the Data-and-Trust Moat
  • (45:11) - TurboTax Disruption? Building Tax Engines with AI Agents
  • (46:52) - Vibe Coding Reality Check: Small Tools Now, ERPs Much Later
  • (51:32) - Carvana Accounting Red Flags: When Margins Don’t Add Up
  • (56:04) - Wrap-Up: Big Four Transparency + CPE Credits via Earmark
 

Show Notes
Valentine's Day Spending Expected to Reach New Records 
 
Survey: Most Couples Keep At Least Some Of Their Money Separate 
 
Survey: 2 In 5 Americans In A Relationship Have Kept A Financial Secret From Their Partner 
 
AI Tax App Crashes Financial Stocks on Wall Street 
 
Americans Are Asking AI for Money Advice, But Should They Trust It? 
 
82% trust AI for financial information and guidance 
 
Intuit Is Down 33% Year to Date. Here's Where the Stock Could Be Headed in 2026 
 
Intuit Stock Is Down 24% Already In 2026. Time to Buy? 
 
Xero (ASX:XRO) Shares Crash 13% in Tech Selloff—Broker Urges Hold 
 
Xero share price slides 14% in a week — what to watch next for ASX:XRO 
 
I've tested and ranked the 10 best vibe coding tools in 2026 
 
Your Complete Guide To Vibe Coding Tools In 2026: Build Apps Just By Talking To AI 
 
AI startup Replit launches feature to vibe code mobile apps 
 
Vibe coding - Wikipedia 
 
What's actually driving Carvana's margins? 

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Transcripts
The full transcript for this episode is available by clicking on the Transcript tab at the top of this page

Creators and Guests

David Leary
Host
David Leary
President and Founder, Sombrero Apps Company
Dominic Piscopo
Guest
Dominic Piscopo
Passionate about entrepreneurship within the accounting industry. I founded Big4Transparency.com to bring salary transparency to the accounting industry and have helped serve hundreds of thousands of CPAs since, giving them access to quality salary data as well as helping them find their next role.
The Best & Worst Firms in Accounting with Dom Piscopo
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