Beth Whitworth: Leading with Confidence in Accounting

Transcript

(00:05) Canopy Host
Hi, welcome back to another episode of the Canopy Practice Success podcast.

Today I’m joined by Beth Whitworth, CPA with years of experience in public accounting. She’s the owner of Accounting with Confidence based in St. Louis and also hosts a podcast by the same name.

And as a podcast host myself, I know that’s a full-time job in and of itself—so what a balancing act. I’m excited to dive in.

(00:31) Beth Whitworth
Awesome—I’m happy to be here.

(00:42) Canopy Host
Beth, you’ve got decades of experience, and now you’re stepping into a new era with Accounting with Confidence. Tell us about that transition.

(00:58) Beth Whitworth
Yes, that’s a great way to describe it.

I’ve been in accounting and public accounting for almost 30 years. I’ve run this version of my business for 19 years and worked in a couple of firms before that.

When I launched my podcast in late 2022, I realized how much I loved it. At that point, I had two separate things going:

• My accounting firm
• My podcast, education, and coaching

Eventually, I decided to merge them.

So Accounting with Confidence is now both:

• A full-service CPA firm
• A platform for education and coaching

We work with small business clients and nonprofits, and I’ve built a fully remote, 100% part-time, self-managed team—with no overtime.

I’ve stepped into more of an educator and coach role, doing the work I love.

(02:44) Canopy Host
You just said a lot of buzzwords—part-time, no overtime. That’s unheard of in accounting.

Let’s start with overtime. How did you eliminate it?

(03:04) Beth Whitworth
It started early in my career.

My first public accounting job had mandatory overtime starting January 15th. I had just started—and I was required to come in every Saturday, even when I didn’t have work.

It was purely a “face time” culture.

And I said right then:
When I have my own firm, we are not doing this.

You can’t give 100% to clients when you’re exhausted.

(04:41) Canopy Host
I think about that all the time. How productive can someone really be working 60–80 hours a week?

(05:39) Beth Whitworth
Exactly.

Now, we plan capacity early in the year because we’re 100% subscription-based.

(06:16) Canopy Host
When did you make that shift?

(06:19) Beth Whitworth
We completed the transition last fall.

New clients were always on subscription. The final step was moving legacy individual tax clients.

Now:

• No one-off services
• No tax-only clients
• Everyone is on subscription

That allows us to:

• Stay connected year-round
• Plan workload and capacity
• Keep part-time employees truly part-time

(07:42) Canopy Host
That completely breaks the traditional accounting model.

(08:37) Beth Whitworth
It does—and it required working on the business, not just in it.

Now, I don’t do much hands-on work. I focus on coaching, strategy, and growing the business.

(09:26) Beth Whitworth
The real test came in 2022.

I was diagnosed with breast cancer right after tax season. I stepped away for about nine weeks and only ran payroll.

Most clients didn’t even know I was gone.

That’s when I realized:

• My team was self-managed
• Systems were working
• The business could run without me

(10:33) Canopy Host
That’s incredible—and such an important proof point.

(11:59) Beth Whitworth
The key was hiring a manager.

I took a course on scaling businesses and hired someone to take 30 hours of work off my plate.

She complemented my strengths—she’s systems- and process-oriented, while I’m more visionary.

If I hadn’t made that hire, I don’t think my business would have survived that period.

(13:22) Beth Whitworth
When I had to step away, either my health or my business would have suffered.

Because of my team, neither did.

(14:22) Beth Whitworth
That experience made me realize something important:

Accountants aren’t trained to:

• Lead people
• Run a business
• Market services

Once I learned I didn’t have to figure it all out alone, everything changed.

(15:20) Beth Whitworth
Another big shift was eliminating time tracking.

We don’t track time at all anymore.

(15:20) Canopy Host
Not at all?

(15:20) Beth Whitworth
Not at all.

We don’t bill for time—and we can’t, because we don’t track it.

The work either gets done or it doesn’t.

We track:

• Deadlines
• Completion rates
• Workflow progress

Those are better metrics than time.

(25:11) Beth Whitworth
It also reduces stress.

People aren’t worried about:

• Going over budget
• Justifying time
• Being judged for efficiency

Instead, they focus on doing good work.

(26:46) Beth Whitworth
We operate as a firm—not client-by-client profitability.

Sometimes:

• You take a hit on one client
• You make it up on another

It balances out.

(27:34) Canopy Host
Have you lost clients because of subscription pricing?

(27:34) Beth Whitworth
Yes.

Some wanted hourly billing—and I told them we’re not the right firm.

It was scary to send that email.

(28:16) Canopy Host
But you took the leap.

(28:21) Beth Whitworth
Yes—just do it.

If you’ve been thinking about making a change, don’t wait.

(28:29) Canopy Host
Go listen to Beth’s podcast, Accounting with Confidence.

You have every right to be confident.

(28:50) Beth Whitworth
Thank you—I loved this conversation.

(28:55) Canopy Host
Likewise.