6 things we learned at Karbon Next 2025 about the future of accounting
Set in the heart of California’s wine country, Karbon Next 2025 was a hive of excitement in June. Over 150 accounting leaders from many of the world’s most progressive firms came together to connect, learn, and share knowledge.
Interactive breakout sessions offered practical and hands-on learning opportunities about everything from building custom APIs to leading teams through change, and panel discussions explored insights from high-performing firms.
Guests witnessed Karbon’s largest product reveal to date, led by Chief Product Officer Sara Goepel, where the path towards the future of practice management was illuminated, highlighted by game-changing integrations, end-to-end tax workflow features, AI agents, and more.
Guest speakers included Jason Staats, Jack Newton, Tim Petrey, and Amy Blankson, plus an exciting list of Karbon leaders including Mary Delaney, Ian Vacin, and Elizabeth Blass.
Plus, the 2025 Karbon Excellence Awards winners were celebrated at the gala awards dinner, recognizing the accounting firms from around the world that are redefining what it means to lead with innovation, purpose, and impact.
But beyond the sessions and keynotes, one of the most energizing aspects was the chance for attendees to connect, reunite with old peers, form new relationships, and learn from one another’s journeys. The sense of community was as powerful as the insights shared on stage.
There was truly an incredible amount of activity to fit into two days. From the future of practice management, to the power of connections—here are the 6 things we learned from Karbon Next 2025.
1. The key is understanding what clients actually want
It’s a familiar story: when the legal practice management software, Clio, first launched, some people feared moving their workflows into the cloud. But as CEO Jack Newman told Karbon Next attendees, “the cloud was inevitable.”
Now, it’s the norm.
In a session that bridged industries, Jack drew on his first-hand experience of the legal profession to share his most important step for setting any service firm up for success: understanding their clients.
“You might have a playbook, you might have a way of solving this person’s problem, but every problem is unique,” said Jack, “and every person wants to feel like the solution has been adapted to their specific circumstance.”
The number of firms measuring client health metrics has increased since 2020, demonstrating the importance of maintaining and growing existing client relationships in order to efficiently increase profits.
According to Jack, client success comes down to four key themes:
Listen actively.
Communicate intentionally.
Remove friction.
Deliver value at every touchpoint.
Attendees walked away with a fresh perspective and practical strategies for client experience, grounded in design thinking, empathy, and genuine investment.
Every interaction we have with a client is an opportunity to deliver more value.
Jack Newman speaking with Karbon Next attendees
2. The big, bold future of the accounting profession
Jason Staats delivered one clear message: the firms that thrive in the age of AI will be the ones that act now.
His session ‘Building tomorrow's accounting firm today’ challenged attendees to shift their mindset from waiting on perfect tools, to building with what’s already here.
“The ways that we work with AI today are as analog as they will ever be,” said Jason. One of the biggest trends he sees is the transition from passive AI usage to deeply embedded, proactive systems, powered by agentic AI.
According to Jason, the next generation could be “the most productive generation of accountants we’ve ever had.” Barriers to understanding one another can fall away. Workflows will become more automated. And, yes, clients will continue to become more complex and nuanced.
“We are planting the seeds for what the future of this machine looks like in our firms today,” said Jason.
His final word of AI-advice for attendees: capture your wisdom, create weekly AI feedback loops, and surround yourself with the best.
The panels and networking on AI is a huge leg up to see and hear how other firms are leveraging AI.
3. Accounting continues to be one of the most resilient professions
In times of disruption, accounting firms are the first to feel the ripple effects.
Yet they continue to ride the waves of economic hits, tumultuous legislation, and ever-changing technology. Even as they navigate these challenges as business owners, they need to act as advisors to their clients, helping them to do the same.
Despite generational shifts, talent shortages, and rapid digital transformation, accounting firms are cutting-edge businesses, leaning into new tech, building agile team structures, and thriving in the face of uncertainty.
The Rising Beyond the Challenge report highlights that leading firms are investing in business process optimization, marketing, client management, organizational management, and technology.
Leaders from some of the world’s highest-performing firms attended Kabon Next, sharing stories of how they’ve navigated roadblocks along their path to success—whatever that looks like to them.
For example, Chris Williams, CEO of System Six, explained how by refocusing on his firm’s mission, prioritizing client relationships, and investing in staff wellbeing, he’s reinforcing the foundation of the business and setting his team and clients up for success.
“If we have happy employees, we’ll be able to be more empathetic with clients, and maintain their relationships for longer,” he said.
Karbon Excellence Award Winners for AI Innovation: +MORE Group & and YBL, flanked by Shai Haim (Karbon CTO) and Ian Vacin (Karbon Co-Founder & Chief Partnerships Officer)
4. The future of practice management is intelligent
Sara Goepel’s 90-minute Karbon product keynote was more than a demo. It was a glimpse into how Karbon is not just evolving, but leading the change toward a smarter, more connected way of managing accounting practices.
She reflected on the state of accounting technology and industry challenges from the last decade, taking guests on a journey to today. While there are commonalities between the challenges of 2015 and 2025, the solutions needed now are in a league of their own.
“You need a platform that goes beyond project management,” said Sara. “You need one that orchestrates your entire firm, connecting your people, your data, your technology, and your workflows, with intelligence and automation woven into every step.”
The future of practice management is practice intelligence.
Sara Goepel at the Karbon product roadmap reveal
But what does practice intelligence mean?
It’s using AI and automation to complete jobs for you.
It’s optimizing processes to support your team’s growth.
It’s automating billing and payment collections with recommended pricing.
It’s fully integrated workflows.
It’s a comprehensive, centralized dataset.
It’s a premium client experience with self service and support.
It’s proactive, always-on technology that analyzes your data and makes intelligent recommendations.
”All of this is going to drive exponential growth for your clients, your team, and your firm.”
Watch Sara’s product keynote below and learn how Karbon is delivering the next phase of accounting practice management, along with the huge number of other enhancements coming to Karbon.
These include end-to-end tax workflow features, Delegate Triage, Karbon for Clients, Engagements, AI workflow agents, and an ever-growing library of integrations including StanfordTax, TaxNow, Aider, Spotlight Reporting, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and more.
https://karbonhq.wistia.com/medias/bnqswm45kh?embedType=iframe_web_component&seo=true&videoWidth=9605. It’s important to pause and celebrate
It’s not every day you get to hear about the standout work happening across the accounting industry. But that’s exactly what the Karbon Excellence Awards brought to the surface.
From 500 plus nominations from around the world, nine Karbon Excellence Award winners were named at Karbon Next. And the calibre was phenomenal.
For example, Australian firm MAD Wealth, winners of the Award for Sustainability has, in just 12 months, offset 150% of their emissions and certified every team member in carbon accounting.
And US firm, HD Growth Partners has achieved a 94% employee retention rate, earning them the Karbon Excellence Award for Balance & Culture.
The winning firms are championing diversity, innovating with AI, and delivering real value to both their clients and their teams. That means more than numbers; that means pockets filled, mouths fed, and roofs over heads.
And in an industry that’s always moving forward, taking the time to stop for a moment and celebrate these achievements is important. Raising a toast for some, raises the bar for everyone.
Mary Delaney raises a toast with Karbon Next attendees
6. Never underestimate the power of community and connection
In a world that reaps reward after reward thanks to digitization, there’s still nothing quite like being face-to-face.
Karbon Next provided a space for accounting professionals from across the globe to come together, in some cases for the very first time, and share stories, challenges, solutions, smiles, concerns, and laughs.
And for many, having the opportunity to meet Karbon employees after years of collaboration via a Zoom interface was incredibly valuable.
It was amazing getting to know the Karbon staff in person and seeing their personalities...
Cassie Boudreaux Lafleur demonstrating Karbon best practices
The interactive breakout sessions were dynamic, engaging, energizing—all thanks to being together, in the same room. Attendees learned strategies, questioned each other in internal practices, and discovered different ways people are leveraging the power of Karbon.
“I learned a great deal from hearing others discuss Karbon,” said one attendee. “I’m still processing all the ideas and thoughts!”
Karbon Next attendees catching up at the Karbon Excellence Awards Gala Dinner
What will you do next?
Karbon Next 2025 confirmed it: the future of accounting is intelligent. And not just artificially. AI and technology move fast, but emotional intelligence, mental agility, and complex problem solving are what will keep firms ahead of the curve.
And sometimes, driving the industry forward is about coming together to learn, collaborate, and celebrate what makes it exceptional.
Catch up on all of the sessions with the Karbon Next 2025 Playlist.