Speaking
Real firm owner. Real systems. Real talks.
Most accounting talks are theory delivered by people who haven't run a firm in years.
We're still in it. The talks are practical, honest, and built around what actually works.
Who We Speak To
Three Core Audiences
Accounting & Bookkeeping
Firm Owners
Conferences, summits, mastermind groups, and association events for CPAs, bookkeepers, and firm owners building a modern practice.
Small
Business Owners
Entrepreneur and small business audiences who want to understand their numbers, price for profit, and run a healthier business.
Professional
Associations
Industry organizations, CPA bodies, niche professional groups looking for a working firm owner who can speak honestly about the profession.
Speaker
Michelle Arnason, CPA
Owner, Arnason Accounting & Co.
Michelle is a Canadian CPA based in Airdrie, Alberta. Sixteen years in the profession, eight running her own firm, three kids, and a clear point of view on what it looks like to build one that actually works.
Arnason Accounting & Co. is a modern Canadian firm with a team of six, providing corporate tax, bookkeeping, personal and sole proprietor tax, and fractional CFO services for Canadian small businesses. She works alongside Joelle Kindret to support other accounting and bookkeeping firm owners who want to design firms that actually work.
Michelle speaks honestly from inside an active practice. No theory, no "I sold my firm five years ago," no recycled American frameworks dressed up as wisdom. The talks are pragmatic, sometimes uncomfortable, and built on what's working in a real Canadian firm right now.
For accounting & bookkeeping firm owners.
For the firm owners building something that actually lasts — not just surviving another tax season.
Building a firm that uses modern technology without losing the human relationships that made you choose this profession in the first place.
The structural decisions that determine whether your firm runs you or you run it. Services, pricing, team, systems, and the choices most firm owners regret making by year five.
Why the firm owners getting noticed aren't the polished ones. How to show up consistently as yourself without waiting until everything is "ready."
The gap between how the profession traditionally operates and what clients actually want from their accountant. Built from real client onboarding conversations.
Why most firms are saying yes to the wrong clients. Building a lead and discovery system that filters before anyone reaches a proposal.
The first three weeks of a client relationship set the tone for everything. How to design onboarding so clients feel confident and your team isn't drowning.
For small business owners.
For the businesses ready to actually understand their numbers — not just glance at the bank balance and hope.
For service business owners who want to understand their financials beyond just looking at the bank balance. What to actually track, how to read your numbers, and the financial decisions that move the needle. Adapts to therapists, consultants, agency owners, trades, coaches, and any owner-operator service business.
The fundamentals of pricing service work — scope definition, structure, and charging what the work is actually worth.
Speaker
Joelle Kindret
Founder, KIN Collaborative
Jo is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Eight years building operations for service businesses, six designing systems for accounting and bookkeeping firms across Canada and the US, and a deep belief that great client experiences are built behind the scenes.
KIN Collaborative designs onboarding systems, workflows, and operational processes for modern firms. Jo has worked alongside Michelle Arnason for years, building the operational backbone behind Arnason Accounting & Co. as it grew — and together they launched Build The Firm Co. to help other firm owners do the same.
Jo speaks to the execution side of running a firm. Workflow design, automation, client experience, and the operational systems that decide whether a firm actually functions day to day — or just looks like it does on paper.
For small business owners.
For the service businesses ready to build a back-end that runs without them holding it all together.
Word of mouth doesn't come from doing great work — it comes from how clients feel along the way. How to design a client journey, from first inquiry to wrap-up, that creates the kind of experience people can't stop talking about.
The systems, automations, and documented processes that let a service business keep running when the owner steps away. How to identify what's stuck in your head, get it out, and build a back-end that supports growth instead of bottlenecking it.
For accounting & bookkeeping firm owners.
For the firms ready to stop running on memory — and build systems their team can actually follow.
A repeatable, four-step framework for client onboarding that feels calm and consistent — protecting your time while making new clients feel prepared and genuinely supported. Originally delivered at WorkflowCon 2025.
The very first interaction sets the whole relationship. How to design onboarding that shows clients your process matters — and turns new clients into long-term advocates before any work begins.
Together
Both brains. One stage.
For events that want strategy and execution in the same room.
Combined sessions with worked examples pulled directly from real Canadian firm engagements.
The how and the why, delivered together.
What People Say
What We Cover and What We Don't
We're not generalist business speakers. We're specific.
The talks land best when the audience match is right.
Happy to Speak On
- Modern firm operations, systems, and structure
- Lead qualification, onboarding, and client experience
- Pricing, packaging, and scope
- Running a Canadian firm in the current profession
- Imperfect marketing and showing up online
- Small business financial literacy
- The realities of growing a service-based business
Not Our Lane
- Generic motivational keynotes
- Software-specific certifications or product training
- US tax updates or American framework translations
- Big four firm management or audit-track topics
- Get-rich-quick or scaling-without-systems narratives
- Topics far outside accounting and small business
How We Run Speaking Engagements
Minimum notice for full prep. Tighter timelines possible for panels and shorter sessions.
Keynotes, breakouts, workshops, panels, fireside, virtual. Depth adjusts to your audience.
Host covers travel from Airdrie (Michelle) and Winnipeg (Joelle). Virtual from home.
Vary by format, audience, prep, and travel. Inquire below for our current rate sheet.
Keynotes, workshops, panels, and podcast guesting.
Built for accounting and bookkeeping firm owners.
We respond to every inquiry within five business days.