Chris Johnson, CPA, CCIFP's Linkedin Analytics

#Ideas2Images: In the Style of Stuffed Animals! 🧸🎉 It’s my daughter’s birthday this week, and she picked the theme for this round of Ideas2Images... “In the style of stuffed animals” Every comment you drop will be turned into a fun, creative, and totally adorable AI-generated plushified image How It Works: 1️⃣ Drop anything in the comments—a character, animal, object, place, idea 2️⃣ We’ll automatically add “in the style of stuffed animals” 3️⃣ AI turns it into a cuddly visual masterpiece Examples: “A dragon guarding a castle” “An astronaut floating in space” “A slice of pizza riding a skateboard” All reimagined as stuffed animals. Let’s make some birthday magic. Drop your ideas below! #Ideas2Images

Our onboarding takes 40 minutes and we’re embarrassed. Tarek Kadura and I stayed up until midnight discussing how we can get it under 5. Right now, in under 40 minutes, we can: > Close a new client > Send the engagement letter > Get it signed > Gain access to their systems > Give access to ours > Prep and send the initial bill > Walk them through pulling reports we can’t access (And soon, we’ll pull all audit samples automatically too) It’s fast. It works. And we’re still not satisfied because we know how good it can be. We know most of this can be done in under 5 minutes. Which would give us more space to be human and connect our amazing clients So we’re tightening. Refining. Testing. Until we get there. We’ll build it until it’s so smooth, you blink and it’s done. We will get in the process of adding well over 100 clients per year. Tightening this up now will allow for a seamless process that sets the rest of the audit up for success!

I have incredible love for anyone going thru the human experience. But it's time for you and I to wake up. It's here and there's no more time for excuses. The future is begging you to create it.

What's your GPT say? I asked mine, "What is my pride blinding me from seeing that could be detrimental to my growth?" Reflect and keep growing my friends 🧡

What I’m doing at scale will turn a $1 billion market into a sub-$300 million market. Last year, I sat face-to-face with a national leader from one of the largest firms holding major market share in our space. I explained exactly what we’re doing. I showed the math. I laid out how, when done at scale, it would erase hundreds of millions of dollars from the market size. After I finished walking through it, she paused and said: > "Uhhh wait... who are you?" They had been so focused on cloud integration and traditional innovation angles that they hadn’t even considered this market disruption path. (To be fair, we were less than 20 minutes into meeting for the first time.) ___________________________________ Then I asked the core question: > Why would you want to chase that? It makes sense for me to chase it. Capturing 20% of a $300 million market builds a $50 million+ firm. It’s aligned with our structure and speed. But for a multi-billion-dollar company? When the world is opening new doors daily, especially in AI consulting and new market creation, why pour massive resources into a space that's evaporating? ___________________________________ Moving mass amounts of people is like steering a cargo ship. There’s inertia. It takes time. And in today’s world, speed wins. By the time you get there, the opportunity is already somewhere else, growing exponentially. In my opinion, large firms should be thinking bigger. They should be chasing the next frontier, not clinging to shrinking ones. The future is being built now. And we are already moving. #cpa #audit #accounting

I Am Heavily Influenced by AI. Here’s Why You Should Be Too and Why That’s Okay. There’s often resistance to change, especially the kind that feels like we’re losing control. (As an accountant that loves structure, it can be hard to let go of things I percieve as I have control of!) It can feel like a threat to the things we’ve historically believed make us special. And I get that. AI can challenge identity. It can dissolve ego. It can surface fears about our place in the world. But here’s something to consider: That’s already the game we’ve been playing. From the moment we’re born, we’re influenced By words. By screens. By messaging. By algorithms. By marketing that shapes the way we think without us ever agreeing to the terms. We’ve been influenced all along. The difference is, now we have the chance to shape it. What makes AI different is that it gives the individual power. The ability to align the tool to your own goals, your own values, your own priorities. In my life, I use AI to: > Clarify my thinking > Build systems that serve my family > Learn faster and retain more > Create experiences rooted in purpose, not pressure AI can help you design a life around what matters most to you Not what the world is trying to sell you. And I think that’s a beautiful shift.

My Reflections on Deep Work by Cal Newport (and Why I Was Frustrated at First) I just finished Deep Work by Cal Newport. And I’ll be honest, the first two chapters bummed me out. Newport lays out the case for cutting distractions, reducing connectivity, and going deep. Meanwhile, I’m building a hyper-connected firm where information moves at lightspeed, and accessibility is a feature, not a bug. It felt like everything I’m building was in direct contrast to the book’s premise over the first few chapters. ____________________________ But thankfully, the book goes deeper. And it helped me realize: Deep work is still possible in the age of hyper-connectivity. It just requires being intentionally structured for myself and my team. Some reflections and takeaways: ____________________________ The Grand Gesture This idea clicked hard. Sometimes the only way to break into deep focus is to go big remove yourself from your norm. That’s what I’m doing right now. I’m reading this on a flight, which has become one of my most productive environments for book consumption and deep thought. I’m already thinking… How else can I engineer more “flight-like” conditions in my weekly schedule? ____________________________ Time Blocking & Flexibility Time blocks are powerful... until they fail. Newport gave examples of tasks running over, and I’ve lived that frustration. I’ve learned it’s okay to bump your blocks as you’re learning how to manage your flow. Right now, I’d say I’m decent at time blocking… but I want to be world-class. ____________________________ Deep Work in a Hyper-Connected Culture Here’s the paradox: I’m building a firm that makes deep work harder by design. We are accessible. We communicate fast. That’s the model. But that doesn’t mean deep work disappears. It means I need to be super aware of how I structure it. For myself: > I need blocks of time where I’m intentionally unavailable. > I need rhythm, not randomness, for high-focus work. For my team: I’ve designed our projects around mini-tasks that can be knocked out in short bursts of hyper-focus. Not everyone will have long blocks of silence… so we build momentum in the windows we do have. ____________________________ Final Thought You can build something that’s fast, connected, and collaborative and still carve out space for deep, meaningful work. It just takes structure. And intention. #DeepWork #CalNewport #Leadership

“The stock market is the only store where people run out when there’s a sale.” Last night, I had the incredible opportunity to teach my 5-year-old daughter a lesson in financial literacy and perspective. She recently invested $35 of her hard earned money in VOO (S&P 500 index fund). Right now, she’s down $5. She felt nervous. Worried she was “losing money.” We sat down and talked. I explained how the market moves. That she hasn’t actually lost anything unless she sells, that she has a very long time horizon and right now, she’s getting a discount if she wants to buy more. I watched her fear turn into excitement. She ran to her piggy bank and asked, “Can we invest more?” She’s five years old. And she’s already 20 years ahead of when I started to grasp this concept. 😂

#Ideas2Images: Logos Reimagined! 🌀🖼️ What if your favorite logo wasn’t just a design— but a living object, sculpture, machine, or world? This week, we’re taking names, words, or brands and reimagining them into unexpected forms. How to Play: 1️⃣ Drop a name, phrase, or business 2️⃣ We’ll reimagine it as something wildly creative 3️⃣ AI-generated art will do the rest Examples: “CJ CPAs” written on a three-tier cake “Tesla” carved into the side of a glowing meteor “Nike” floating above a waterfall made of shoelaces “Waffle House” spelled in syrup on a space station diner table “Apple” as an orchard of futuristic glowing tech trees Let’s have some fun with it. Drop your word or logo idea below

I'm intrigued to know what your GPT says? Ask it: “What questions am I not asking?” We’re all getting wildly different experiences with our GPTs based on how we’ve trained them, how we prompt them, and what we’re aiming to build. I'm intrigued to see how your experience is so feel free to add responses in the comments if you'd like to try to figure this ai stuff out together! This is one of my favorite meta-prompts, and the answers always surface something unexpected. Here’s a snapshot of what mine gave me today (screenshot below). Some of these questions hit hard. What about you? Ask your GPT:“What questions am I not asking?” If you're open to it, drop a few of the responses in the comments. Let’s shine a light on what our AI mirrors are showing us. #ChatGPT #

How to build an interactive 3D map in seconds using AI (instructions below!! 👇👇👇) This one is one of the wildest and fastest examples of an ai use case I've seen. Explained below in simple steps. Minimal coding expertise needed (but you do need a place to run it. I used visual studio code). Use Gemini 2.5 to create a fully interactive 3D map of your city with clickable tourist attractions using a single prompt! Step-by-step (took under 2 minutes): 1. Open Gemini 2.5 (https://gemini.google.com/) 2. Paste this prompt: > “Create a 3D visualization of San Antonio. Make it interactive. In the left column, list top tourist destinations and navigate to the location upon click. Use threebox and Three.js. Use CSS, JS, and HTML in a single HTML file.” 3. Click run — Gemini returns a complete HTML file. 4. Download the file and open it in a code editor (I use Visual studio code) 5. Get a free Mapbox token (https://lnkd.in/gh9fCDXs) 6. Paste your token into the HTML. 7. Open the file in your browser. 8. Done. You’re now flying around your city in 3D. Feel free to tweak your prompt. > Best burger spots > hiking trails > live music venues > events happening over the next month > real estate listing meeting certain qualifications This came from the YouTube channel ai search and the video has lots of other incredible examples that are super fast. (https://lnkd.in/g2ENhcGx) Would love to know what y'all make for anyone that want to dive in and test it out!

It can be hard to tell the truth. The short term benefits of a lie can far exceed that of telling the truth. A small lie can carry big benefits: > You can keep a client from getting upset > You can land a job you might not deserve > You can avoid a hard conversation with someone you love > You can sidestep immediate pain But time proves everything out. I work hard to be honest in all of my dealings. It’s not always easy. It’s not always comfortable. But I know this: Every time I tell the truth, I’m stacking a habit. And over time, my words hold more weight. That’s the goal. To have words that are heavy. Words that matter. Words that people can trust. The easy road looks tempting. But consistently telling the truth, even when you don't have to, leads to a more fulfilling life for yourself and those around you.

If you don’t use notebook LM, that’s fine but you NEED to be aware of it. Especially if you or anyone you know is an auditory learner because you can find immediate value TODAY. One of the fastest ways to get value from AI today is by using Notebook LM to summarize long-form content like: > PDFs > Articles > Podcasts > YouTube videos If you have a Google account, you’ve had access since 2023. It’s free and it’s a game-changer. Drop in any resource and it gives you: ✅ An engaging AI-generated podcast ✅ A detailed summary ✅ A Q&A quiz for comprehension ✅ A timeline breakdown of key events Here’s a real example: A podcast version of the EBPAQC’s SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 guidance for auditors https://lnkd.in/gH4CJY6v If you’re in audit, compliance, education, or just trying to consume faster, this isn’t optional. It’s leverage. PS they have a "mind map" feature that I have played with yet but look crazy. I'll likely do a separate post on it. #NotebookLM

Every morning before starting my day I read a daily statement and some of the words have been really hitting lately. "I will always do the right thing regardless of consequence. My integrity will guide every decision I make knowing that TRUE success is built on a foundation of honesty, fairness, and doing what is right, even when it is hard." Integrity costs something upfront but pays dividends forever. I'm excited and grateful for the opportunity to be an example of what happens when stack a whole lot of those days back to back to back

ChatGPT Just Fixed My Garage Door This dang garage door has been messing up for months. I messed with it myself. I was ready to either buy a whole new opener or hire someone to come out and fix it. Enter GPT. I took a few pictures, described the problem... and it figured it out in minutes. Problem solved. No service call. No expensive new setup. The limitations of what's possible are the limitations of your imagination

Every day before I left for school, my mom would tell me: “Make new friends.” At the time, I thought it was strange. I usually saw the same kids every day. Why remind me every single morning? Now as an adult, I get it. This journey we’re all on is a wild one. A friend along for the ride makes all the difference. And if you want to do big things, you're going to need friends: ✅ Friends to lift you when you fall ✅ Friends to challenge you to grow ✅ Friends to celebrate your wins ✅ Friends to sharpen your thinking ✅ Friends to remind you who you are when you forget ✅ Friends who see your potential even when you don’t Today, my mom’s words live on. It’s something I tell my own children every morning before they head out into the world: “Learn new things and make new friends.” Some lessons are simple. Some lessons are forever.

I’ve said it for over 2 years, and time say again. If you don’t come with us on this journey, we’re just going to look like magicians to you. But is not magic. We’re regular dudes who refused to stop asking questions. We’re on the precipice of some mind-blowing breakthroughs and it’s wild how simple it actually is. Don’t fall for the trap of thinking you’re different, or any less special than anyone else walking this planet. The only thing that actually separates us is the questions we are brave enough to ask.

I Would Have Paid $10K to Build a Project Tracker. Instead, I Built It in an Hour with Gemini 2.5 Pro. I’ve worked with developers for years. It’s not easy. Taking an idea that’s crystal clear in your head and trying to transfer it to someone else, especially someone unfamiliar with your industry or terminology, has been one tough task! And here’s the real kicker: The tiny detail that makes it all work? That’s often the part that doesn’t get communicated because I didn't even realize it’s the part that matters most. I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars just learning how to communicate with developers effectively. But with the improvement of LLMs, that’s no longer an issue (for small tasks today) ______________________________________ I’ve been searching for the perfect project management system for our audit firm for years. No app ever beat our Excel sheet. The logic worked. The team got it. Everything else we tried led to confusion and drop-off. ______________________________________ The Project: > I opened Gemini 2.5 and dropped in the prompt you see here. > In just minutes, it created a rough prototype of exactly what I needed. > Then I added features one by one, validating each update before continuing. (sometimes it messed up completely and I said "hey you messed up something that was already working", and it fixed itself first try every time). Today, our custom app can: ✅ Track new jobs ✅ Assign employees to tasks ✅ Track tasks with varying completion levels ✅ Color code and timestamp by employee ✅ Add notes per task ✅ Toggle between text input or predefined dropdowns ✅ Show each employee a menu of their assigned tasks Coming soon: > Integration with our engagement letter software (Knuula) > Connection to Clockify for time tracking > Various Real-time management reports > So many more amazing ideas! ______________________________________ I have huge respect for what software developers build. But the bar has been raised. The new variable I look for when choosing vendors is this: How steep is the learning curve? Because now, personalized software solutions can be built in minutes. That means legacy processes can effectively evolve into something faster, smarter, and more scalable. And I’m here for it. 🌎❤️ #AI #Gemini #Accounting #audit

How much should an American company pay offshore Employees? I'd like to have a very open and honest conversation over the implications of paying a person based on value regardless of where they live. Let’s say someone on my team is generating $400,000+ per year in value for the business. How much should they earn? For American staff, I think the bottom side of "fair" is 30% of revenue that staff handles as a baseline for compensation. That would mean a $120,000+ package. Which feels right. Feels fair. And here’s where I keep landing: I’m having a hard time finding justification for why I should care where they live. If they’re delivering, if they’re bought in, if they’re helping us grow something meaningful, why should geography dictate their worth? _____________________________ Soo should I pay offshore talent the same way I’d pay someone in the U.S. doing the same work? Ooo dont you worry. My overthinkingness has dove deep into decades of implications of a potential act like this and I'd love to learn more from everyone. ____________________________ This realization opens up a flood of other questions I can’t ignore (see comments for the full list): > If I pay someone in the Philippines what most would consider lottery money every year… What does that do long-term? > Could it cause long-term distortion in emerging markets? > Could this trigger talent migration away from essential roles in healthcare, education, infrastructure, etc.? > What local societal pressures am I unaware of in other countries, where earning that much could affect family dynamics, safety, or identity? > Also critical element is to say I hold my offshore team to the same exact standards. Going in, I honestly wanted to lower the bar for them, and then I met them and learned how amazing they are and couldn't bring myself to lower the bar. > I'm also intrigued to know what others thoughts are if an average employee generates $1M for the company. And now we are talking about $300k comp packages before bonuses. This is what I'm building. ____________________________ I will compensate with integrity. And that means looking deeper than spreadsheets. This is bigger than numbers. It’s about economic ripple effects, cultural nuance, and the responsibility that comes with bold decisions. ____________________________ I don’t have all the answers. But I want to learn before I scale. I’d love to hear your perspective too. What do you see that I might not? I’d love to hear from those with experience in global hiring, labor economics, or real-world ripple effects. #accounting #offshore #cpa

Always so awesome to see Kelly Mann, CPA and the AuditMiner team pushing the industry forward.