Chris Johnson, CPA, CCIFP's Linkedin Analytics

Cool things i’m doing with ChatGPT: Daily themes for the morning drive with the kids 🚗🧠 (I post alot of stuff on LI but this one is incredibly powerful if you have kids and want to be intentional their growth) TLDR: I used ChatGPT tasks to turn our morning school drives into structured, intentional learning moments with fun daily themes for my kids. I take my kids to school every morning. It’s one of my favorite parts of the day. We laugh, we learn, we talk about everything from animal poop to space-time. It’s focused dad time, and I don’t take it for granted. But you know me— I love structure. So we asked ChatGPT to help us turn our already awesome mornings into something more intentional. We now have daily themes, each with its own vibe and purpose. Here’s what the Johnson car ride looks like now: ______________________________ Monday – Question day The kids can ask any question they want about the universe. (Carver once went on a multi-week streak about how different animals poop 😅) Tuesday – Game day We play something interactive with ChatGPT. Guess the animal, 20 questions, riddles—whatever gets us thinking and laughing. Wednesday – Reflection day A simple, thoughtful question like: “What made you feel proud yesterday?” Thursday – Progressive story day We build a story together. Each of us adds a piece, and GPT keeps it going. Friday – Future friday Imaginative prompts like: “What invention do you wish existed?” This is all about creativity and breaking down “I can’t” thinking early. ______________________________ But I didn’t stop there. I loaded all of this into a Tasks GPT that sends me a fresh prompt every morning before we head out. It’s aligned with our family values, and it’s tailored to help the kids grow in all the areas we care about most.

Hot take: ChatGPT’s advanced voice mode ain’t that great You’ll be hard pressed to find a bigger #ChatGPT fan than me. I’m a loyal ChatGPT maximalist. But I’ve got to be honest, the mobile voice mode has limitations that are easy to overlook until they slow you down. The good: ✅ Great for quick, one-off questions ✅ Fun party trick / live demo / games with kids ✅ Can troubleshoot certain issues if you keep it short The not-so-good: ⚠️ Feels like it’s running a model or two behind ⚠️ Occasionally cuts out mid-convo and loses your input ⚠️ Sometimes it just doesn’t listen or track the thread reliably I’ve had enough frustrating experiences using voice through the app that here’s what I recommend instead: 📌 Record your audio in a more reliable tool 📌 Drop the transcript into GPT-4o or GPT-o3 📌 Let it run analysis, cleanups, and insight from there More context. More control. Way better results.

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.

I had the chance to attend the AICPA EBP Conference last week, and as always, it delivered. Here are a few of my key takeaways: ✅ This industry is packed with people who care The room was full of smart, passionate, mission-driven pros who truly care about doing this work the right way. It’s easy to forget how rare that is. I'm grateful to be part of a profession where integrity still means something. _______________________________ ✅ Progress is happening It's a little slower than I expected… but probably 10x faster than most people realize. The future is coming, and some of us are already living it. _______________________________ ✅ Imposter syndrome took another hit I didn’t hold back. I talked openly about what we’re actually doing today Not ideas, not what-ifs, but real execution. There were strange looks, questions of disbelief, and then... conversations that mattered. I walked away knowing I’m not ahead by luck. We’ve earned this seat. And we’re just getting started. _______________________________ ✅ Addictive Leadership with Michael Brody-Waite One of the standout sessions was from Michael Brody-Waite, who shared his story of recovering from addiction and applying the principles of rigorous honesty, transparency, and surrender to leadership. He discusses how leaders need to own their truth without shame or ego. It was raw. Real. And unforgettable. _______________________________ Big thanks to the organizers and everyone who showed up and made the conference what it was. Always one of my favorite events of the year. AICPA American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)

We had our monthly financial literacy meeting and went over Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps. (Check out the song for an amazing, fun summary.) https://lnkd.in/g63J_VBK Money can be overwhelming even for smart, driven people. So we broke it down, step by step, and use ChatGPT abd direct feedback to tailor Dave Ramseys Baby steps for our incredible team in the Philippines. Here are the 7 Baby Steps we walked through together: 1. Save $1k in US (or 10k PHP) for a starter emergency fund 2. Pay off all debt (except your home) using the debt snowball method 3. Save 3–6 months of living expenses in a fully funded emergency fund 4. Invest 2p% of your income for retirement 5. Save for your children’s education 6. Pay off your house early 7. Build wealth and give generously We talked about how culture shapes financial choices from supporting extended family to navigating unstructured retirement systems. We even used ChatGPT to adapt the steps for local context, tools, and banking options. Here’s why this matters: I want every CJCPAs teammate no matter where they live to become financially unbreakable. Because when stress drops, potential rises. When people feel safe, they think bigger. When they understand money, they change their future. Your turn: How are you helping your team win with money? Drop a tip, a tool, or a mindset shift you swear by. Let’s build wealth with structure, clarity, and generosity one step at a time.

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 🧡

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

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!

You get to choose one. Which would you rather have? A) Collect $2,000/hour for every hour you work B) Build a team where each member produces $500/hour Assume both are sustainable. Assume you can’t pick both. What’s your play and why? Comment below. I’d love to hear how you think. lets throw on some extra details from intial comments > lets say its a brand new service based business. > Choice A - you can pick your hours. You want to work 2,300 charge hours? Cool, you just made $4.6M top line. > Choice B - it comes with all of the struggles of running a team. You've got the process for them to do it, but you have all of the other hiring, training, managing.

Last night I read Outwitting the Devil and my biggest takeaway was that Napoleon Hill would’ve been an incredible prompt engineer. 😅 In this intriguing book, Hill has a conversation with “the devil.” While I had incredible takeaways from the message of the book, I also paid close attention to the way Hill spoke. The intentionallity of his language was impressive. He navigates evasive answers, half-truths, and distractions with precision. He asks layered, direct questions. He keeps the goal clear. And he doesn’t drift. Sound familiar? That’s exactly how you need to engage with LLMs like ChatGPT. The information is powerful but it can lead you astray if you’re not grounded. Clarity of thought and intention are everything. Because if you don’t know what you’re after, you’ll start drifting from your goals

ChatGPT is a better accountant than you. And that’s okay. If a client ever asks: “Wait, why pay you when I can ask ChatGPT?” The answer is simple: Because I can ask it better questions than you can. Because I can shape the inputs. Because I can filter the noise, focus the output, and execute. And my ability to do that is extremely valuable to you. ____________________________________ Now let’s flip the mirror: “But my ChatGPT isn’t a better accountant than me!” You’re absolutely right. YOUR ChatGPT isn’t. Because your mindset blocks it. You don’t believe it can be. So you never explore what’s possible. You settle. You defend. You limit. Fixed mindset. That’s the gap. If you believe it can outperform you at certain tasks, you’ll find a way to train it, prompt it, and partner with it. If you don’t, you’ll spend your energy justifying why it never will. Start here: Read Mindset by Carol Dweck. Then get honest about where you’re playing defense. ChatGPT and ai isnt replacing accountants It IS replacing fixed mindsets 👋👋👋 And the best accountants are using AI to multiply their value.

If you stop looking for problems, you stop finding them

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

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.

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

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

My business philosophy is pretty simple. Get the best people on the planet and solve the easiest problems. We accountants love to serve. And it causes us to fall into a common trap. We love solving alot of different complex problems. But when you aim at everything, you aim at nothing.

We just hit 6 hours of sleep by 6 weeks with out newborn. Heres what we did ❤️🙌 We’ve now had 2 out of 3 kids hit this milestone. There are a million ways to raise kids. This isn’t a prescription, this is just what worked for us. Here’s what we did: 1. Prayer. My wife and I pray together multiple times a day. We do everything we can—but there’s still so much out of our control. Asking for help from above has never let us down. 2. Breastfeeding (with formula if needed). It has incredible benefits—but it’s also a heavy burden. We keep it going as long as it’s healthy physically and mentally. No guilt, no pressure. 3. Consistent schedule. Jovie (our newborn) plugs into the routine of her older siblings. The rhythm helps everyone. 4. Dad takes the first half of the night shift. I’m on baby duty from 8:30 p.m. to around midnight or 1. Sometimes that means an extra feeding, walk, or car ride—but it opens the door for us to get a full 12–6 stretch. 5. Sound machine. Simple. Effective. Total game changer. 6. Pack and play in our room. We don’t co-sleep. This makes the eventual transition to her room way easier and safer. Bonus tips that help: – Second pack-and-play just for the dad shift – Walks with baby strapped to my chest – Short car rides to reset when needed – Protecting mom’s rest window as fiercely as possible None of this is perfect. And it might not work for everyone. But we’ve found that a mix of prayer, teamwork, grace, and strategy can go a long way—even in the sleep-deprived chaos of newborn life. If you're in the trenches right now: you're not alone. You're doing better than you think.

At 10 years old, I made the decision to transition from introvert to extrovert. I was picked on alot as a kid. I was an easy target in alot of ways Shy, quiet. Very Poor. Socially awkward. In GT program that made it easy be seen as different. I had 2 or 3 actual friends. and moved schools often. Then at 10, I was adopted by my aunt and uncle. And suddenly I had a chance to reinvent myself. I made a deal with myself: No more hiding. I would speak up. I would stand up for myself. I would be social, even if it made me uncomfortable. No more advanced classes. (I even retook a math class I had taken 2 years prior) And in 7th grade, I got after it. I acted totally different. I talked. I made jokes. I started running home from school (3 miles). And it worked. I built real friendships, some that I still have to this day. But here’s the part I didn’t understand until years later: That shift came with both growth and baggage. Yes: – I embraced discomfort – I gained confidence – I learned how to connect But I also: – Became a class clown – Learned to seek approval at all costs – Blamed education for my social rejection – Hid parts of myself that made me unique Those patterns stuck with me for 20+ years. Even when I was building a career, I carried them. I was always responsible… but I was also the party boy. Trying to prove I belonged. Trying to fit a mold. Looking back, that choice at 10 shaped so much of my story. It gave me survival skills. It gave me access to people. But it also took years to unlearn the parts that kept me playing small in a different way. Now? I’m learning how to be the full version of myself. Visionary. Grounded. Smart AND Dumb. Social. Focused. Unapologetic. Curious, have you ever made a personality shift that changed your trajectory? And what did it cost you? (the picture is of my brother John and I from high school at our family farm)

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