She Fixed Broken Workplaces, Then She Fired Her Bookkeeper and Her CPA. Rae Michelle Bullard - EP11

In this episode of The Tax Translator, Cecily Welch sits down with Rae Michelle Bullard, founder of My HR Lane, for a candid conversation about what business owners should expect from their professional advisors and what happens when those relationships stop working. Rae Michelle shares the experience that led her to fire her CPA, including a lack of proactive communication, limited collaboration with her other financial professionals, difficulty explaining her tax position, and an unexpected fee increase. 💡 What You’ll Learn • What business owners should expect from a CPA relationship. Rae Michelle explains why she wanted her CPA to function as a strategic partner, helping her understand why she owed taxes, identify potential planning opportunities, and anticipate what the business should do differently rather than simply preparing returns. • Why the right professional “fit” matters. A highly qualified CPA or firm may still be wrong for a particular business if its size, service model, communication style, or ideal client profile does not align with the business owner's needs. • Why bookkeeping and tax services require different skill sets. Cecily explains that a business needs both accurate books and tax planning/compliance expertise, although those functions may sometimes be provided by the same person or firm. • When business owners should start thinking about HR. Rae recommends consulting an HR professional before hiring the first employee, when decisions about job responsibilities, compensation, future raises, performance expectations, resources, and workplace culture are first being made. 💬 Quote of the Episode “Before you hire your first person, you should be consulting with an HR professional.” —Rae Michelle Bullard RESOURCES: Cecily Welch, CPA, The Accountant You Can Understand® https://www.linkedin.com/in/cecilywelch/ https://cecilywelch.cpa/ This Week’s Guest: Rae Michelle Bullard https://www.linkedin.com/in/raebullard/ My HR Lane: https://www.myhrlane.com/about Subscribe to The Tax Translator ™ LinkedIn Newsletter https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-t... Free "How to Work with your CPA Checklist" www.TheAccountantYouCanUnderstand.com Pre-Order Cecily's book: Your Accountant Is Full of $.H.I.T. Shortsighted, Hesitant, and Intimidated by Taxes at https://youraccountantisshit.com/