From A Big Four Firm to Entrepreneurship
In this special episode of The Accountant’s Flight Plan, Brannon sat down with Raffi Yousefian, a NY/DC-based CPA and entrepreneur, to discuss his journey to building a thriving tax practice. Raffi began his career at EY before launching his own firm in 2016, growing rapidly before making the bold decision in 2022 to niche down into three verticals. By 2023, he doubled down on his fastest-growing and most rewarding segment: restaurants. He dedicated his brand to that niche and sold off the rest with the help of Poe Group Advisors.
Pairing Down to Grow Meaningfully
Raffi shares how growing up surrounded by entrepreneurs influenced his life path and how a book on business sparked his career in accounting. He and Brannon explore the parallels between their own journeys from public accounting to business ownership, and the surprising truth that sometimes doing less is the key to growing more. For Raffi, focusing on the restaurant industry meant scalability, deeper client relationships, and the freedom to truly become a specialized advisor. He stresses the importance of specialization as the only way to truly offer meaningful advisory services to your clients.
Advisory, Benchmarks, and the Future of Working With AI
Brannon and Raffi also discuss the nuances of advisory work across industries, the value of ultra-specific benchmarks, and how AI is slowly but surely transforming the industry. Primarily through automation but with a wealth of possibilities for quality control. Raffi and Brannon agree that taking a strategic approach to adapting AI rather than jumping on every new advancement could be the key to successfully leveraging the tools available to practitioners. Raffi’s story underscores the power of focus, the importance of having the courage to niche down, and the rewards of taking a calculated leap for your business. Not to mention that, listeners get a fun behind-the-scenes peek at his days moonlighting as a DJ during tax season at EY!
Timestamps:
- 00:37 – Intro of Raffi Yousefian his background from EY to launching his own firm and finding his niche
- 04:00 – Why Raffi left public accounting to become an entrepreneur
- 06:50 – Doing less to grow more: The power of niching
- 11:45 – Selling off part of a firm: Risk vs. reward
- 15:20 – Why focus builds deeper expertise and stronger advisory
- 20:00 – Benchmarks, AI adoption, and automation in accounting
- 27:33 – DJ life during tax season: A funny story
- 31:48 – Book recommendation: Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore
- 33:00 – Connect with Raffi via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raffiyousefian/
