After spending 11 years with the AICPA’s senior management team, where he served as the vice president of small firm interesta, James Metzler has decided to branch out and start his own consulting practice, Metzler Advisory Group.
Metzler, who has worked with small firms for more than 35 years, will give strategic direction, thought leadership, and coach those who are ready to take their careers to the next level within the accounting profession.
Throughout his career, Metzler strategically worked with organizations and companies that serve the profession, as well as associations and worldwide societies and helped them plot their future with the changing environment within the CPA profession. He will incorporate his years of experience along with his endeavors from Convergence Coaching LLC, which he co-founded with Jennifer Wilson, and combine the two into his new venture.
“My passion and my heart is to help emerging leaders, forward firms, new partners and partners to be.” Metzler said during an interview with Accounting Today. “I really want to help them capitalize in their strengths and really understand the true power of being a CPA. And not just focusing on the work but focusing on the client.”
“The biggest thing out there is the changing client. The changing clients are smarter, they are international, they don’t look at the work of a CPA as hours based they look at it as knowledge based,” Metzler said explaining that this is where semi-young partners come into play. “They have to be able to recognize what is value in the eyes of the client and when a value opportunity is looking them in the face. It’s time for that CPA to know that client well enough to step forward and connect in a way they can bring clients to a place that they couldn’t see or get to themselves.”
“I’m also working with a number of female owned entrepreneurial proprietorships,” Metzler noted. “Women CPAs have a way with connecting more directly with clients. There is an honesty and openness and passion for the client. They really connect better from the heart with the client. It’s a very, very powerful capability that CPAs don’t get for many, many years. I find that women entrepreneurial firms don’t realize the value that they have in that.”
Metzler will continue to devote some of his time to the AICPA and he plans to volunteer Buffalo, New York Chapter, New York State Society, and his alumni Canisius College in Buffalo.
Now that Metzler has a little more free time he plans to contribute more articles and blog posts on practice management and issues facing the profession. He’s also going to take some time to write another book. If you recall he is the author of How to Build a Million Dollar Technology Consulting Practice. His new book will be entrepreneurial themed and geared toward young emerging partners and new firms.
To see exactly what Metzler is up to, visit
