Resilience in the Face of Change

Alicia sits down with longtime friend and Intuit Trainer/Writer Network co-founder Alison Ball to trace her path from Intuit through Liscio and BookKeep to running her own consulting practice as a trusted sounding board for tech companies and practitioners alike. Alison breaks down why so many accounting tech products stumble (hint: they skip the accountants), shares Blake Oliver's now-famous advice to fix your bottleneck before pointing AI at anything else, and makes the case for why the UK's tax system might be a preview of where the US is headed. Grandkids, gardens, and gamillion-dollar vines make an appearance too.Sponsors:Intuit Accountants - http://uqb.promo/intuitPilot - http://uqb.promo/pilotVeltrix - http://uqb.promo/veltrix(00:00) - Podcast Welcome Guest Intro (00:45) - Off Brand QBO Shirt Story (01:36) - How We Met At Connect (04:24) - TWN Origins And Auditions (07:05) - TWN Disbanding Impact (09:03) - Layoffs And Career Shifts (12:43) - Product Design Mistakes (15:25) - AI Bottlenecks And Decisions (17:39) - Community Collaboration Shift (22:13) - Canada Vs US Accounting (24:29) - Canadian Community Leaders (25:21) - Inclusive Culture And Travel Plans (26:16) - Training Tour Across Canada (27:03) - Advice For Industry Change (28:48) - Getting On The AI Train (31:16) - Tech That Fades Into Background (32:21) - AI Apps And Workflow Value (35:25) - Making Tax Digital Future (40:05) - Life Updates And Where To Connect (43:36) - QuickBooks Hands On Training Pitch (45:24) - Final Thanks And Wrap Up LINKSReach out to Alison at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonball/Listen to our episode about Intuit layoffs: uqb.show/146July 21 through October 8: HANDS-ON QUICKBOOKS TRAINING COURSE, http://royl.ws/HOT2026?affiliate=5393907We want to hear from you!Send your questions and comments to us at unofficialquickbookspodcast@gmail.com.Join our LinkedIn community at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14630719/Visit our YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/@UnofficialQBOPodcastSign up to Earmark to earn free CPE for listening to this podcasthttps://www.earmark.app/onboarding