The Loneliest Person in an Accounting Firm Is Usually the Owner - Erin Pohan’s Perspective

Some leaders say it out loud. Others just experience it and suffer in silence. Yet this is one of the most common experiences firm leaders or owners face – loneliness at the top. 

Firms are growing. Revenue is increasing at a steady pace. Clients are coming in. The team is expanding. 

Amidst all of it, everything feels good, even successful. But on the inside, the owners feel alone. Almost everyone feels it. But they constantly feel it’s just them. It’s not. 

This is not because they don’t have people around them. It’s because there are very few people who truly understand the weight of being the solo runner. There are so many pressure points that build on: 

• Pressure of payroll
• Of client decisions
• Uncertainty of the talent market
• Fear of making the wrong investment
• The responsibility of being a good leader

In reality, when firms grow, owners often find themselves with fewer peers. Not more. This loneliness can quietly become a barrier to growth.

This conversation between Erin Pohan, Founder of Upkeeping, and Maanoj Shah, Co-Founder of Finsmart Accounting, began with workflows, operations, and scaling.

But underneath all of that was a very different story. 

A story about community
A story about belonging.
And a story about why some of the most important business breakthroughs happen outside the office.

Growth Can Be Surprisingly Lonely

When entrepreneurs start their journey, it all looks amazing – the growth, the idea of a bigger and better firm – all of it.

Entrepreneurship is often portrayed as freedom. And it is, in several ways. 

Owners get to make decisions, build their vision, build a life that they have always dreamt of, choose the kind of clients they work with, and so much more.

But there is always this one aspect that gets left out of the conversation – the isolation that comes with the responsibilities. Because when challenges arise, there are very few people inside the firm that an owner can truly turn to.

The problem is worse for firm owners with teams – employees look at leaders for answers, clients expect confidence, and partners expect direction. Everyone’s eyes are on the owner during every situation. 

And eventually, many firm leaders begin solving problems in isolation.

Erin spoke directly about this reality when discussing the role community has played in her journey.

“It is everything to the way that I’m scaling.”

Not software.
Not automation.
Not workflows.
Community.

That statement alone challenges much of what the profession believes about growth.

Because most conversations around scaling focus on systems.

Erin’s experience suggests that sometimes growth starts with finding people who understand your journey.

The Best Advice Doesn’t Always Come From a Consultant

Advice doesn’t necessarily stem from a full-blown consulting session. Sometimes it comes from a hallway conversation.

One of the most powerful parts of the discussion was Erin’s description of conferences and peer communities.

Not because she was talking about networking. Because she was talking about learning.

Real learning.

The kind that happens when firm owners stop pretending they have everything figured out. As Erin explained:

“I have learned so much by being at conferences and having those hallway conversations with people who I deeply respect.”

And that line will resonate with almost every firm owner. Because some of the hardest leadership questions don’t have a playbook. Questions like: 

• How do you know when to make a senior hire?
• How do you restructure a team?
• How do you handle a difficult client?
• How do you know whether a problem is operational or cultural?

Those answers rarely come from a checklist. Often they come from conversations with someone who has already lived through the challenge.

And that is what community provides – access to collective experience, access to mistakes, and access to perspective.

As Erin put it:

“They’re not afraid to say, ‘Yeah, I did this, and it didn’t work,’ or, ‘I learned from this mistake that I made.'”

That kind of honesty is hard to find when you’re operating alone.

The Moment That Changed Everything

This one story from the conversation stood out above all others. In 2024, Erin attended the Bridging the Gap conference for the first time. She didn’t know anyone then. 

No familiar faces.

No established network.

No circle of peers waiting for her.

Just a conference full of strangers.

She described being in her hotel room the first morning, building up the courage to walk downstairs. 

And like many professionals attending a conference alone for the first time made her think about whether she belonged – not about growth strategies. 

Then something unexpected happened. Reflecting on that experience, Erin said:

“I walked downstairs, and everyone was who they were.”

It sounds simple. But it is actually profound. Because many firm owners spend years believing they need to become someone else to succeed.

More polished.
More corporate.
More confident.
More perfect.

What Erin discovered was the opposite – the strongest communities are often built around authenticity, not perfection.

Why Erin Started Building Community Instead of Just Consuming It

Most people attend a conference, learn something, and move on. Erin left with a different feeling – she wanted more of it.

• Not another event.
• Not another keynote.
• The feeling of belonging.
• The feeling of being surrounded by people who understood the journey.

She explained:

“It was that feeling that I had leaving Bridging the Gap where I didn’t want to wait to experience that again.”

That feeling eventually became Wave.

Not because Erin wanted to launch a conference.

Because she wanted to create a space where other accounting professionals could experience what she had experienced – connection, community, shared learning, support.

The result has been remarkable.

1. People have formed mastermind groups.
2. Built referral relationships.
3. Found accountability partners.
4. Created friendships.

And in many cases, discovered that they were not as alone as they thought.

The Accounting Industry Doesn’t Need More Competition. It Needs More Community

One of the most insightful observations Erin made was about the future of the profession itself.

The accounting industry is facing enormous challenges.

• Technology is evolving rapidly.
• AI is changing workflows.
• Experienced professionals are retiring.
• The talent pipeline remains a concern.

Most conversations focus on solving these problems independently.

But Erin sees something different.

She sees community as part of the solution.

She explained:

“When we do it together in community, we help to make the idea of being an accountant more attractive.”

That is a powerful idea because people are rarely drawn to industries. They are drawn to people. They are drawn to belonging.

They are drawn to communities where they can see themselves building a future.

Perhaps the profession does not just need better technology. Perhaps it needs stronger connections.

Success Is Personal. Community Helps You Figure Out What It Means

One of the most thoughtful parts of the conversation came when Erin discussed the theme of the Wave conference: Success.

But not success as social media often defines it.

Not bigger firms.

Not larger teams.

Not higher revenue.

Instead, success on your own terms.

As Erin explained:

“Success does not look the same for everyone.”

That idea feels increasingly important today. Because firm owners are surrounded by noise. Someone is building a seven-figure firm. Someone is acquiring another practice. Someone is hiring aggressively. Someone is launching a new service line.

And it becomes easy to believe that everyone should be chasing the same destination.

Erin challenges that assumption.

She believes growth should be aligned with the life you want—not the life someone else is promoting.

And community plays a critical role in helping people discover that.

Not by giving answers.

But by exposing them to possibilities.

The Best Investment Might Not Be Another Tool

Accounting firm owners love solutions – software, automation, systems, processes.

And all of those things matter. But Erin’s story offers a different lesson. Sometimes the biggest bottleneck is not operational. Sometimes it is isolation.

Sometimes growth accelerates not because you found a better workflow. But because you found better conversations.

People who challenge your thinking.

People who share your struggles.

People who remind you that the problems you’re facing are not unique.

Toward the end of the conversation, Erin offered a simple piece of advice:

“There are so many people in this accounting industry that need to know that you exist, and we can’t know that unless we make ourselves exist.”

That may be one of the most important growth lessons for firm owners today.

Not because it is about visibility.

Because it is about participation.

The future of your firm may not be hiding inside another spreadsheet, dashboard, or process improvement project. It may be waiting in a conversation with someone who understands exactly what you’re going through.

And for many accounting firm owners, that conversation might be the difference between growing a firm in isolation and building one with a community beside them.
Watch the complete conversation here: https://youtu.be/hkkPjeaj39U?si=ajb46eBM2xdvawIU