Why the 80-Hour Work Week Needs to End: Lessons from Randy Crabtree’s Wake-Up Call

“The perception is that accountants just work so hard — tied to their desks, 80 to 100 hours a week. But that’s outdated. It doesn’t have to be that way anymore.” — Randy Crabtree, Co-Founder and Partner at Tri-Merit.

Many accountants and accounting firm owners wear exhaustion and burnout as a badge of honor. Long hours, relentless tax season, no personal or family time – they make it a part of their job descriptions. What they fail to understand is that all of this, cumulatively, is holding firms back from growth. Several studies reveal that one of the key reasons many new generations of accountants aren’t joining the industry is that they dread the long and endless hours. 

Randy has been in the industry long enough to see it all, and in this podcast session, he addresses how he had to learn the hard way about the implications of such long hours. 

Because for Randy, balance didn’t come from theory. It came from survival.

Watch the entire podcast here: https://youtu.be/64Fex15hWGQ?si=wg5kFqOzatt_6zs7 

A Wake-up Call and a Turning Point

“It is going to sound strange when you hear the next part, but I am very fortunate for what happened to me 11 years ago…I had a stroke.”

One might wonder why he calls this “fortunate”. We thought about it too until he revealed that this was the day everything changed. He was a managing partner, working non-stop, constantly carrying the pressure of perfection – until the stroke compelled him to stop. The problem was that it was not just a physical halt. 

“Even though physically I recovered quickly, mentally I didn’t. I let my brain play tricks on me – telling me I was going to have another stroke, that I’d die, that I wouldn’t see my kids grow up. I was stuck in that fear for years.”

Randy mentions what a scary time it was for him. This struggle became the foundation for what is now his mantra: real change doesn’t start in your firm – the change needs to be in the mindset.

“The stroke made me realize I couldn’t fix myself by myself. I needed help. And I think accountants are the same – we try to control everything. But that is exactly what burns us out.” 

Why the 80-Hour Work Week Needs to End?

“Work hard, collapse later” is the motto that accountants live by. It is not just an extremely unhealthy approach; it is a recruitment killer.

“The perception that we’re all working crazy hours is what keeps people from joining this profession. In reality, many firms have changed — they’re embracing work-life balance, efficiency, technology, and outsourcing. But the perception hasn’t caught up.”

The gap between perception and progress is where Randy is focused. Through the “Bridging the Gap” conference and “The Unique CPA” podcast, he is creating conversations that challenge the traditional approach to work. 

The treadmill doesn’t work for modern firms. They need to evolve to be able to build a firm that attracts modern-day talent like Gen-Z and Gen Alphas. The client demands are no longer just transactional; the shift to advisory requires time and attention, and firm owners need to have the bandwidth to solve critical problems. 

“The future of accounting isn’t about working harder. It’s about working smarter — delegating, automating, and outsourcing so you can focus on what you love.”

Delegate. Automate. Eliminate. Outsource. 

Over the years, Randy has designed a sustainable success model. This is not complex, but it’s deeply countercultural. 

“Automate, delegate, eliminate, outsource – these are the four things we don’t think about enough. If we analyze everything we do with those four in mind, we become so much more efficient.”

This, for Randy, isn’t just another theory; it was a survival strategy. He learned that control is the enemy of balance. He once reviewed every single tax return his firm filed – over 1,000 per year.

“There’s no way you can build a sustainable firm like that. You can’t have a sustainable career like that either. Delegation is a skill – and I have learned to master it.”

Outsourcing, he adds, is one of the greatest enablers of modern balance. When asked about offshoring, his answer is clear:

“It doesn’t matter where someone is. Good people are everywhere. The world has shrunk — you just need to find the right partners.”

Leading through Vulnerability

“Vulnerability isn’t a weakness. It’s a superpower.”

For Randy, the turning point in leadership wasn’t when he perfected delegation or efficiency – it was when he learned to be open about his own personal limitations. The accounting industry is often associated with control, but Randy broke off the pattern and made vulnerability the single most powerful tool. Randy believes that momentum arrives the moment a leader says, “I don’t have all the answers”.

For firm owners and leaders who are shaping the future of the industry, here’s how vulnerability makes a shift in culture and leadership:

1. Helps build psychological safety: When leaders openly share their struggles, it gives the team permission to do the same. Whether it is managing time, client communication, or learning a new skill, team members know they are not alone. This honesty helps build a culture where people can voice their concerns, ask for help, and correct mistakes, instead of hiding them.
   
2. It uncovers hidden strengths: “I don’t like reviewing tax returns,” Randy had been clear about it. And that is when another of his team members said, “I would love to do that.”  This simple exchange can refine roles, improve efficiency, and help people move into work they actually enjoy doing. Expressing such vulnerabilities can help turn personal gaps into collective strengths.
   
3. It drives engagement and ownership: When leaders encourage and showcase openness, team members are more inclined to be a part of the problem-solving process. They stop waiting for the top-down direction and start contributing ideas, which is, as Randy mentions, what led Tri-Merit to discover new service lines and growth opportunities.
   
4. It humanizes leadership: Accounting is built on precision and perfection. Showing the human side of leaders can break down barriers. It helps employees connect with leaders not as distant figures but as real people navigating similar challenges. That emotional connection fosters loyalty, empathy, and retention.
   
5. It strengthens resilience: When a project stalls or a process fails, vulnerable leaders don’t hide behind authority. They acknowledge it, learn from it, and move forward while maintaining transparency. That honesty makes teams more adaptable and confident in handling change.
   

Key Takeaways for Firm Leaders: 

• Replace control with trust — start small, delegate one task this week.
• Build a people-first culture grounded in empathy and vulnerability.
• Adopt the “automate, delegate, eliminate, outsource” lens for every process.
• Align roles with passions — what makes your team smile will make your firm thrive.
• Redefine success: it’s not the hours you work, but the joy you find doing it.

Watch the entire podcast here: https://youtu.be/64Fex15hWGQ?si=wg5kFqOzatt_6zs7