From Public Accounting to Tech Unicorn IPOs With Brandt Kucharski

01/26/24 • 62 min

Earmark Podcast | Earn Free Accounting CPE

Blake chats with Brandt Kucharski, former chief accounting officer at GrubHub and current CAO at Ethos Life, about his career journey from public accounting to leading startups through IPOs. They discuss Brandt's pivotal role in taking GrubHub public as one of the first "unicorn" startups, the process of scaling accounting teams and controls, nonprofit work with the Holiday Heroes Foundation, and thoughts on increasing accounting talent amid growing complexity.

Sponsor
ShareFile - https://earmarkcpe.promo/sharefile

Chapters

(01:06) - Welcome Brandt Kurcharski to the show
(02:37) - Early Career and Joining GrubHub
(05:07) - What was the first thing you did at GrubHub?
(05:41) - The Journey to IPO
(09:51) - What advice would you give a young controller going through an IPO
(11:29) - Let's talk about GrubHub's tech stack at the time
(15:26) - Building the Accounting Team at GrubHub
(18:03) - The smartest thing you did at GrubHub
(23:56) - Reflection on GrubHub's Success
(25:21) - Biggest mistake you made at GrubHub
(26:47) - Size of Your Accounting Team
(29:03) - The Merger with Seamless and Going Public Again
(31:09) - Let's talk Sarbanes-Oxley
(34:47) - The Journey of Grubhub's Second Public Listing
(35:54) - The Challenges of Merging and Going Public Again
(37:53) - The Role of Charity in Personal Growth
(41:04) - Accounting Challenges For a Charity
(43:19) - The Journey from Grubhub to Ethos Life
(47:35) - Accounting at Ethos vs GrubHub
(49:14) - The Impact of Accounting Standards on Business
(55:13) - The Accounting Talent Crisis and Possible Solutions
(01:01:11) - Thanks for Listening and Remember to Subscribe

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Connect with Our Guest, Brandt Kucharski

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandtkucharski/

Connect with Blake Oliver, CPA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaketoliver
Twitter: https://twitter.com/blaketoliver/

Sponsor
ShareFile - https://earmarkcpe.promo/sharefile

Chapters

(01:06) - Welcome Brandt Kurcharski to the show
(02:37) - Early Career and Joining GrubHub
(05:07) - What was the first thing you did at GrubHub?
(05:41) - The Journey to IPO
(09:51) - What advice would you give a young controller going through an IPO
(11:29) - Let's talk about GrubHub's tech stack at the time
(15:26) - Building the Accounting Team at GrubHub
(18:03) - The smartest thing you did at GrubHub
(23:56) - Reflection on GrubHub's Success
(25:21) - Biggest mistake you made at GrubHub
(26:47) - Size of Your Accounting Team
(29:03) - The Merger with Seamless and Going Public Again
(31:09) - Let's talk Sarbanes-Oxley
(34:47) - The Journey of Grubhub's Second Public Listing
(35:54) - The Challenges of Merging and Going Public Again
(37:53) - The Role of Charity in Personal Growth
(41:04) - Accounting Challenges For a Charity
(43:19) - The Journey from Grubhub to Ethos Life
(47:35) - Accounting at Ethos vs GrubHub
(49:14) - The Impact of Accounting Standards on Business
(55:13) - The Accounting Talent Crisis and Possible Solutions
(01:01:11) - Thanks for Listening and Remember to Subscribe

Sign up to get free CPE for listening to this podcast

https://earmarkcpe.com

Download the Earmark CPE App
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Connect with Our Guest, Brandt Kucharski

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandtkucharski/

Connect with Blake Oliver, CPA

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaketoliver
Twitter: https://twitter.com/blaketoliver/

Previous Episode

Harness the Power of AI: Practical Uses for Accountants

On this bonus episode Blake explores how artificial intelligence will transform the accounting profession. You'll learn how leading AI tools and chatbots can help automate routine tasks, freeing you up to focus on more strategic, higher-value services. He'll also walk through real-world examples of using AI for document analysis, tax research, correspondence, transcript review, drafting/editing, and more. Whether you're a sole practitioner or work in a large firm, this episode will equip you with actionable tactics to drive efficiency with existing clients and expand your advisory services. Don't let AI disrupt accounting without you!

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(03:19) - Current Usage of AI in Accounting
(04:17) - Exploring Leading AI Chatbots
(04:32) - Introduction to ChatGPT
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(07:03) - Introduction to BARD and Grammarly
(08:19) - Using Bing Chat for Web Search
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(23:48) - Explaining Accounting Concepts with AI
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(33:27) - Demonstrating ChatGPT's Response Generation
(36:08) - Using AI for Client Questions and Voicemail Transcripts
(41:36) - Drafting Policies and Procedures with AI
(41:45) - Responding to IRS Notices with AI
(46:48) - Summarizing Meeting Transcripts with AI
(54:21) - Q&A and Closing Remarks

Sign up to get free CPE for listening to this podcast

https://earmarkcpe.com

Download the Earmark CPE App
Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.app

Connect with Blake Oliver, CPA
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blaketoliver
Twitter: https://twitter.com/blaketoliver/

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Sponsor
MakersHub - https://earmarkcpe.promo/makershub

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