A Message From Our President
As 2026 begins, our leadership team reflects on the previous year, which helps us set goals for what’s ahead. In preparing that presentation, I must say 2025 was a great year for our team. We were proud of how much we advanced across our people and processes. We've made meaningful internal investments with a clear purpose: positioning our firm and our clients for what’s next.
Our Focus on Talent
We made significant strides across nearly every part of the people side of our firm. From new internal initiatives and improved processes to welcoming new team members and transitioning others into roles better aligned with their strengths, the firm evolved in important ways.
We retooled and realigned administrative and professional positions to better support our team and streamline work, allowing employees such as Ritu Patel and Karen Daugherty and others to step into expanded roles. By intentionally shifting duties, we’re ensuring our people are supported in ways that help them spend more time where it matters most: serving our clients.
This effort is at the heart of what we’ve always called The Rudler Way, and we’ve been more intentional about bringing it to life, thanks in large part to Jackie, our Director of Human Resources. This renewed focus is reducing roadblocks, elevating the client experience and creating more meaningful interactions between our team and clients. We’re excited to continue building on this in the year ahead.
Developing our people remains central to our culture. We finalized the buildout of our new training room, expanded learning and development efforts and hosted our first panel discussion through the Women’s Committee.
We also invested heavily in leadership and soft-skill training, including our Manager Masterclass and Advisory Training 2.0, reinforcing our commitment to growth at every level. Being recognized again by Accounting Today as a Top Firm for Young Professionals and earning our highest ranking yet among Best Firms to Work For speaks to the strength of that culture.
Our Focus on Safeguarding Information and Creating Efficiencies
We recently hired Matthew Weil as our new Technology Operations Coordinator to lead our IT initiatives and help us automate, integrate systems and improve efficiency across the firm.
With his guidance, our team is leveraging AI and automation to create a more consistent client experience, without replacing people. These tools support smoother onboarding, help our remote team stay aligned and keep staff current on tax-law updates, so clients receive accurate guidance no matter where team members are located. Tools like Rightworks AI, ChatGPT and Blue J also significantly speed up research and improve accuracy when analyzing financial statements and identifying discrepancies.
Our firm is also partnering with a third-party automation company to streamline our tax intake process for the 2026 season, while continuing to strengthen education, training, cybersecurity and meeting efficiency through ongoing technology improvements.
Technology continues to be a critical enabler of our strategy. Security remains our top priority given the sensitive information entrusted to us, while automation helps reduce manual work and improve accuracy. As technology handles more of the mechanics, we have more time to communicate clearly, provide thoughtful advice and continue to strengthen client relationships.
How We’re Planning for What’s Next
This year also marks important leadership transitions. As Greg Lamping begins to gradually step back and prepare for retirement, we’ve seen others step forward, creating new opportunities across the firm. We’re excited to welcome Eric Ficke and Evan Kandra as Principals, reinforcing our long-term commitment to developing leaders from within.
Externally, we continue to navigate an evolving regulatory, economic and industry landscape — from new tax legislation and IRS changes to shifting market conditions and increased private equity influence. Our focus is on staying informed and proactive so we can guide clients through these changes with confidence.
In an industry marked by consolidation, our commitment to remaining independent has never wavered, and is even more important for the future of our firm.
Looking ahead, we’ve built an incredible internal foundation that positions us well for growth. We’ve hired a new Business Development Coordinator to help accelerate that growth and create more opportunities for meaningful touchpoints with current and future clients.
What excites me most about 2025 is the alignment I’ve seen across the firm. We have a shared vision, a renewed sense of purpose and a team moving forward together. That collective momentum will continue to create great opportunities for all of us this year and into the future.