Burnout, Be Gone: Accounting Needs a Boundary Breakthrough | ARC

CPA Trendlines Podcasts

Learn how to protect your time, energy, and sanity in a world of nonstop pings.
Accounting ARC
With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation
In a profession that’s long celebrated overwork as a rite of passage, the Accounting ARC podcast team flips the script.
In a recent episode, hosts Liz Mason, CPA; Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA; and Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA, unpack the art—and science—of setting boundaries in the accounting profession. Their message: Boundaries aren’t barriers to productivity. They’re a foundation for it.
MORE Accounting ARC: The Ultimate Business Hack You’re Probably Ignoring | Resilience, Real Talk, and the Road to Mental Wellness | Blockchain Could Still Reshape Accounting | What Gen Z Wants from Business | Firm Differentiation Depends Upon Client Service | Ron Baker: Surviving Tariff Turmoil | Are We Ready for the Hidden Risks of AI in Accounting? | The Research Imperative: Why Data Drives Accounting Success | How Coaching Can Unlock Professional Success | Demystifying Accounting Governance | Top 10 Red Flags to Watch for in Accounting Offices | Jeremy Dubow: Private Equity as a Catalyst for Growth | Break the Burnout Cycle in Accounting | Accounting in Transition: 2024 Reflections & the Road Ahead

“Burnout is essentially professional depression,” says Mason, CEO of High Rock Accounting. “When you’re constantly triggered and overwhelmed, it’s likely because your personal boundaries are being violated—and you haven’t defined or communicated them.”
The trio tackles misconceptions head-on. While social media has sparked a “boundary backlash” culture—where some workers interpret boundaries as blanket refusals—they caution that healthy boundaries aren’t a free pass to underperform.