Less Taxing: How Nichols & Company CEO Gwen Nichols Is Building a Better Model for Small Firms

In a recent episode of Making Waves, David Toth, Chief Growth Officer of Winding River Consulting, sat down with Gwen Nichols, Owner & CEO of Nichols & Company and MPB | Leadership Accelerated Alumni. Below is a summary of their conversation. 

Gwen Nichols’ story is one of entrepreneurial leadership, authenticity, and forward-thinking – all traits that embody her firm – Nichols & Company. 

While Gwen wasn’t the founder of her firm, she’s become its driving force, transforming Nichols & Company into a $3.5 million powerhouse in Westerville, Ohio. The firm is passionately focused on serving its local community––the entrepreneurs that are the backbone of Middle America. 

Their focus is on providing a new type of client and employee experience. Their mission is to make life less taxing: lightening the load for their clients and creating a fantastic workplace environment for their employees. 

Centering Strategy on Leadership Development

Ever since she became CEO, Gwen has been focused on providing growth opportunities for her team. Providing people with these pathways has been pivotal to the success of the firm. That’s true at all levels of the firm––not just with their professionals. Gwen comments:

“We invest heavily in our paraprofessionals and administrative staff, giving them opportunities to grow into tax preparers or lead marketing and communications efforts. Our role is to encourage people to bring their gifts to us and to create an environment where they can develop.”

Of course, this approach hasn’t been without its difficulties. Nichols & Company runs at capacity, and for Gwen, it’s been a significant challenge to make the time and the space to give people the opportunity to invest in the training and experiences they need to grow. As the firm has grown larger, Gwen has found it helpful to take an extremely intentional approach:

“Delegation is key for us. By teaching people how to delegate, we ensure they always work at their highest level of ability in the business. Plus, we tell people that they won’t be promoted until they train their replacement – as a small firm, that’s crucial in making sure everyone is always playing that leadership development role.”

Hiring Talented Professionals in a Rapidly Developing Market

Unlike firms in large metropolitan areas, Nichols & Company doesn’t have a huge talent pool to draw from. But, as Gwen is keen to note, that hasn’t held them back. Finding innovative ways to hire talented professionals and offering them opportunities to grow and develop has been key. 

Hiring hasn’t always been straightforward. Gwen explains that, until recently, the firm had approached advertising open positions the same as every other firm. And like other firms, they were facing real challenges given the industry’s current shortage of professionals. 

One change had a noticeable impact. 

“We started to get a lot of traction in our hiring process once we started describing our roles as entrepreneurial accounting roles,” explains Gwen. “It fits really well with our model. We serve small businesses and interface directly with the people that own those businesses. It’s really beneficial for our clients to be able to connect with other entrepreneurially-minded people who have the interests of their business close at heart.”

For Gwen’s clients, the role of a CPA as a strategic advisor is still an extremely relevant one. That’s why Nichols & Company is focused on hiring entrepreneurially-minded professionals who are aligned with the firm’s mission and want to make a difference advising businesses in their local community. 

Building Relationships with Solo Practitioners

Gwen is also focusing on other creative ways to attract accomplished professionals to Nichols & Company. One strategy that’s starting to pay off? Partnering with the solo practitioners. Gwen explains:

“There’s a lot of great CPAs out there who are fed up with the grind of a large firm. We’ve seen plenty of people walk away from that and set up as a solo practitioner. While many of them are initially successful, in a lot of cases, they hit a ceiling and need more resources to grow. That’s where we come in.”

For Gwen, bringing solo practitioners into the firm in some capacity is a situation where 1 + 1 = 3. By joining Nichols & Company, solo practitioners get access to a team of talented staff, cutting-edge technology, and the freedom to do what they love most: spending time with clients and building their book of business. 

Building a #LessTaxing Firm Culture

At Nichols & Company, Gwen is focused on building a culture that’s less taxing for the firm’s clients and employees alike. It’s a simple message for clients: at a simple level, the firm is focused on helping them pay as little tax as possible, but it’s also focused on making life easier by doing the heavy lifting of compliance. 

Employees enjoy a culture that’s markedly different from other accounting firms. After tax season is done, the firm reverts to a four-day workweek, giving employees every Friday off from May - December. Tax season comes with a more intense schedule, but during that time, Gwen and her leadership team keep their team’s spirits high by providing shared meals and fun, stress-reducing activities. 

The culture is defined by five values. Nichols & Company professionals are astute, collaborative, innovative, constantly striving for improvement, and perhaps most uniquely – love tax season. It’s a different take on the often-dreaded busy season that ensures Gwen’s team is fired up for their busiest months of the year. 

Gwen’s Evolution as a Leader and the Role of MBP | Leadership Accelerated

When asked why leadership development is so central to the success of Nichols & Company, Gwen shares an interesting analogy:

“I look at a CPA firm as a fountain. The talent is the water: you constantly have to be bringing new people in and moving them upstream. If things aren’t moving, the water becomes stagnant. People want to see clear opportunities and well-defined career paths, and they want to work at a firm that aligns their personal goals with their professional goals. That’s exactly what we’re trying to create.”

Gwen attended MBP | Leadership Accelerated in 2020. She credits the bootcamp with evolving the way she thinks about leading her firm:

“I really enjoyed MBP | Leadership Accelerated. The opportunity to learn about how other firms approach problems––even when they’re completely different to the problems we face––really helped me understand how to transform my own firm.”

An ambitious leader, Gwen remains focused on the future. At Nichols & Company, she juggles a lot of balls, but she’s not the type of person to let one drop. Instead, she’s more likely to hand a ball off to someone else, give them an opportunity to take the lead, and pick up another ball or two for herself. It’s an attitude that encapsulates the success of Nichols & Company. 

Applications for the next round of MPB | Leadership Accelerated are now open. Join us in Chicago in May 2025 for a rigorous bootcamp focused on building the next generation of leaders in the accounting industry. 

Register your interest today. 

Watch the Full Interview Here: