Blake Oliver, CPA – 2021 20 Under 40 Top Influencer

As a career changer, I got my start in the bookkeeping department posting journal entries (which means I’m a CPA who actually knows my debits and credits!). I worked as a bookkeeper by day while I studied accounting at night. I’ve always been fascinated by technology, so when QuickBooks Online and Xero came to market, I became an early adopter. Seeing the potential of the cloud to revolutionize outsourced bookkeeping, I built a virtual, cloud-based accounting services firm with Xero at the core. I was fortunate to sell that business in 2015 to Aprio Cloud. From there I jumped into the software world as a product marketer at FloQast, then later as the head of marketing for Jirav. This year I set out on my own again to build Earmark CPE, an app that offers CPE for listening to podcasts. I continue to host the Cloud Accounting Podcast, a weekly news roundup at the intersection of accounting and technology that is also the most popular podcast for accountants and bookkeepers in the world.

Favorite books/websites/podcasts/speakers:

There are so many! But here are a couple that are top of mind: I follow Megan Lewczyk on Instagram. She’s putting out great tips for CPA candidates on a weekly and even daily basis. And I’m a fan of Jason Staat’s YouTube channel. He does great videos about accounting and technology. Follow them both!

See all of the 2021 “40 Under 40” honorees.