Dark Horse CPAs Announce Promotion of Brady Kelly to Principal

Kelly Completes Principal Accelerator Program, establishes SMB Accounting and Tax Practice in Nashville, Tennessee

CARDIFF BY THE SEA, Calif., April 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Dark Horse CPAs, a top accounting and tax firm serving small businesses and individuals across the nation, announces the promotion of Brady Kelly to Principal. Kelly's strong work ethic, coachability and technical skills, bolstered by strong relationships with clients and colleagues alike earned him a seat at the table, becoming an equity Principal of the firm.

Brady entered the Dark Horse Principal Accelerator Program in July 2024 and built a tax and accounting practice with annual recurring revenue north of $250,000 in seven months' time. Given the vast positive client feedback, top-notch work product and active engagement with his peers and the leadership team, the decision was made to promote him to Principal effective February 2025.

Speaking to the challenges posed by the Accelerator Program, Brady stated, "learning all of the new technology was one of the bigger challenges encountered, albeit a good one, compared to what I had grown accustomed to using in public accounting up to this point. Combining this with the pace at which I was onboarding new clients felt like drinking from the fire hose. I suppose they call it the 'Accelerator Program' for a reason. My foot was on the gas from day one. Despite the challenges, it was a fun experience and I'm grateful for the opportunity to establish strong client relationships right from the start."

When asked about the most rewarding aspect of his journey in the Accelerator Program, he continued, "being able to structure my time in a way that supports my career while prioritizing my family has been very empowering. I had gotten used to long hours in the office to appease partners, working around their schedules and expectations. Now, I've got a routine that enables me to spend quality time with my family every night while delivering high-level service to my clients. This structure has helped me move away from the tax return factory mentality and put my energy towards advisory to make sure I'm moving the needle for my small business clients."

As it pertains to what differed most from his expectations of the Program versus his actual experience, Brady explained, "I thought it might feel like working on an island. I had no idea just how collaborative and supportive of an environment I was heading into from leadership to my fellow Accelerators to the firm writ large. The other Accelerators have been fantastic. Shoutout to Reed, Matt and Jim; it's been incredible working alongside you guys. And, a special thanks to Justin Kurn, who has been instrumental in helping me develop my tool belt as a CPA, especially when it comes to client relationships. He's helped me gain insights that would have taken me years to develop on my own."

As to what he would want other potential Accelerators to know about the Program, Brady warns them to, "buckle up! It's a fast-paced, high-energy experience and, at times, it can feel overwhelming. You'll meet great people, both within the firm and among your new clients. Ultimately, it's an incredibly rewarding opportunity and I'm extremely grateful for it."

Moving forward, Brady is excited to, "continue building meaningful, long-term relationships with my clients and leveraging the support and autonomy afforded to me here at Dark Horse to drive value for my clients while being the husband and father my family needs me to be."

"Having someone in your corner who sticks their neck out to advocate on your behalf is the ultimate reference," says Chase Birky, CEO & co-founder of Dark Horse CPAs. "We weren't quite sure if we wanted to add another Accelerator last summer given that 2024 was a year where we were focused on rebuilding some foundational items that were in need of repair that we ignored while scaling the firm. But Brady had an advocate at Dark Horse in future-fellow Principal, Wendy Wessel. She went to bat for him and I'm so grateful that she did. Brady brings a lot to Dark Horse as a professional and as a person. It's been my privilege to witness his self-actualization journey as he builds his practice and life to be mutually supportive and purpose driven. It's why we created the Accelerator Program and he is exactly the type of person we wanted to benefit from it. I'm excited for the next chapter in his journey and the great things we'll accomplish together!"

About the Dark Horse Accelerator Program

The Dark Horse Principal Accelerator Program was created for entrepreneurially-minded CPAs that want to build a scalable book of business without the personal and financial sacrifices required of starting a firm from scratch. Dark Horse empowers their CPAs with the resources and support to grow intelligently and profitably. Their proprietary technology, flexible staffing and industry-leading systems and processes enable CPAs to focus on being the trusted advisor to their clients, unlocking unprecedented value in these relationships, so that they will continue to be relevant long into the future while their counterparts become increasingly displaced by technology.

Accelerators are put through a training program that acclimates them to the firm's exclusive tech stack, followed by proprietary sales training and one-on-one coaching. Upon completion of training, they begin building their book of business by fielding inquiries from potential Dark Horse clients. To facilitate their growth, Accelerators have full-time and fractional professional personnel support at their disposal. A collaborative group of like-minded CPAs go the extra mile to help them out in areas where they lack expertise. This new CPA firm business model includes an active corporate team that ensures their work is of high quality and strategically focused. After successful completion of the program, they can become an equity principal of the firm.

The Dark Horse Principal Accelerator Program is currently accepting new Accelerators. Interested CPAs are invited to dive deeper into the program on Dark Horse's recruiting site, abetterway.cpa.

About Dark Horse CPAs

Dark Horse CPAs provides integrated tax, accounting and CFO services to small businesses and individuals across the U.S. The firm was founded to save small businesses (and their owners) from subpar accounting and tax services and subpar client experiences. These small businesses are Dark Horses among their larger and more well-known competition. Being a Dark Horse CPA means advocating for small businesses by bringing to them the tax strategies and accounting insights previously reserved for big business. To learn more, visit Darkhorse.cpa.

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SOURCE Dark Horse CPAs