Inside KDG’s Strategic Plan 2026: Accounting and Tax Services

As part of KDG’s Strategic Plan 2026 leadership interview series, we spoke with Beth Mickelson, AVP of Accounting & Tax Services, to explore how the strategy and the Triple Fit framework are shaping the way her team approaches client relationships, engagement design, and advisory work moving forward.

"Strategic Plan 2026 reinforced that our responsibility to clients begins well before day-to-day service delivery," Beth shared. "It challenged us to think more intentionally about which clients we serve and how we engage with them from the start." 

Rather than defining success by the efficient completion of recurring tasks, the plan sharpens the team's focus on structuring client relationships that support better decisions, reduce risk, and create long-term value.

"Our role is not just to execute work efficiently, but to help clients move their business forward in a way that aligns with their goals and ours," Beth explained. 

When it comes to new client engagements, Beth's team approaches planning with greater clarity and purpose.

"Through the Triple Fit lens, we are planning more intentionally around client selection, engagement design, and pricing," Beth said. "Rather than onboarding clients solely based on a list of requested tasks, we are focusing on creating service plans that reflect how we intend to partner with them as advisors." 

This shift allows the team to set clearer expectations upfront, align scope and pricing with strategic outcomes, and design engagements that support proactive guidance instead of reactive, transactional work.

When Accounting and Tax Services fully embed the Triple Fit Strategy, Beth expects clients to notice a clear difference from the very beginning of the relationship.

“Clients will notice a more intentional and strategic partnership from the start,” she said. “They’ll experience a clearer understanding of how KDG supports their long-term goals, not just their immediate needs.”

“Our work will feel focused on insight, planning, and progress rather than task completion alone,” Beth noted.

In a long-term client relationship that began before KDG had strong onboarding and engagement-definition processes in place, the scope of work gradually expanded.

“Over time, this created tension, misalignment, and a reactive dynamic,” Beth explained. “If we had applied the Triple Fit Strategy from the start, we would have been far more intentional about client selection, engagement design, and partnership expectations,” she said.

As Strategic Plan 2026 continues to guide KDG's direction, Accounting and Tax Services are focused on building partnerships that are thoughtful, proactive, and aligned from the start. By applying the Triple Fit Strategy to planning, execution, and engagement design, Beth's team is helping ensure that clients receive not just accurate work, but meaningful guidance that supports their growth over time. 

Strategic Plan 2026 represents another step up the mountain. With a stronger foundation in place, Accounting and Tax Services are better equipped to help clients navigate the terrain ahead with clarity, confidence, and purpose.