Common Threads

Connections. Conversations. Common Threads. A podcast that seeks to explore what brings us and keeps us together. One conversation at a time, we share stories of struggle, triumph, and leadership that leave a lasting impact. Join host Heath Alloway as he highlights the ways guests have touched the lives of others in their communities, and tackling the big questions we all face. How can I make an impact? What is my role in molding our future? Am I making a difference?Rooted in legacy, the power of one: This is Common Threads.

Common Threads is a business podcast hosted by Heath Alloway, Sorren, with 20 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Heath Alloway, Sorren hosts Common Threads, a business show with 20 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #20

  Building Relationships That Last with MaryEllen Prance

  Aug 19, 202636 min

  MaryEllen Prance knew she wanted to be an accountant by her sophomore year of high school, and she's never looked back. Now a partner at Sorren and a leader in its Construction and Real Estate sector, she tells Heath Alloway on Episode 20 of Common Threads that she has built a career around something most people don't associate with accounting: genuine human connection. According to MaryEllen, construction clients really are different, because they want advisors who actually understand their world, not just their books. Discussing how deep industry involvement through organizations like CFMA has shaped both her practice and her professional identity, MaryEllen also gets candid about the challenge of saying no, the slow build of becoming well-known (or "famous") in an industry, and what it really means to make an impact versus simply doing your work and staying busy. Get the full show notes and more resources at CommonThreads.Sorren.com

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #19

  Haves and Have-Nots: The Coming Growth Divide, with Michael Horwitz

  Aug 5, 202639 min

  Michael Horwitz has spent 25 years building the BDO Alliance into the largest network of independent accounting firms in the country, and he's watched the profession compress a generation's worth of change into the last three years. On Episode 19 of Common Threads , the first featuring a guest external to Sorren, he spends time talking to Heath Alloway about a broad range of topics. BDO just set a target to double revenue to $6 billion within five years, part of a growth strategy built on selectivity, expanded advisory services, and deeper client relationships rather than chasing every deal. Private equity has reshaped ownership structures across the industry, AI is rewriting what junior staff actually do all day, and firms that once prided themselves on independence are quietly merging into larger platforms. Michael traces his own path from a property tax boutique acquired by EY to the principal role at BDO, and lays out a candid, sometimes surprising forecast for what accounting firms will look like a decade from now, including that many may not survive at all. Get the full show notes and more resources at CommonThreads.Sorren.com

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #18

  Say Yes First and Learn Later, with Niki Neilon

  Jul 22, 202632 min

  Accounting was never the career Niki Neilon envisioned when she was younger. She wanted to be an attorney, then a teacher, and only found the profession by accident during a required class in college. On Episode 18 of Common Threads, she tells Heath Alloway that accident turned into a career built on mentorship, co-founding a firm in 2006, and eventually landing her the chair position of the NASBA board of directors. Along the way she helped extend CPA candidates' credit window from 18 to 30 months and opened a second pathway to licensure. She talks candidly about the parts of leadership she'd have done differently, the myth that AI is scaring people away from accounting rather than drawing them in, and what it actually takes for a self-described introvert to build client relationships. Her closing advice, borrowed from Richard Branson, is simple: say yes to the opportunity first, and figure out how to do the job later. Get the full show notes and more resources at CommonThreads.Sorren.com

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #17

  Teach, Don't Fix: Lessons in Leadership

  Jul 10, 202638 minS0

  <p >Macy Smetzler learned the numbers before she learned the industry, entering QuickBooks for her parents' small business in southeast Idaho years before she ever sat in an accounting class. That early apprenticeship in hard work carried her through college soccer and into public accounting, but it also nearly burned her out before she made partner at Sorren. On Episode 17 of Common Threads, she talks candidly about the perfectionism that kept her up at night rewriting emails, the client who threatened her CPA license over aggressive tax positions, and the moment she decided to walk away from that account rather...

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #17

  Teach, Don't Fix: Lessons in Leadership

  Jul 10, 202638 min

  Macy Smetzler learned the numbers before she learned the industry, entering QuickBooks for her parents' small business in southeast Idaho years before she ever sat in an accounting class. That early apprenticeship in hard work carried her through college soccer and into public accounting, but it also nearly burned her out before she made partner at Sorren. On Episode 17 of Common Threads , she talks candidly about the perfectionism that kept her up at night rewriting emails, the client who threatened her CPA license over aggressive tax positions, and the moment she decided to walk away from that account rather than compromise her integrity. Heath Alloway digs into how she rebuilt her approach around teaching her team instead of just fixing their work, freeing herself from being the only person who could handle her biggest clients. It's a conversation about ambition, boundaries, and what it actually costs to grow into leadership. Get the full show notes and more resources at CommonThreads.Sorren.com

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Common Threads. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.