Accounting High: Learn How to RAP, with Scotty “OKR” Scarano

Can I have your attention, please? Will the real Scotty Scarano please stand up?

Scotty “OKR” Scarano has found a unique way to differentiate himself in the accounting industry. With a combination of accounting, hip hop, and podcasting, Scotty has created Accounting High; an education and media company that helps accounting and tax pros learn how to run a practice (RAP).

Recently, Scotty joined Podcasting in Professional Services to share his story and experience:

Connecting a creative passion with a family profession

Growing up listening to artists like Outkast, Jay-Z and Eminem in their heydays, Scotty felt drawn to hip hop music culture. “In high school, I always wanted to be a rapper,” said Scotty. “But I ended up going the safe route of accounting, professional services, making money, you know, that's safer.”

After all, accounting is a family trade in the Scarano house. Scotty’s grandfather was a CPA and his father is a CPA who owns a company providing general ledgers for nonprofits. “I've always been surrounded by accounting and accounting tech most of my life,” said Scotty. “I really couldn't escape it. As much as I wanted to be a rapper, it was in my blood to be an accountant.”

Watch the interview with Scotty here:

After becoming an enrolled agent (EA), Scotty bought a tax practice in 2010. “It just seemed natural,” said Scotty. “The rap stuff would have been really hard, but the accounting stuff, the numbers…I think I was born fluent in that language.”

But then in June of 2021, everything changed when Scotty launched a podcast of his own.

School is now in session at Accounting High

Like many podcasts, Scotty’s show has evolved and changed names over time. Originally launched as “Sons of CPAs,” the show then re-branded to Accounting High after Scotty had a vision of what the show could become. 

“I had been traveling to a lot of conferences and it just felt like all these groups I was in, it felt like it was high school,” said Scotty. “I kept seeing people over and over again, online and in person, and it just felt like the groups were forming like they do in high school…I was like, wow, this is Accounting High.” 

“I've just changed the feed to junior year next year,” said Scotty. “And in 4 years, I might just graduate. We might go on to do other things, but I want to see where we could take this within this timeframe.” 

Therein lies a common theme among successful business podcasters: a commitment to the long game. Scotty isn’t the first guest on Podcasting in Professional Services who has compared podcasting to going to high school. Recently, BJ Kraemer of Inspiring People & Places made this comparison, too. 

Not just education, but edutainment

Not only does Accounting High curate valuable perspectives on what it takes to run an accounting practice, but it also brings entertainment. Sticking with the high school theme, Scotty serves up different “classes” for his students, like sports, history, and social studies.

“During March Madness, we got all the apps and different education platforms within accounting and made it a bracket challenge,” said Scotty. “That was our sports segment in accounting.” See the image below for more detail.

Of course, a well-balanced curriculum should also include an art elective. “When I started this podcast, I was editing and I was doing all of the audio stuff. I had a mic and I thought, well, what better time to try and experiment with [rapping]?”

Scotty’s approach is to remix well-known hip hop songs and add an accounting twist. “We've got the raps. That's like music that I do,” he said. “I've been doing music videos and traveling around doing that. That's been a ton of fun.” 

Today, Scotty has released more than 20 songs and 7 music videos on his OKR Music Video playlist. Here’s one of his most popular videos, Tax Accountants' Anthem (an OK.Remix of Ruff Ryders' Anthem by DMX):

The decision to go ad-free after managing sponsors

If you’re a podcaster, you’ve probably thought about sponsors for your show. If you haven’t, why not? After all, sponsorships are a viable revenue stream for both independent podcasts and company-backed podcasts alike.

After working with Blake Oliver and David Leary of the Accounting Podcast, Scotty had firsthand experience seeing the benefits of podcast sponsors. “I was helping out Blake a lot while David Leary was creating his own podcast network.

“I learned a lot from their podcast and what they were doing and they had sponsors,” said Scotty, reflecting on his time working with Blake and David. “And so once [Accounting High] got up to about 200 or so listeners, I started getting sponsors and I went all in on that.”

Continuing with the high school theme, Accounting High refers to its sponsors as “Featured Boosters,” which include some of the biggest names in accounting tech:  

However, sponsorships lost their luster after a while. “At first I thought the money was going to be in the sponsorships and I would have two sponsors an episode, and we got a ton of sponsors,” said Scotty. “Eventually, I burned myself out on that. I was dealing with sponsors. I started to get bigger deals. Our audience grew, and that felt like a job to me…so I pulled back on some of the sponsor stuff.”

Looking at the big picture, Scotty believes the sponsorship play may be short-sighted. “It's been an ad-free show for a little while just to breathe and see what else we can turn this into, because I don't think I want to turn it into just a sponsorship play. I could make some money doing that, but I think there's a cap.”

What is the future of Accounting High?

After building a unique brand of entertainment and education, Scotty sees the value in organizing his podcast content into a platform to help CPAs, EAs, and other accounting professionals learn how to run an accounting practice (RAAP). 

“We may turn Accounting High into an actual marketplace where you can buy different courses,” said Scotty. “People in in our space, they sell their methods. They sell their courses, how to transition into advisory, how to become a better marketer…I think, potentially Accounting High could be a central hub for all of that.”

Hosting a podcast is like hosting a house party

In high school, were you the kid who would throw parties when your parents would go out of town? Or were you the one going out to the house parties?

Here is one final high school analogy from Scotty: “I had a guest say [podcasting] was like having the house with the parties in high school. Parents go out of town, you're hosting this party and everybody shows up at your party. That's like having a podcast.”

Are you ready to throw your own party?

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