Back in May 2024, we launched something brand new for Ramp: our first-ever Accounting Partner Advisory Board. We did not need a flashy logo wall or a photo op; we wanted a real forum to bring together the voices of accounting professionals who are shaping the future of the industry.

Over the past year, this founding group of leaders has done exactly that. They’ve helped guide our product, challenge our assumptions, and elevate how we support the accounting firms who trust us with their clients. Their partnership wasn’t performative. It was practical, grounded, and impactful.

And for that, we are deeply grateful.

From feedback to impact

Over the course of the year, we held three virtual meetings and two in-person summits—in Miami and New York—where ideas flowed freely and tough questions were welcomed. We gathered in Slack, over email, and through countless one-on-one discussions. Together, we built more than a feedback loop—we built connections.

This group’s fingerprints are on some of the most important partner-facing updates we’ve launched in the last year. Thanks to their feedback, we:

• Improved the Advisor Console product to better serve firms at scale, with refreshed dashboards and expanded analytics
• Refined our client onboarding flows in the Ramp platform, providing more opportunities for firms to take control of their clients’ experience
• Aligned underwriting and risk policies more closely with partner needs, including adjusting GLA requirements to ensure more clients can access Ramp
• Expanded educational resources like Ramp Partner Academy and our “Train the Trainer” program to better enable staff at partner firms
• Built new consulting pathways based on the needs and ambitions of modern CAS teams

In our final meeting, one board member put it best with, “Most of our partnerships are surface-level. Ramp’s is not. This has been mutually beneficial and deeply impactful for us and our clients.”

While our accounting channel team has the privilege of engaging with these partners every day, we designed the advisory board to go deeper, to bring stakeholders from across Ramp into the room to hear from expert firms leading the way. Throughout the year, members of our product, marketing, risk, finance, operations, customer success, and education teams all participated directly in meetings. This created a rare and valuable opportunity: real-time, face-to-face dialogue between our internal teams and the accounting leaders who shape how our platform is experienced in the field.

The program's structure blended strategic planning with collaborative problem-solving. Each session, whether virtual or in-person, was designed not just for feedback but for building together. Our results reflect that.

Building true partnerships

We’ve all seen partner boards that are more about appearances than outcomes. That wasn’t the case here. Every firm in our cohort brought a different perspective—different sizes, specialties, client models, and goals. But what unified them was a shared desire to improve, collaborate, and challenge the status quo of accounting technology.

As one member reflected, “You took the impact and the words we shared and really took them to heart. That means a lot. It shows a true partnership—one that’s rare.” This group didn’t just give feedback; they expected to see results, and we embraced that. Many of their ideas were adopted into our product roadmap, marketing approach, and partner strategy. That accountability loop created a sense of shared ownership that’s rare in traditional partner programs.

We also intentionally created space for relationship-building. Our in-person summits included working sessions, candid conversations, and shared meals that deepened trust. One member even joked that the best partnerships are forged over tomahawk steaks—and honestly, they weren’t wrong. By creating a board that emphasized mutual impact, trust, and visibility, we were able to build something different: a group that didn’t just utilize Ramp but helped shape it. As Blake Rudolph, Lead Enterprise Channel Partner Manager at Ramp, shared, “This board made us better, period. We didn’t just hear feedback; we changed because of it. Our members helped us sharpen our strategy and deliver a better experience for every accounting firm we work with.”

Thank you to our founding cohort

This month, we closed our first year of the Advisory Board and are preparing to welcome a new cohort of firms. But before we look ahead, it’s important to honor the ones who helped us build the foundation. Each of the following inaugural board members brought their unique perspectives, deep expertise, and unwavering commitment to this community. We’re proud to recognize their contributions:

• Bart Davis, CEO and Co-Founder, 512Financial
• Geniene B. Scherer, CPA, MBA, Partner, Abdo
• Matthew May, Co-Founder and President, Acuity
• Julia Misaki, Controller & Director of Client Experience, Attivo Partners
• Matt Wallace, Partner, Armanino
• Matthew West, M.A, Partner / Director of Solution Sales Leaders, Creative Planning Business Services
• Dan Luthi, MAcc, Partner, Ignite Spot
• Alex Janeck, Vice President of Revenue, Kruze Consulting
• Levi Morehouse, President and Co-Owner, Mission First Operations
• Brett Wherry, Director, Bookkeeping Connect, PwC
• Zunie Nguyen, Founder and CEO, Yogi CPA

Thank you for being the first. You helped us get smarter, move faster, and stay grounded in what really matters. You’ve set a high bar for collaboration and made a lasting impact—not just on Ramp but on the firms and clients we serve together. We’re proud to have done this with you.

We’ll be announcing our next cohort soon, but this group will always be the foundation we build on.