A strategic meeting between Four Leaf and Lutz Tech exploring hybrid AI infrastructure, data security, and the future of enterprise AI adoption.
This meeting brought together representatives from Four Leaf (a technology consultancy specializing in AI and infrastructure) and Lutz Tech (the technology division of Lutz, a top-70 accounting firm). The discussion centered on Lutz Tech's current AI adoption journey, challenges with cost and security, and exploration of hybrid infrastructure approaches to balance enterprise AI needs with data governance requirements.
Background: 11-12 years at Cisco covering the Midwest region
Expertise: Cybersecurity, infrastructure, partner/VAR business models
Role: Founded Four Leaf 14 months ago on principles of value-driven, non-transactional partnerships
Four Leaf's main technical AI specialist who will conduct future demo of infrastructure automation
Background: Serial entrepreneur (8 companies), first commercial ISP in Kansas City (1992), 7 years at Cisco
Current Role: Founder of Foundry AI Partners
Expertise: Cybersecurity, AI/ML (10+ years), RAG pipelines, agentic workflows
Clients: Netflix, Adidas, Goldman Sachs
Background: 8 years at Lutz, previously focused on software consulting and digital transformation
Role: Leads AI initiative internally and client advisory
Involvement: Member of CIO/CTO peer group for accounting firms
Responsibilities: Oversees SOC team and security vetting processes
Focus: HIPAA compliance and data governance
Role: Handles approval requests for new AI tool implementations
Partner in charge of Lutz Tech, will be involved in future technical strategy discussions
Partner in charge of Lutz Tech, advocate for on-premise infrastructure approach
Managed IT Services
Supports ~250 small-to-medium businesses as their full IT team
Data Analytics/Reporting
Microsoft Fabric-based platform with Power BI; operates as an outsourced reporting department (not project-based)
Software Consulting
Focuses on helping clients select and implement solutions rather than custom development
AI Advisory
Currently providing fundamental AI training to clients (prompt engineering, model selection)
Layer 1: Personal Productivity
AI assistants for individual tasks (Lutz feels confident here)
Layer 2: Business Data Integration
Connecting AI to business data to level up teams (currently exploring ROI)
Layer 3: Agentic Workflows
Transform how work is done, not just automate current processes (future focus)
Send email on data classification frameworks
To Ryan at Lutz to initiate strategic planning conversation
Prepare recommendations for hybrid AI strategy
Focus on Lutz Tech's internal needs, addressing cost optimization and security
Schedule technical demonstration with Eric
Demo: AI agents querying network infrastructure to auto-generate real-time Visio diagrams
Follow-up questions
Send additional questions as data classification and infrastructure recommendations develop
Review Four Leaf's recommendations
Evaluate readiness to proceed and provide feedback on proposed approach
Loop in Ryan Longnecker
Include him in technical strategy discussions going forward
Internal timeline: Focus on Lutz Tech through May 1st
Master internal AI strategy by end of tax season, then roll out to broader firm
Define use cases and ROI
Determine specific problems to solve with AI beyond generic "connect to our data" approach
Timeline
Lutz Tech is in planning mode through tax season (now through May 1st). The accounting firm is in "autopilot" during this period, but Lutz Tech is using this time to finalize their internal AI strategy before broader rollout.
Philosophy
Lutz Tech wants to "eat their own dog food"—master AI internally before advising clients. This mirrors their successful approach with other technology transformations.
Market Position
As a top-70 accounting firm with a mature technology practice, Lutz is uniquely positioned to offer AI advisory services to their 5,000 clients, but they recognize the need to move from fundamentals (prompt training) to advanced capabilities (agentic workflows) to differentiate.