\n<\/p>\n
Footnotes is a collection of stories from around the accounting profession curated by actual humans and published every Friday at 5pm Eastern. While you\u2019re here, subscribe to our newsletter<\/a> to get the week\u2019s top stories in your inbox every Tuesday and Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n Comments are closed on Friday Footnotes<\/a> and the Monday Morning Accounting News Brief<\/a> by default. If you have something to say about any stories linked here you are welcome to email the editor<\/a>, text us<\/a> at 202-505-8885, or hit us up on Twitter @going_concern<\/a>. See ya.<\/em><\/p>\n Navigating the Accounting Pipeline Crisis<\/strong> [CPA Journal<\/a>] Brief programming note: Our colleagues at Accountingfly politely requested we share this week\u2019s top remote accounting candidates<\/a> with you. If your firm is hiring, check \u2019em out!<\/em><\/p>\n National accounting firm to exit uptown for new Ballantyne office, training center<\/strong> [Charlotte Business Journal<\/a>] Grant Thornton to manage 540 aircraft for BBAM<\/strong> [The Irish Times<\/a>] Big Four accountants attack IRS over \u2018capricious\u2019 US tax treatment of Coca-Cola<\/strong> [Financial Times<\/a>] Federal Reserve Board releases annual audited financial statements<\/strong> [FRB<\/a>] As EY plots senior partner layoffs, what is next for the Big Four?<\/strong> [City A.M.<\/a>] EY CEO Janet Truncale is \u2018uncomfortable\u2019 being known as the first female Big Four boss, but has learned to embrace it<\/strong> [Business Insider<\/a>] How accounting firms reinvent themselves<\/strong> [CPA Canada<\/a>] AI will take your job. Get over it<\/strong> [Fortune<\/a>] Meta\u2019s AI Server Accounting Shift Reveals the Power of Assumptions<\/strong> [Bloomberg<\/a>] How I used AI to boost my self-esteem and how you can do the same<\/strong> [Fast Company<\/a>] Why patchy regulation is a challenge for AI<\/strong> [ICAEW<\/a>] Deloitte Unveils Zora AI, Agentic AI for Tomorrow\u2019s Workforce<\/strong> [Deloitte<\/a>] \u2018AI Valley\u2019 author worries there\u2019s \u2018so much power in the hands of few people\u2019<\/strong> [NPR<\/a>]Talent<\/h2>\n
Anthony J. Tucci, LLM, JD, CPA writes:<\/em>
In response to widespread concern that some students avoid becoming CPAs due to the time and cost associated with post-bachelor\u2019s degree licensure requirements (leading to what has been called the \u201cpipeline crisis\u201d), NASBA and the AICPA have spearheaded an ambitious initiative to offer more affordable education alternatives to meet these requirements. On September 12, 2024, NASBA and AICPA unveiled their \u201cCPA Competency-Based Experience Pathway\u201d for public comment. This bold proposal aims to reduce accounting education costs by empowering CPA firms to step in the shoes of educational institutions, offering candidates the equivalent of 30 credit hours traditionally granted by accredited colleges and universities. The pursuit of reasonable, appropriate, and more economical paths to licensure is justified, in this author\u2019s opinion. But as the profession is reshaped by market and technological changes\u2014and now a pipeline crisis\u2014we must be reminded of our responsibility to produce highly skilled professional accountants capable of succeeding in their careers.<\/p>\nFirm Watch<\/h2>\n
CliftonLarsonAllen, one of Charlotte\u2019s largest accounting firms, is moving its office to Ballantyne Village. Work will begin on the 50,000-square-foot space in May, with CLA expected to move in this December, Barrineau said. CLA signed an 11.5-year lease for the space, she said.<\/p>\n
Grant Thornton\u2019s Irish operation will manage 540 aircraft leases for leading aviation industry player BBAM in a deal recently agreed by the pair. The move gives the firm\u2019s Dublin-based aviation lease service division responsibility for the management of 1,400 leased aircraft, about one in every 12 commercial jets operating in the world today.<\/p>\nBig 4<\/h2>\n
Deloitte, PwC and KPMG have launched a scathing attack on the Internal Revenue Service, which they accused of \u201ca pattern of arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable conduct\u201d towards multinational companies that risks eroding confidence in the US tax system. The dispute centres on \u201ctransfer pricing\u201d arrangements relating to the allocation of profits between Coca-Cola subsidiaries in different countries. The tax arrangements had been blessed by the other Big Four accountancy, EY, which has audited the drinks maker\u2019s financial statements since 1921.<\/p>\n
The Federal Reserve Board on Friday released annual audited financial statements for the Federal Reserve System for 2024. KPMG issued unqualified opinions, asserting that its audit found no material misstatements in accordance with applicable auditing standards.<\/p>\n
Over the last two years, the Big Four giants have been plagued by redundancies, but now the situation has escalated to the senior partnership. In addition to those facing the chopping block, it was reported that some equity partners will have their positions converted into non-equity partners. The news about EY follows PwC which recently made a record number of cuts to its partner ranks while pausing its tech apprenticeship scheme to protect partner profits.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the news came out about a year ago about my election, I remember the headlines really talked about \u2018first woman to lead a Big Four.\u2019 And my first reaction was, \u2018Oh, why does it say that?’\u201d Truncale said. Truncale said she felt the same when she became the first woman to lead EY\u2019s Americas Financial Services organization, her role before CEO, and tried to downplay the achievement in a meeting with partners. But \u201ca lot of very strong women\u201d in Truncale\u2019s practice at the time told her that she needed to embrace the \u2018first woman\u2019 title.<\/p>\nPractice Management<\/h2>\n
In the past, accounting firm branding was simple. Accounting historian Peter Boys writes that in the late 1800s, many firms were solo or small partnerships, making it easy to name them after founders and partners. But over time, firms have expanded on national and international footprints, merged or been acquired, or faced the retirement of namesakes. As partner numbers expanded, such naming traditions became \u201cimpractical.\u201d Co-founder of Jackson Wynne brand consultants Paul Phillips says financial industry brands have often been stuffy. \u201cI think it\u2019s a risk when people stay in that lane.\u201d Today, attracting new clients and talent requires standing out from competitors and connecting on a deeper level with clients.<\/p>\nAI<\/h2>\n
An opinion piece written by the founder and CEO of an AI company, natch.<\/em>
The question isn\u2019t whether AI will change the workforce. The question is: Will you be ready? Technology has always transformed work and society. Artificial intelligence is just accelerating the pace. Imagine being a farm or factory worker in the 1850, watching new machines emerge that threatened to take your job. The fear was intense, as was the societal backlash. People rioted against automation, desperate to halt progress. But history marched forward. Machines did replace much of the grinding labor in factories and farms, yet humanity didn\u2019t crumble, it advanced. As society adapted over the following decades, life expectancy increased, work became safer, people worked fewer hours, and the global standard of living skyrocketed.<\/p>\n
Many technology companies in recent years have extended their estimates of the useful life of computer servers, boosting their profits by slowing the depreciation of those assets. Meta, Skyworks, Oracle, Microsoft and Ebay have all lengthened the life of their equipment, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Meta, for example, increased the useful life of certain servers and networking assets to five-and-a-half years in January, up from four-to-five years before. The social media company expects the change will reduce its depreciation expense by $2.9 billion this year, amounting to almost 4% of its estimated pre-tax profits for 2025.<\/p>\n
When I told AI my story, it helped me heal. Now, I\u2019m on a mission to help other people use AI to tell their own authentic stories.<\/p>\n
In a fascinating recent round-table event, ICAEW members explored a host of issues around how the UK regulatory landscape should best address companies\u2019 use of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n
Deloitte is using Zora AI for Finance internally to streamline and automate its expense management processes, reducing costs by 25% and increasing productivity by 40%.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe weird thing about AI is that it seems to know everything, but it doesn\u2019t understand a thing,\u201d Rivlin says. \u201cIt\u2019s like a parrot. It\u2019s repeating words randomly, but it doesn\u2019t really understand what it\u2019s saying.\u201d<\/p>\nRelated<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n