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How Automation Fails Accountants

Creates more work, not less.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Automation in accounting is supposed to cut costs and boost productivity. But for many firms, it’s doing the opposite.

MORE in Tech

Some 43 percent of accounting firm professionals say technology is increasing manual work rather than reducing it. And 34 percent say they are underutilizing the features of the tools they’ve already implemented, according to a new survey of 400 U.S. CPAs.

The lesson is clear: Automation is not a silver bullet. To deliver real return, it requires planning, processes and people working in sync. The pressure is growing. As the talent shortage persists and margin pressures rise, firms can no longer afford half-measures on technology.

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CHARTS & GRAPHS

Tax and Accounting Wages Hit Record Highs

Outpacing pricing power and inflation.

So far this year, hourly wages are up by $2.52 year over year.

 

By CPA Trendlines Research

Average hourly earnings in the tax and accounting sector are surging at a 6.1 percent year-over-year rate – faster than the overall inflation rate and outpacing price growth, setting up a new squeeze on profit margins.

MORE in Pay and Comp | Dominic Piscopo: Clear Pay=Bargaining Power | Kristen Rampe: Accountability and Simplicity in Partner Comp Drive Success | Show Us the Money! Accountants Are Making More

The $43.73-an-hour wage rate marks a new record, and the fourth straight month of historic highs for pay in accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services. Since January, hourly wages have jumped by $2.52.

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MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Moss Adams-Baker Tilly Merger: Bigger Isn’t Better. Better Is Better.

Whitman

The one that got away.

By Alan Whitman

As CEO of Baker Tilly from 2015 to 2023, Whitman increased the firm’s revenues from $500 million to $1.5 billion, expanded into 15 new U.S. markets and completed more than 20 domestic and international mergers and acquisitions.

“More than a merger. A multiplier.”

That’s how Moss Adams and Baker Tilly described their recent merger, and I can’t think of a better way to depict such a game-changing deal.

MORE Alan Whitman: Unlocking the Secrets to Smart Growth | Stop Accepting the Status Quo | MORE in Mergers & Acquisitions

After leading 20-plus successful mergers and acquisitions that fueled our growth at Baker Tilly during my tenure as CEO from 2015-2023, I’ve learned that any merger should be evaluated based on the mindset: bigger isn’t better; better is better.

It’s not about size. It’s about how the two firms elevate the game by combining forces.

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ABOUT US

Padar, Tolin, PICPA Launch XcelLabs to Drive AI Skills

AI tech and training: Padar and Tolin

Padar and Tolin team up to empower accountants to think AI-first.

By CPA Trendlines

“Radical CPA” Jody Padar and growth strategist Katie Tolin are launching XcelLabs, a new beta platform for accountants to develop fluency in artificial intelligence, at XcelLabsAcademy.com.

MORE Jody Padar here | MORE by Jody Padar, “The Radical CPA:” Radical Pricing, The Radical CPA, and From Success to Significance: The Radical CPA Guide | MORE Artificial Intelligence

“To reinvent the profession, we must start by training the professional who can then transform their firms,” says Padar, an accounting influencer and author of three books advocating radical changes in accounting business models. “By equipping people with data and insights that help them see things differently, they can provide better advice to their clients and firm.”

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CHARTS & GRAPHS

IRS’s Big Annual Report: Already Out of Date as Agency Grapples with Chaos and Cuts

Three commissioners later, and 30,000 staffers gone in just weeks.

IRS headquarters, Washington

By CPA Trendlines Research

The IRS Data Book 2024 presents a vision of a revitalized agency on a steady upward climb – just before a wave of events turned that vision upside down.

MORE: Tax and Tax Practice | IRS Makes Big Progress But, | Tax Season 2025 Begins. Ready or Not | Why Chaos at the IRS Spells New Work for Tax Professionals | Tax Turmoil and Opportunity: Breaking Down the Q1 2025 Tax Landscape

Just released, it recounts the IRS’s activities from October 2023 through September 2024.

But while the book is dressed in the confident prose of a federal annual report, events since its close date have added more than a few asterisks to its outlook.
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