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Cornerstone

Bot Wars: Wolters Kluwer, Intuit, Thomson Reuters Battle for AI Dominance in CPA Firms | Cornerstone Report

Smart new toolbox or Pandora’s Box? Inside the surge behind agentic AI.

By CPA Trendlines Research
Cornerstone Report

The accounting industry is undergoing a seismic technological shift as artificial intelligence transitions from a buzzword to a business imperative.

MORE Cornerstone Reports: Private Equity Update: Over 90 Deals, $200 Billion in Value | Intuit Fires Back with Agentic AI after Xero Nabs Melio | Xero Buys Melio for $3 Billion in Race for ‘The Active GL’ | Gen AI in Accounting: Epic Transformation, or Overheated Hype? | Gen Z Surges into Accounting for All the Reasons Your Mother Told You | Major Changes to Circular 230: Implications for Tax Professionals | Salary and Compensation Outlook for Small CPA Firms | Battling the Staffing Crisis: Is a Little-Known, But Controversial, Visa Program the Answer? | Twelve Years and Out: Seasoned Accountants Join the Exodus. | Jobs Outlook: Strong and Steady Growth in Hiring and Earnings for U.S. Accountants | Student Accounting Enrollment Shows Third Year of Recovery | CPA Billing Rates, Tax Return Fees, and Client Accounting Pricing at CPA Firms

MORE AI: 5 Ways to Stay Ahead of the AI Curve | Accounting Influencers | Strategic AI, Not Shiny Objects | Bot Wars: Wolters Kluwer, Intuit, Thomson Reuters Battle for AI Dominance in CPA Firms | Don’t Get Fired by Your Own Automation | Don’t Let AI Sound Smarter Than You | Farlee: AI and Outsourcing Shape Careers | TaxPlanIQ Escalates the Battle in Tax Planning Software | Why Advisory Is Broken. And What Comes Next | Haase, Radzinsky: Inside the TaxDome-Juno AI Alliance

In the past year, CPA firms across the U.S. have quietly begun deploying generative AI assistants, machine learning tools, and “agentic” AI platforms to automate audits, prepare taxes, and provide financial insights.

It’s astonishing:  The profession has reached a tipping point where those not investing in AI risk being left behind.

In this CPA Trendlines Research Cornerstone Report:

  • How CPA Firms Are Embracing AI

  • AI Adoption Surges from Experimentation to Mainstream

  • The New Agentic AI Toolbox: Platforms and Solutions Leading the Charge

  • Measuring the Payoff: Efficiency, ROI, and Firm Economics in the AI Era

  • Talent in the Age of AI: How Roles and Skills Are Evolving

  • AI in Action: Use Cases and Success Stories from Firms

  • Navigating Risks, Regulation, and Ethical Challenges

  • Overcoming Implementation Hurdles: Change Management and Best Practices

  • The Road Ahead: Strategies for Firm Leaders

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PRO Member Exclusive

Belonging or Bust: Talent Crisis Deepens as Firms Retreat from DEI

MOVE 2025: Firms report high levels of burnout and strong uptake of pay structures and mentorship programs, but fall short on sustained equity practices such as alumni tracking, pay equity reviews, and linking manager compensation to fair pay.
Ruszczyk

 

Belonging, not perks, is the deciding factor in public accounting’s talent future.

By CPA Trendlines

As the accounting profession contends with a historic labor shortage, a new report warns that firms pulling back from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are courting deeper disruption to their profitability, quality and future viability.

Download the full report here

The new 2025 Accounting MOVE Project Report finds that DEI has become a flashpoint in the accounting profession’s talent crisis – just as the industry faces its most severe workforce contraction in decades.

“Belonging isn’t a soft concept; it’s a hard-edged business imperative,” says Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk, president of the Accounting MOVE Project.

In addition, 12 firms were cited as exemplary by the Accounting & Financial Women’s Alliance: BPM, Clark Nuber, Eide Bailly, Frazier & Deeter, The Bonadio Group, Schellman, KWC Certified Public Accountants, Bland & Associates, James Moore & Co., Abbott, Stringham & Lynch, Kerkering, Barberio & Co., and Rehmann.

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ABOUT US

Center for Accounting Transformation Scores Gold for Video Productions

Agents of Transformation entries selected from among more than 6,000 submissions from more than 43 countries.

Learn more or become an agent at we.improvetheworld.net.
Get started on your personalized Agents of Transformation Firm Profile today!

By CPA Trendlines

The Center for Accounting Transformation, a CPA Trendlines contributor and collaborator, has earned two honors in the 2025 MarCom Awards, one of the largest international creative competitions recognizing excellence in marketing and communications.

MORE Center for Accounting Transformation | MORE Pipeline

The Center’s Agents of Transformation campaign received a Gold Award in the Video/Audio | Video/Film | Recruitment category for “Unlock the Power of the Accounting Profession” and an Honorable Mention in the Web-Based | Web Video | Marketing category for its firm profile, Agents of Transformation: IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC. READ MORE →

CHARTS & GRAPHS

Rosenberg MAP: Staff Turnover Falls to Record Low

Are CPA firm retention tactics finally paying off?

By CPA Trendlines Research
The Rosenberg Survey

Staff turnover at CPA firms has fallen to its lowest level in years, signaling that the profession’s investments in culture, compensation and flexibility are paying dividends.

MORE: The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey is available from CPA Trendlines here.

The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey reports average professional staff turnover at 11.1 percent, down sharply from 18.8 percent in 2022 and the lowest since before the pandemic, marking a major shift after years of talent turbulence.

Firms that struggled to recruit and retain staff during the labor shortages of 2021 and 2022 now report greater stability and stronger pipelines.

“This trend may reflect firms’ stronger retention strategies,” the survey notes. “Lower turnover not only reduces recruitment and training costs, but also helps preserve institutional knowledge and maintain stronger client relationships.” READ MORE →

CHARTS & GRAPHS

Rosenberg Survey: Efficiency Slips as Staffing Expands

Now available from CPA Trendlines here

Productivity drives profitability as never before.

By CPA Trendlines Research
The Rosenberg Survey

After several years of steady gains in productivity, CPA firms are seeing a slight decline in revenue per person, suggesting firms are adding staff faster than they are growing revenue, even as hiring rebounds and turnover drops.

MORE: The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey is available from CPA Trendlines here.

According to the new 2025 Rosenberg Survey, the erosion in average revenue per full-time equivalent employee comes after consistent increases from 2020 through 2024. Larger firms are still posting the highest efficiency levels. But the overall trend points to a mild dilution of productivity as practices rebuild teams and expand support infrastructure following years of lean staffing. READ MORE →

CHARTS & GRAPHS

Partner Pay Hits $615,000 But Lags Behind Revenue Growth

 

Precision management now drives partner prosperity.

Now available from CPA Trendlines here

 

Precision management now drives partner prosperity.

By CPA Trendlines Research
The Rosenberg Survey

After years of strong top-line expansion, CPA firm partners are finding their personal earnings growth lagging behind overall revenue gains, according to the 2025 Rosenberg Survey.

MORE: The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey is available from CPA Trendlines here.

Average income per equity partner is rising just 3.2 percent this year to $615,000, compared with double-digit revenue increases in the last two years. The survey concludes that leverage, the ratio of professional staff to partners, and billing rate management remain the most decisive drivers of profitability.

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CHARTS & GRAPHS

CPA Firm Growth Slows to 7.9% After Two-Year Surge

Expansion gives way to strategic adaptation.

By CPA Trendlines Research
The Rosenberg Survey

Available from CPA Trendlines here

After two years of double-digit expansion, CPA firm growth is cooling.

Average revenue growth among firms over $2 million is falling to 7.9 percent this year, down from 10.7 percent in 2023 and 2024.

MORE: The 2025 Rosenberg MAP Survey is available from CPA Trendlines here.

The slowdown, while modest, signals that the post-pandemic boom driven by mergers, tax complexity and advisory demand is giving way to a more mature phase marked by tighter margins, higher costs and the growing influence of private equity, according to the 2025 Rosenberg Survey, the accounting profession’s leading management benchmark.

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OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

Emerging Pros Need More than Tech Training

Rebekah Olson, CPA, CEO, Maryland Association of CPAs 2025
Olson

Two ways to close the skills gap.

By Rebekah Olson, CPA
CEO, Maryland Association of CPAs

Many of us in the profession have felt a particular challenge for years: the lingering effects of the pandemic that have impacted the development of foundational professional and communication skills.

MORE on Talent, Career Development, Staffing, and Recruiting

This gap isn’t just about technical know-how – it’s about the ability to lead, communicate and thrive in a profession built on trust, relationships and adaptability.

We can’t afford to let gaps in professional and communication skills hold back the next generation of leaders. By investing in cohort-based learning and encouraging state society involvement, we strengthen our profession and create professionals better equipped to serve, lead and thrive.

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BUSY SEASON MANAGEMENT

Barometer: Firms Brace for a Tough Tax Season

Busy season 2026 clouded by regulatory shifts and client pressures.

Ready or Not: Less than half are ahead of last year’s preparation for Tax Season 2026. On the Front Lines: Clockwise from top left, Cicero, Saul, Krueger

By CPA Trendlines Research

Fewer than half of accounting firm leaders report entering the 2026 busy season in better shape than a year ago, according to the new CPA Trendlines Busy Season Barometer.

Join the survey; Get the answers

MORE Tax Practice | TaxPlanIQ Escalates the Battle in Tax Planning Software | How TaxDome and Juno Just Changed the Tax Tech Game | DOGE, Palantir and the IRS: What Could Go Wrong? | Five Million IRS Refunds Delayed by Staff Cuts | IRS Phone Stats Improve—Unless You’re a Tax Pro | ‘Kryptonite:’ IRS Buried under 8 Million Paper Returns | Mounting Delays Undermine Public Trust in IRS Refund Process | Brace Yourself: IRS 25% Staff Cuts Mean Big Trouble for Tax Pros and Clients

The readiness gap, evident across firm sizes and specialties, sets the tone for a season overshadowed by heightened concerns about tax law changes and mounting pressure on margins.

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