NEWS

Kenji Kuramoto: Basis Moves to Close AI’s Biggest Gap

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When accountants and AI agents work side-by-side

“The future of the profession is accountants and agents working together,” Kuramoto says.


By Seth Fineberg
For CPA Trendlines

“Managing partner-in-residence” is not a standard role in accounting, and that was the first point of friction when Kenji Kuramoto was asked to explain his new job at Basis, the accounting AI agent company. What does that actually mean?

The answer goes beyond one hire. It points to a shift now underway in accounting: artificial intelligence is moving out of experimentation and into operations, and firms are not yet prepared for what that requires.

MORE Kenji Kuramoto: Behind Sorren’s Roll-Up: $170 Million, 1,000 Employees, 85 Partners | Kenji Kuramoto: Rules? What Rules? | Getting Real: Accounting Tech Decisions You Need to Make Today
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Basis, at getbasis.ai, says that Kuramoto, founder of cloud pioneer Acuity, joined full-time to help firms transition to AI-enabled operations, working directly with customers and shaping the product. The company made clear this was not a symbolic role. “Kenji isn’t here to advise from the margins,” CEO Matthew Harpe says. “He’s a full-time member of this team… creating the product with us.” Kuramoto is embedded with the company, not observing from the outside.

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From Deloitte Spinout to Market Disruptor: Streamworks Targets the Mid-Tier Audit and Assurance Software Gap

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Sharma

Rebranded from Auvenir, the independent platform doubles down on AI, quality management, and underserved firms.

By CPA Trendlines

Auvenir, the audit and compliance technology platform originally developed within Deloitte, has officially spun out as an independent company under a new name: Streamworks Tech.

The move marks a strategic shift—not just in ownership, but in market focus, product direction, and long-term vision.

“Ultimately, both sides agreed that… the customers are in the best hands, and the technology is in the best hands, with us continuing forward [as an independent company],” said Neeraj Sharma, chief operating officer of Streamworks Tech. READ MORE →

Leadership Starts Earlier: Students Help Shape Accounting’s Future

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Center for Accounting Transformation expands Student Ambassador Program nationwide with nonprofit fiscal sponsorship. 

Support future accounting leaders! Make tax-deductible contributions through FSA, with funds restricted to support the Center’s student initiatives

By Center for Accounting Transformation

The Center for Accounting Transformation announced today that its student initiatives are now fiscally sponsored by Fiscal Sponsorship Allies (FSA), a 501(c)(3) public charity. The milestone provides the nonprofit governance, financial stewardship, and fundraising infrastructure needed to expand the Center’s student-led programs nationwide. 

The Center is currently inviting educators, firms, professional organizations, and individuals to participate through partnership, mentorship, and philanthropic support.
Organizations and individuals can now make tax-deductible contributions through FSA, with funds restricted to support the Center’s student initiatives.
To learn more and hear directly from one of the student leaders, visit https://www.fundraisegenius.com/ca3677. 

While the fiscal sponsorship establishes operational support, the announcement represents something larger: an investment in a new, student-driven model for professional engagement and career readiness.  READ MORE →

With Apax Sale, CohnReznick Starts Building a National Platform

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First rollup: Smith Schafer & Associates.

By CPA Trendlines Research

CohnReznick has closed its funding deal with Apax Partners, formally planting one of the world’s largest private equity firms inside the upper tier of the U.S. accounting profession.

MORE Private Equity

The transaction, three years in the making, positions Apax as the majority owner of CohnReznick’s non-attest business, while the firm’s audit and attest services remain separate.

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Regulators Put PE Under the Microscope

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Private equity meets public trust.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The nation’s accounting regulators are signaling that private equity’s rapid expansion into CPA firms has reached a point that demands closer scrutiny.

MORE Private Equity

In a new white paper, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy lays out a framework of questions that could shape the next phase of regulation for firms backed by private equity or operating under alternative practice structures. At the same time, senior officials at the Securities and Exchange Commission are warning CPA firms to remain focused on “the basics.” The AICPA is also considering revising its independence regime.

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Shutdown Shockwaves: How Accountants Keep the Government’s Books From Crashing | ARC

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Decode the financial fallout—where payables stall, nonprofits scramble, and the IRS slows to a crawl.

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Accounting ARC
With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

When the federal government shuts down, headlines focus on politics. But behind every furlough and frozen budget lies a deeper story—one told through accounting cycles, payroll ledgers, and cash flow reports. 

In the latest episode of Accounting ARC, hosts Liz Mason, CPA; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA; and Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, break down what really happens when appropriations stall and the business of government grinds to a halt. 

MORE Accounting ARC: Royalties, Residuals, and Reality Checks | ARC-SLC | Free Speech Is a Right; Respect Is a Responsibility | Cash Bags, Casinos & Audits: How First Jobs Shape Us | Gen Z Redefines Careers | Bootleggers, Baptitsts & CPAs: Rethinking Licensure | CPA Firm Ownership Under Fire | Walking Violation: When Showing Your CPA Gets You in Trouble | Audit Bags to TikTok Tags, Gen Z Talks Success | Students Challenge Accounting’s Traditional Career Path | True Grit: Recognizing Struggles That Shape Our Successes |More Admins, Fewer Students, No Plan | What Career Advice Gets Wrong for Gen Z – And How to Fix It | Your Identity is Not a Liability | Burnout, Be Gone: Accounting Needs a Boundary Breakthrough

“This is the kind of thing accountants think about,” Mason says at the start of the episode. “What’s the actual technical answer? What does a shutdown mean for accounts payable, for payroll, for the IRS? What’s really happening behind the scenes?” 

Their discussion reveals a complex web of accounting impacts—from unpaid invoices and delayed reimbursements to frozen nonprofit grants and confused taxpayers. 

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Free Speech Is a Right; Respect Is a Responsibility | ARC

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Timing, venue, and state law shape what you say—and what it costs.

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Poe Group Advisors consistently excels in helping our clients find the right accounting practice sales opportunity.

Accounting ARC
With Liz Mason, Byron Patrick, and Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

This conversation focuses on practice, not politics. 

Accounting leaders are urging firms to pair open expression with professional responsibility as political tensions spill into workplaces and social media feeds. In a new episode of Accounting ARC, hosts Liz Mason, CPA, CEO of High Rock Accounting; Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA, CEO of VERIFYiQ and co-founder of TB Academy; and Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies and the Center for Accounting Transformation, outline practical guardrails for speech that keep trust at the center. 

RELATED ARC: Talk Politics Professionally | Cancel Culture or Curious Culture? You Choose (Assumed Discrimination) | What Happens in Vegas…Gets Reported on a Tax Return (Working in “Sin” Industries) | Your Identity Is Not a Liability (Pride Week) | Etienne: Decoupling DEIB – A Nuanced Approach |

MORE Accounting ARC: Cash Bags, Casinos & Audits: How First Jobs Shape Us | Gen Z Redefines Careers | Bootleggers, Baptitsts & CPAs: Rethinking Licensure | CPA Firm Ownership Under Fire | Walking Violation: When Showing Your CPA Gets You in Trouble | Audit Bags to TikTok Tags, Gen Z Talks Success | Students Challenge Accounting’s Traditional Career Path | True Grit: Recognizing Struggles That Shape Our Successes | More Admins, Fewer Students, No Plan | What Career Advice Gets Wrong for Gen Z – And How to Fix It | Your Identity is Not a Liability | Burnout, Be Gone: Accounting Needs a Boundary Breakthrough

The conversation opens with a condemnation of political violence and a call for grace as individuals and firms process fast-moving events. From there, the hosts shift to the workplace: what employees say online and in public often follows them to the office, and leaders must navigate the implications for culture, clients, and brand. 

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More Admins, Fewer Students, No Plan | ARC

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Hosts call out the fiscal dysfunction behind America’s school meltdown.

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Accounting ARC
With Byron Patrick and Donny Shimamoto
Center for Accounting Transformation

More ARC: Analysis, Reaction, Comedy

When CNBC published a video examining why U.S. public schools are facing severe budget shortfalls, it sparked a passionate accounting conversation. On the Accounting ARC podcast, co-hosts Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, and Byron Patrick, CPA.CITP, CGMA, offer a reaction episode that reframes the crisis through the lens of financial strategy—and accountability.

MORE Accounting ARC: What Career Advice Gets Wrong for Gen Z – And How to Fix It |Your Identity is Not a Liability | What Happens in Vegas… Gets Reported on a Tax Return | Burnout, Be Gone: Accounting Needs a Boundary Breakthrough | The Ultimate Business Hack You’re Probably Ignoring | Resilience, Real Talk, and the Road to Mental Wellness | Blockchain Could Still Reshape Accounting | What Gen Z Wants from Business | Firm Differentiation Depends Upon Client Service |

Both CPAs were struck by one glaring omission in the original reporting: the absence of accounting professionals in decision-making roles. “Where’s the CFO?” asks Shimamoto, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies, and founder and inspiration architect of the Center for Accounting Transformation. “Who looked at the time limits on that COVID-era grant money and said, ‘Hey, this isn’t going to last’?”

Patrick, CEO of VERIFYiQ, and co-founder and educator at TB Academy, echoes that frustration: “It’s like budgeting on hopes and dreams instead of facts and forecasts.”

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Intuit Fires Back with Agentic AI after Xero Nabs Melio

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In an escalating arms race, the general ledger is the new gateway to advisory.

Intuit’s Agentic AI team: CDO Srivastava, CTO Balazs, CEO Goodarzi

By Rick Telberg
CPA Trendlines Research
Cornerstone Report

Just a day or two after Xero shook the accounting world with its $3 billion acquisition of B2B payments platform Melio, Intuit is launching its strategic salvo: A new suite of generative AI agents built into QuickBooks.

SEE Xero Buys Melio for $3 Billion in Race for ‘The Active GL’ | MORE Tech and Fintech | MORE Artificial Intelligence | MORE Cornerstone Reports, in-depth data-driven analysis and commentary

The agents promise to automate payment reminders, reconcile bank transactions, forecast cash flow, and even draft client emails — all without human intervention.

The initiative is pivotal in the escalating arms race among accounting tech giants to dominate the general ledger. The general ledger is no longer just a recordkeeper in this rapidly transforming space. It’s becoming the operating system for every small business financial decision — and the battleground on which legacy players and startups are staking their futures.

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What to Watch in the One Big Beautiful Bill | Quick Tax Tip

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Compromise, party discipline, and presidential influence could make this bill one of the most impactful yet.

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Quick Tax Tip
With Art Werner
CPE Today

When major tax reform is introduced, it’s easy to assume the process is straightforward: the House writes a bill, the Senate reviews it, and Congress either passes or blocks it.

Click here for more Art Werner

But the truth is much messier—and much more interesting.

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