SURVEYS & RESEARCH

Artificial Intelligence: It’s a Matter of Time

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What are you saving it for?

By CPA Trendlines Research

What is artificial intelligence good for? We still don’t know. We know it’s going to be good for a lot, but so far, we’re using it only for a little – just a taste of what’s to come.

MORE: AI Will Steal Your Job. And That’s a Good Thing | Allan Koltin: How Small Firms Can Thrive Against PE-Powered Competitors | The Power of Community in Accounting | Desperate CFOs are Outsourcing Accounting Functions | Does Firm Culture Still Matter? | Tax and Accounting Jobs and Salaries Show Strength | Tax Law is Driving Practice Development | Olympics of Outsourcing and Offshoring for Accountants | New Study: Strong and Steady Growth for Accountant Jobs and Salaries | Turnover Timebomb: 4 of 5 Senior Managers At Risk
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One major impact will be on that elusive infinite, time.

For one thing, AI’s going to save a lot of time. Tasks that used to take hours or days will soon take mere seconds.

But is that a good thing or a bad thing?
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New Pacemaker Powered by Light, No Batteries

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Can science save lives with solar power?

By Rick Richardson
Technology This Week

Pengju Li and his colleagues at the University of Chicago have created a wireless, ultrathin pacemaker that utilizes light similarly to a solar panel. Because it conforms to the shape of the heart, its design reduces interference with the heart’s normal function while simultaneously eliminating the need for batteries. Their findings, just released in Nature, provide a novel strategy for heart pacing and other therapies requiring electrical stimulation.

MORE TECHNOLOGY THIS WEEK: Microsoft Patents an Encryption System to Block Visual Hacking | Recently Discovered Antibiotic Spares ’Good’ Bacteria | Is NASA About to Make Air Travel Cheaper? | Startup Creates Legolike Brick That Can Store Air Pollution | AI Displacing More Jobs in Banking Than Other Sectors | Your Brain Can Store 10 Times More than Anyone Thought | How Many EV Charging Stations Will We Need? | Google Launches New Private Space Feature | Microsoft Discovers a Security Flaw Impacting Android Apps | What Is an AI PC, and Should I Get One?
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Medical devices called pacemakers are inserted into the body to control cardiac rhythms. They are comprised of battery-operated electrical circuits with leads that are fixed to the heart muscle to stimulate it. Leads, however, can break and cause tissue damage. Once implanted, the leads’ position cannot be altered, which restricts access to various cardiac areas. Because they use stiff iron electrodes, pacemakers could also cause tissue injury when they are used to regulate arrhythmia or to restart the heart after surgery.
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Desperate CFOs are Outsourcing Accounting Functions

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25 percent of CFOs will be looking for staff accountants. Personiv

Can CPA firms take advantage?

By CPA Trendlines Research

CPA firms have long been aware of the worsening talent shortage. Fewer students are majoring in accountancy. Fewer are pursuing CPA certification. And baby boomer leaders of accounting firms are retiring more often than ever.

MORE: Does Firm Culture Still Matter? | Tax and Accounting Jobs and Salaries Show Strength | Tax Law is Driving Practice Development | Olympics of Outsourcing and Offshoring for Accountants | New Study: Strong and Steady Growth for Accountant Jobs and Salaries | Turnover Timebomb: 4 of 5 Senior Managers At Risk | Are Client Services a Fourth-Rate Priority? | Revenues Rising as Pricing Models Evolve | 150 Credit Hours: Helping or Hindering? | Can’t Recruit? Retain! | The Accountant as a Strategic Business Partner | Report: Efficiency Still the Top Priority for Accounting Firms
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Now financial leaders in the corporate sector are feeling the pinch. A survey issued by personnel agency Personiv finds that 83 percent of senior corporate leaders recognize the accounting talent crunch, way up from 70 percent in 2022 and 63 percent in 2020. And 10 percent say the shortage is getting worse.

No surprise, then, that 90 percent of CFOs who responded to the survey say they have outsourced at least some accounting functions.
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Tax and Accounting Jobs and Salaries Show Strength

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Overall accounting profession employment hits a glitch.

Hourly earnings fluctuate.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

Despite a slowing increase in employment for the U.S. economy in general, the nation’s tax and accounting sector is improving on most fronts, marking more than four years of solid year-over-year gains.

MORE: New Study: Strong and Steady Growth for Accountant Jobs and Salaries | More Big Firms Shut Their Doors to New College Grads | Seven Enticements to Keep Talent On Board | Payroll Leads Job Gains in Tax & Accounting Sector
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To be sure, tax and accounting employment nudged slightly down in July, according to the latest data available to CPA Trendlines Research. But it remains ahead of last year’s figures. And record highs are popping in key hiring segments, including staff, CPA firms and payroll services. Is talk of staffing shortages overblown, or would growth be even stronger if more qualified candidates were available? READ MORE →