Why AI will not replace accountants
Plus: Employees want leadership they can trust
Worried about the future of accounting? Good news—several stories this week offer a positive industry outlook, including an increase in accounting majors, insights into why AI won’t take your job and the potential for more flexible CPA career paths in the years ahead.
Before you dig in, check out this McKinsey research on how investing in brain interventions and brain skills could add 260 million years of healthy life and $6.2 trillion in GDP gains by 2050. If that doesn’t motivate you to take fish oil every day, we don’t know what will.
Job security: AICPA CEO says AI will accelerate career trajectories and increase workload in the face of automation
Capacity overload: How to successfully outsource work during tax season and beyond
CPA 2.0: Successful leaders must constantly evolve instead of sticking to the same habits and identity
Update available: Avoid these three mistakes on your accounting firm website
Big beautiful tax season: Navigate OBBBA changes with this roundup of resources from The CPA Journal
Employees want leadership they can trust
A 10-year study revealed a shift in what drives employee engagement. While culture-related factors like values and a feeling of belonging topped the list from 2016 to 2024, they’ve now dropped to the bottom. Instead, employees rate confidence in leadership and an organization’s response to change as top motivators for engagement.
Why this matters: Accounting and tax firms are navigating a significant amount of uncertainty, from economic volatility to the ongoing threat of AI disruptions. Demonstrating confidence and a proactive approach to these challenges makes your employees excited to work alongside you. (The Business Journals)
How PE could impact partner buyouts
Private equity drives higher external valuations of accounting firms based on sales prices, but should you include that data when valuing your own firm for partner buyouts? Kristen Rampe, CPA at Rosenberg Associates, surveyed firm leaders to identify potential shifts in buyout trends. But mixed results reflected uncertainty in the industry, with some firms reducing buyout multiples and others increasing them based on external valuations.
Why this matters: Buyout structures not only impact a firm’s current partners, but future partners as well. Consistently review accounting retirement plan trends and consider updating offerings based on your firm’s values and long-term goals. (Inside Public Accounting)
7.3%
Percentage of enrollment growth in undergrad accounting programs for fall 2025. (CPA Practice Advisor)
- In a study that surprised no one, poor work-life balance is cited as the primary driver of CPA turnover rates
- Flexibility is expected to overtake linear progression in accounting career paths
- “No tax on tips” law set to cause headaches for employers and tax preparers
- PCAOB’s chair takes a 52% pay cut (ouch)
- Appeals court caps Under Armour’s insurance limits in covering accounting scandal
AI strategy should augment firm's specialty skills, not diminish them
The demand for high-value accounting continues to grow, which is great news for firms that want to include advisory work in their offerings. But Martin Lysholt Nielsen of Silverfin argues that accounting firms risk losing depth of knowledge by over-automating processes with AI. Instead of using AI for research, he says that top firms are instead embedding AI into workflows to help newer CPAs gain specialized knowledge more quickly.
Why this matters: Incorporating automations while also building your team’s expertise is a winning combination for accounting firms. (The AI Journal)
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The Net Gains is curated and written by Lauren Ward and edited by Bianca Prieto.