Tech news: KPMG launches Tax AI Accelerator program

KPMG launches Tax AI Accelerator program

Florida Governor Rick Scott and KPMG CEO Lynn Doughtie break ground on KPMG's new training facility in Orlando

Jim Hobart

Big Four firm KPMG announced its new Tax AI Accelerator program, which is designed to help corporate tax departments build practical AI skills and integrate generative AI into daily operations. Each participating organization receives a custom deployment of KPMG's Digital Gateway platform, built on Microsoft Azure OpenAI. Digital Gateway provides a secure, private "sandbox" environment where tax teams can experiment with AI tools, test use cases against real compliance challenges, and scale what works without exposing sensitive data.

More specifically, it offers:

Hands-on training in prompt engineering, persona and agent development, and responsible AI use;
Application of KPMG's "Think, Prompt, Check" framework used to upskill KPMG professionals, now available to clients;
Real-world use cases and compliance scenarios;
Content tailored to each organization's AI maturity and priorities;
Guidance for fostering a culture of innovation and adaptability; and
Access to CPE-eligible workshops, inspiration sessions and personalized check-ins.

At the conclusion, participants come together to evaluate implementation efforts, share lessons learned, and address barriers to adoption. The final workshop focuses on mapping actionable next steps and strategies for deploying and sustaining AI solutions for the long-term.

Sage rolls out AI enhancements for reporting, AP, sales

Accounting ERP provider Sage announced a new set of AI enhancements for Sage X3. One is expanded AP automation, which includes AI-driven document capture, classification and vendor matching. Sage Business Reporting, meanwhile, uses AI-assisted insights to help teams build flexible reports that support more informed decisions. There are also new connected supply chain capabilities that provide real-time visibility from purchase order creation through to delivery. The enhancements also include a Sales Intelligence Agent that proactively alerts teams to risks such as overdue orders, delayed shipments or declining customer demand. Finally, Sage X3 Builder now includes new AI-assisted capabilities that help partners and customers tailor Sage X3.

Datarails launches Spend Control solution for contract visibility

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Datarails, a corporate accounting platform, debuted Spend Control to give finance teams centralized visibility and control over vendor contracts and subscriptions. This ERP-integrated solution also includes an AI agent that automatically reviews contract terms and conditions, benchmarks market alternatives and subsequently drafts optimized renewal requests. Specifically, it features a centralized contract hub with AI-driven data extraction, DocuSign and email integration; ERP integration and automated reconciliation of contract terms vs. actual payments; duplication detection across teams and subscriptions, with smart alerts for expirations and autorenewals with AI-powered renewal workflows; real-time dashboard and analytics, plus embedded AI-agents for tips, insights and automated vendor communication; and the ability to browse tools across the entire organization so employees can see what software is being used and request access.

MyCPE One introduces learning and development platform

Continuing professional education solutions provider MyCPE One announced dedicated Learning and Development services, built to help CPA and accounting firms upskill their teams, align learning with firm strategy, and prepare their workforce for long-term growth. The services leverage technology to personalize learning paths that deliver relevant content at the right time. MyCPE One emphasizes data-driven decision-making, helping firms assess what's working, what's not, and where learning initiatives should evolve. The services integrate compliance, performance and feedback into a learning ecosystem that supports both people and processes.

Partnerships, integrations and acquisitions

AI-driven FP&A platform Vena has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Managility Pty Ltd., operating as Acterys, a Power BI–based operational planning and app development platform. This acquisition enables enterprises to combine planning, analytics and application development within the Microsoft tools they use to run their business. By combining Vena's Excel-native financial planning and analysis capabilities with Acterys' proprietary Power BI write-back engine and unified analytics within Microsoft Fabric, Vena is creating a Microsoft-native environment for Orchestrated Planning, an operating model that moves organizations beyond integrated planning into orchestrated and agentic AI-powered execution. … GruntWorx, a tax automation platform, and Truss, a tax workflow platform, announced a strategic partnership. This collaboration introduces a new GruntWorx integration within Truss, enabling Truss customers to leverage GruntWorx's AI-enhanced optical character recognition automation directly from the Truss platform… Intuit, the company behind TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks and Mailchimp, announced a new, multiyear partnership with Affirm, a payment network and credit provider. Under the agreement, Affirm will become the exclusive pay-over-time solution built into QuickBooks Payments. Through the partnership, many will have the ability to offer Affirm's flexible payment options to their customers, while enabling businesses to attract new customers, boost conversion rates, maximize sales and improve cash flow… Top 25 firm Crowe and Coverbase, an AI-first platform for risk-aware procurement and third-party security reviews, announced a strategic collaboration to support organizations seeking to modernize how vendor risk is managed in the age of AI by leveraging Coverbase's next-generation due diligence automation. Through this expanded collaboration, Crowe third-party risk management specialists can incorporate Coverbase's AI-powered assessment and monitoring tools into advisory and implementation engagements. … Yooz, a cloud-based purchase-to-pay automation provider, announced its integration with CDK to publish on The Fortellis Marketplace. Yooz has launched the CDK Payment Remittance Beta, enabling dealers to automatically sync payment and remittance details from Yooz directly into CDK Accounting. Previously, Yooz could send approved invoices to CDK but could not mark them as paid, requiring manual updates and creating gaps in audit records. With certification on CDK's Accounting Post Vendor Payments API, Yooz now completes the full purchase-to-pay workflow by updating invoice payment status within CDK.

Other news

Engaged Capital, LLC, an investment firm specializing in small- and mid-cap North American companies, has formally submitted a nomination notice to corporate accounting solutions provider BlackLine in connection with the company's 2026 annual meeting of stockholders. Nominees named are: Storm Duncan, Christopher Hallenbeck and Christopher Young. The announcement is in response to BlackLine reportedly turning down an acquisition offer by SAP. Engaged Capital said its intentions are to "provide stockholders with the opportunity to elect credible, experienced alternative directors focused on evaluating all strategic options in stockholders' best interests."