Opinion Articles

As the only publicly traded firm with a meaningful operating history, the CBIZ story merits honest assessment.

Many organizations are trying to scale automation on top of processes that were never designed for consistency or repeatability.

The Internal Revenue Service characterizes the 2026 tax filing season as a success. What do you think?

Sales and use tax once sat at the back of the small business tax conversation. It now has taken a seat in the front row.

Critical cautionary tale; reactive to proactive; consumption taxes; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

As affordable accounting services become the new standard, the key to thriving will be brand affinity, loyalty and admiration, starting with client experience.

The discourse surrounding the future of accounting has largely centered on automation, AI and digital transformation. Yet many firms face a more immediate issue.

Will the profession wait for the AI equivalent of 1929 before applying what it already knows? The answer begins with examining what the current AI assurance landscape provides and what it does not.

Technology is not replacing accountants. But it is changing what accounting work involves, and the change is further along than most realize.

Most firm owners focus on the revenue lever they have pulled their whole career, but they may never have touched the other lever.

Public accounting firms are having their own awkward conversation between the firm they built and the firm they now need to become.

The administrative approach to R&D credits needs to shift away from the current once-a-year scramble within companies.

The industry framing of "what can AI do?" is mismatched with how AI is deployed today, and the conclusions can leave firms a tax season behind their peers.

Bidding a fond farewell to our longtime managing editor sparks some thoughts on who should be working for who.

Are you sure it was the vendor's fault? Here are tips for a better outcome the second time around.

"Pied-à-terre" tax; warning shot; Section 122 tariffs; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Instead of worrying about future hiring needs, it's time for firm leaders to fully understand the major drivers smoothing out the talent crunch.

The idea of semi-annual reporting is a guaranteed self-inflicted disaster, like using a knife while gripping the blade instead of the handle, writes Paul Miller.

When a CPA signs off on a work product that an AI system helped produce, what is the independent verification standard that certifies the system producing that work is actually reliable? There isn't one.

The majority of employees don't use all the paid time off available to them, so many companies are steadily accumulating a huge line item on their balance sheets.

Clients are beginning to assume that if technology can forecast trends, flag anomalies and surface insights instantly, then their accountant should be doing the same.

To begin your AI journey, here is a four-step plan that firms can use to transition from experimentation to execution, in a safe, practical manner.

From doer to reviewer, the future of accounting isn't about knowing the answer. It's about knowing when the answer might be wrong.

GenAI is already reshaping how work gets produced, reviewed and priced. Enter the AI Architect, who owns governance, tool evaluation and more.

Behind on AI; Show-Me State; sunsetting FIRE; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

For retirement-age clients relocating to the Sun Belt, the savings they are counting on may not exist. Have a conversation before they sign the moving contract.

At 55, owners are often in a stronger position to adapt, lead change, shape the firm's future and participate in a transition from a position of strength.

Accounting has always been a profession built on precision and trust. Those standards don't change because AI is in the room. They become more important.

June 30, 2026, should be circled in red on the calendars of thousands of large multinational companies. 

Centralized Authorization File processing remains one of the most significant challenges in tax administration — but Business CAF isn't the solution yet.

The retirement of legacy copper networks and the rising tide of utility volatility driven by AI adoption are combining to silently drain dollars from offices.

AI can produce analysis, but it can't build trust or relationships. If students aren't trained in those areas, they'll be unprepared for roles that matter most.

An AI agent is a system that can not only answer questions but also take autonomous action — a proactive team member who watches, thinks and acts on your behalf.

New GASB standards; tax cheats; along for the rideshare; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Accounting firms need to steer between two equally dangerous positions when it comes technology.

The IRS announced a streamlined way for Employee Retention Credit claimants to extend the two-year deadline to file a refund suit after a claim disallowance.

Clients may be able to save thousands in taxes and prepare for a better future with the introduction of even the most rudimentary financial planning.

The Justice Department's order delivers meaningful tax relief to the medical cannabis industry and signals a serious federal effort to align with state laws.

The reason integrated firms are being built and attracting clients is not because service bundling is a clever revenue trick.

It's not that we don't have enough petroleum in our pipelines, it's that we don't have a high enough octane to perform what we need it to do.

Most magical place; Amazon warehouses; paper or plastic; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

The firms that survive and thrive in the next 10 years won't be the ones with a great strategy alone.

Golden parachutes remain a popular strategy for aligning executive and shareholders' interests in corporate transactions but can trigger significant tax penalties.

This year alone, minimum wages increased in 19 states and dozens of cities and counties, reflecting a broader national shift toward higher baseline pay.

Understanding the differences and setting expectations properly can make or break a successful engagement.

When business clients no longer need employer tax accounts, they need to close those accounts properly so they are no longer responsible for them.

IT hygiene; final tally; movements in the U.S. dollar; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

From spotting anomalies to enhancing accuracy to streamlining client communication, tax preparers are no longer being bogged down by operational inefficiencies.

Something big is happening in the American retirement landscape, and small businesses are right in the middle of it.

When they understand their market value, accounting firms are often torn about what to do.

Choosing the right AI implementation partner is one of the most consequential decisions a firm will make right now, but a meaningful number of them show significant gaps in the areas that matter most to accounting firms.

The internal audit function can help the enterprise pursue innovation responsibly by encouraging the development of risk management early in the AI lifecycle.

When accounting firm leaders build guardrails, train their people and stay actively engaged, AI will become a force multiplier — not a liability.

The old measurements of leverage, utilization, margin, billing rate, and realization fall short of the new reality.

More than 4 million children have been signed up for Trump accounts — but millions more are eligible.

An experiment with having artificial intelligence write papers for a college accounting course reveals some of its current limitations.

Accounting firms that are best positioned to capture the growth from advisory services must do more than rethink the services they deliver.

The accounting community is focused on how AI is changing what accountants do. But the truth is that AI is changing what accounting professionals are for.

Lone Star steal; Matchmaker, Matchmaker; under pressure; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Reducing disputes is not about chasing collections more aggressively. It's about designing billing processes for how work is performed and revenue is recognized.

As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes the finance landscape, accounting leaders face a pivotal moment.

Treating email as a managed communication channel rather than an individual employee tool helps maintain higher standards of professionalism and compliance.

Micro-captive insurance plans under the Internal Revenue Code are providing small businesses in California the ability to rebuild faster after wildfires.

As new players flood into accounting, it's important to understand how they speak.

Minimizing time spent on tasks like bookkeeping and focusing on advisory work freed me to deliver more value to clients and build a more scalable practice.

With all the M&A activity in public accounting today, buyers and sellers alike will benefit from Cringe, a new agentic AI matchmaking app,

The expansion of cryptocurrency, stablecoins and tokenized assets means more complexity at tax time, including a brand-new form to manage: 1099-DA.

Let me guess what's on your firm's website right now:

March Madness; one ringy-dingy; trouble with tariffs; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Verifying environmental and social impacts is more complex than traditional financial accounting. But complexity is not a reason for retreat.

Artificial intelligence is rewriting the rulebook for how accountants approach tax services

Staffing, career paths and a practical playbook can be applied to the new model.

Accounting firms that treat marketing and business development as administrative support will struggle to adapt in the future.

It's never too early to make the move and help them reclaim hours of valuable time.

"Intentionality" and its derivatives are having a moment right now — but what do they really mean inside accounting firms?

Innovation requires exactly what burnout destroys: The mental space to learn. The emotional safety to experiment and fail. The cognitive resources to think strategically.

The advisory gap isn't about services. It's about understanding how business owners actually think.

Normally, election years are not very active years for tax legislation ... but there are signs this might not be a normal year.

Once implemented, agentic AI delivers measurable improvements across planning, forecasting and financial reporting.

Firm leaders need to answer four key questions when considering a transaction or remaining independent.

Sweeping review; year-end procedures; close the book; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

For many firms, a technology that was meant to make things better may instead prove to be yet another tax season headache.

Accounting and IT departments have long been working in silos, which often leads to numerous operational challenges. Accountants taking on the role of tech advisors can bridge this gap.

The goal of regulation should not be unnecessary burdens or barriers to entry. The goal should be confidence that taxpayers are receiving reliable guidance.

Accounts payable processes once ran on predictable inputs. That world has changed.

The documents your clients are already gathering for their returns are the same documents an estate planner needs to build or update a comprehensive plan.

Today, we all have an opportunity to move beyond a compliance exercise measured in credit hours and embrace CPE as a strategic engine that drives innovation.

Up in smoke; contingency planning; disaster strikes; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

It's not too late to build your accounting firm's quality management system, and it doesn't have to be overwhelming.

AI is rewriting the org chart of the modern CPA firm.

While AI is suitable for some tasks and use cases, there are other tax applications that are simply too risky, whether from an economic or security standpoint.

AI in hiring is not a technical shortcut; it's a regulated activity with legal consequences if misused.

California's proposed wealth tax has become one of the most closely watched fiscal policy experiments in American history.

The profession needs to engage seriously with whether the binary audit opinion remains the right product for the public interest it is meant to serve.

The firms that are starting to feel a real difference in the busy season are not working harder; they are redesigning the way the audit process runs.

Here's a tip; what a relief; established client base; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

AI has emerged as a potential force multiplier, but can it augment capacity in a way that is sustainable and responsibly governed?

No matter how technology changes the landscape, the traditional playbook for career development is not replacing retiring CPAs fast enough.

In the future of finance, the success of AI tools won't depend on scattered individual initiatives, but on establishing a standardized approach across teams.

By the time they realize it's too hard to do in-house, it may be too late.