The system can analyze the client’s industry, financial performance, and control environment against a vast database of historical audit outcomes. Using natural language processing, it can review prior audit findings, management letters, and regulatory filings to identify recurring issues or risk factors. Rather than automating isolated tasks, comprehensive IPA implementations coordinate activities across multiple systems, departments, and even organizations. These capabilities could help accounting firms automate complex, multistage processes like financial close procedures, tax-compliance workflows, or audit engagements in their entirety, rather than merely automating discrete components of these processes. For instance, an IPA system might analyze historical audit findings, current regulatory guidance, and client-specific risk factors to suggest appropriate testing approaches for an audit engagement — a level of assistance that far exceeds what RPA can provide. This capability to support professional judgment represents a fundamental shift in how automation technologies can serve accounting professionals.

ICYMI NASBA and the AICPA Propose an Alternative Path to CPA

Many of the group’s other recommendations are aimed at increasing recruitment and retention of talent after graduation. It’s an increasingly urgent mission that tasks individual firms, finance departments, and their leaders. CPA firms that offer tax services can deploy an IPA solution that refines their tax preparation process. The system can begin by automatically extracting relevant data from prior-year returns, client-provided documents, and third-party sources like brokerage statements. It then can apply current tax rules to identify deductions, credits, and potential compliance issues. What makes this truly intelligent is the system’s ability to incorporate unstructured data from news sources, customer feedback, and industry reports to adjust projections.

CNBC Newsletters

As the pipeline dries up, 83% of senior leaders report a talent shortage this year, up from 70% in 2022, with 10% this year saying it’s worsening, according to a CFO Pulse report released on Aug. 6 by accounting solutions provider Personiv. The plaintiffs petitioned the full appeals court for an en banc rehearing to consider additional issues in the case. Data from the most recent ADP National Employment Report published in October showed that the service-providing sector added 101,000 jobs in September, 20,000 of which were for roles in professional and business services like accounting and tax preparation. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1,500 new postings were described as accounting-related openings. Among college students pursuing a career in accounting, promises of career stability and a comfortable lifestyle were the biggest motivations to enter the profession, a 2023 EY survey suggests.

Most Read

To help with that preparation, we have created downloadable IPA pre-implementation planning guidelines to provide a structured yet flexible framework for organizations to strategically plan their IPA initiatives. The guide addresses key considerations while allowing businesses to customize components based on their specific objectives, operational requirements, and resource constraints. CPAs can use these guidelines for purchasing applications that include IPA, customizing applications with IPA features to meet organizational needs, or developing and integrating IPA with existing systems or data. Once entries are posted, the IPA solution can generate financial statements, validate them against predefined rules, and compile supporting documentation. The cognitive component can learn continuously from reviewer actions, refining how it identifies issues and suggests corrections.

The efficiency and effectiveness of the editorial review process is critically dependent upon the actions of both the authors submitting papers and the reviewers. Authors accept the responsibility of preparing research papers at a level suitable for evaluation by independent reviewers. Such preparation, therefore, should include subjecting the manuscript to critique by colleagues and others and revising it accordingly prior to submission. The review process is not to be used as a means of obtaining feedback at early stages of developing the research. The transition from military to civilian life is notoriously difficult, and he didn’t have much experience in the business world.

The impact of artificial intelligence on accounting practices: an academic perspective

The majority of companies represented in a survey said they plan to pass along most, if not all, costs created by tariffs to their customers. In accounting articles this Journal of Accountancy-branded podcast, a senior wealth strategist and managing partner share advice on how to initiate conversations with business clients about transition and succession planning. The organizations, on behalf of CPAs, responded to a request for feedback from the California Air Resources Board with recommendations related to guidance on the reporting and assurance requirements of recent legislation. An author of the JofA’s Professional Liability Spotlight column explains why the answer to the question “Should I disclose my use of generative AI to clients?

The July webcast explored proposed revisions to the fraud auditing standard, evolving frameworks for AI assurance, and recent developments affecting not-for-profit financial reporting. The August webcast explored accelerating mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the profession, practical insights on special purpose (non-GAAP) frameworks, and how peer review will address implementation of the new quality management standards. “We’re trying to create alternative pathways for candidates to join our great profession, work toward their degrees, and obtain a great professional designation like the CGMA,” he explained. The bank has also implemented mentorships as another way to develop younger employees, he added.

• An IPA solution can begin by automatically importing data from subsidiary ledgers, reconciling intercompany transactions, and identifying discrepancies.
• To reverse the narrative, starting salaries must increase to become competitive with other professions looking for top talent, and employers must make workloads more manageable, work more interesting, and career paths and rewards clearer.
• The AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy are seeking comments for the next 60 days on an additional CPA pathway and changes to the practice mobility model.
• Discover how a one-day University of Memphis program empowers nontraditional accounting students to stick with their major and embark on accounting careers.
• IPA can help CPAs meet these expectations by handling routine processes autonomously, freeing professionals to deliver more sophisticated analysis.

As we move into 2024, these issues likely stay front and center, which suggests that firms must remain cognizant of ways to ensure competitiveness in the face of a constantly changing market and stay efficient at meeting client expectations. Relatively low starting pay for long hours is worse, which, unfortunately, is the common perception of the profession. Increasingly, they are trying to tame the busy season in an effort to counter the idea that accountants must work excessive overtime to meet tax and other deadlines.

To reverse the narrative, starting salaries must increase to become competitive with other professions looking for top talent, and employers must make workloads more manageable, work more interesting, and career paths and rewards clearer. Corporations can implement IPA solutions to streamline their month-end close process. An IPA solution can begin by automatically importing data from subsidiary ledgers, reconciling intercompany transactions, and identifying discrepancies. Machine-learning algorithms can review account fluctuations against historical patterns and business activities, flagging unusual variances for controller review. The system can then generate journal entries for predictable adjustments (e.g., accruals, amortization, and foreign currency translation) and route them for appropriate approval. This creates the risk that if, for example, any previous misstatements were not identified as such, the machine learning could be pulling from inaccurate data.

• Almost three-fourths of CFOs have a negative view of the current economy and its impact on their organization, according to a survey of emerging and midmarket finance leaders.
• For example, when a jurisdiction changes its sales tax rules, the system can identify affected business units, calculate potential liability, and generate compliance recommendations.
• Naval Academy’s football team and then served as a financial management officer in the U.S.
• The advanced AI analyzes historical patterns to identify unusual fluctuations or high-risk areas requiring deeper investigation.
• Interest globally is also rising, according to a survey of nearly 300 business schools.

Discover how a one-day University of Memphis program empowers nontraditional accounting students to stick with their major and embark on accounting careers. The bipartisan bill would make accounting part of STEM, a federally funded program for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. An AICPA leader focused on the accounting talent pipeline reminds established CPAs of their role in helping to grow the profession. This implementation can reduce compliance penalties and help the tax department shift from reactive filing to proactive planning.

The advanced AI analyzes historical patterns to identify unusual fluctuations or high-risk areas requiring deeper investigation. IPA represents not just a technological shift but also a strategic opportunity for CPAs to redefine their professional value proposition. This transition is not merely beneficial but increasingly essential for practice sustainability in an evolving marketplace.