Can AI agents actually reduce your workload—or just add hype? Blake demos how he rebuilt bill-entry “Hubdoc-style” in about an hour with Zapier Agents, then maps out why most AI pilots fail without documented workflows and human approvals. Plus: PwC’s plan to hire one-third fewer grads, juniors supervising AI, HMRC scanning social posts for tax gaps, and fresh salary and pricing benchmarks. Learn where AI truly fits—and how to price with confidence.

Sponsors
Relay - http://accountingpodcast.promo/relay
TeamUp - http://accountingpodcast.promo/teamup
Human at Scale - http://accountingpodcast.promo/human
Digits - http://accountingpodcast.promo/digits

Chapters

(05:36) - AI Agents: Hype vs. Reality
(07:49) - AI's Impact on Corporate America
(10:28) - Challenges in AI Integration
(19:11) - PWC and AI: Training the Next Generation
(21:43) - Building AI Agents with Zapier
(41:00) - Human at Scale: Transforming Accounting Firms
(42:34) - Live Stream Chat and AI Future
(45:14) - Outsourcing vs. AI in Business
(46:37) - AI in Accounting: Supervision and Customization
(48:33) - Intuit's Q4 Earnings and QuickBooks Live
(51:00) - AI's Impact on Accounting Jobs and Tools
(59:48) - UK's AI Tax Fraud Detection
(01:03:27) - Accounting Salary Survey Results
(01:13:40) - Client Relationships and Free Speech Issues
(01:18:18) - Conclusion and CPE Information

Show Notes

The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025 (MIT NANDA Report)
https://fortune.com/2025/08/18/mit-report-95-percent-generative-ai-pilots-at-companies-failing-cfo/

Getting a job at PwC out of college will be a lot tougher. It plans to recruit a third fewer grads by 2028
https://www.aol.com/getting-job-pwc-college-lot-120316405.html

HMRC uses AI to spot tax fraud on social media
https://www.accountancyage.com/2025/08/12/hmrc-uses-ai-to-spot-tax-fraud-on-social-media/

The 2025 Accounting Today Salary Survey: Sweetening the deal
https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/the-2025-accounting-today-salary-survey-sweetening-the-deal

2025 U.S. Accounting and Tax Pricing Benchmark (Ignition)
https://www.ignitionapp.com/us/2025-accounting-tax-pricing-benchmark

TaxDome Releases First-of-Its-Kind 2025 Niche Business Accounting Report
https://www.morningstar.com/news/pr-newswire/20250819ph53815/taxdome-releases-first-of-its-kind-2025-niche-business-accounting-report

2025 Niche Business Accounting Report (TaxDome)
https://taxdome.com/niche-report-2025

Need CPE?

Get CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark: https://earmarkcpe.com
Subscribe to the Earmark Podcast: https://podcast.earmarkcpe.com

Get in Touch

Thanks for listening and the great reviews! We appreciate you! Follow and tweet @BlakeTOliver and @DavidLeary. Find us on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, please do us a favor and write a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. Call us and leave a voicemail; maybe we'll play it on the show. DIAL (202) 695-1040.

Sponsorships

Are you interested in sponsoring The Accounting Podcast? For details, read the prospectus.

Need Accounting Conference Info?

Check out our new website - accountingconferences.com

Limited edition shirts, stickers, and other necessities

TeePublic Store: http://cloudacctpod.link/merch

Subscribe

Apple Podcasts: http://cloudacctpod.link/ApplePodcasts
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAccountingPodcast
Spotify: http://cloudacctpod.link/Spotify
Podchaser: http://cloudacctpod.link/podchaser
Stitcher: http://cloudacctpod.link/Stitcher
Overcast: http://cloudacctpod.link/Overcast

Classifieds

Want to get the word out about your newsletter, webinar, party, Facebook group, podcast, e-book, job posting, or that fancy Excel macro you just created? Let the listeners of The Accounting Podcast know by running a classified ad. Go here to create your classified ad: https://cloudacctpod.link/RunClassifiedAd

Transcripts

The full transcript for this episode is available by clicking on the Transcript tab at the top of this page

AI Shakes Up Big Four Accounting Job Market

The Accounting Podcast

AI Shakes Up Big Four Accounting Job Market