What do tariffs, war, AI agents, and a collapsed accounting startup have in common? This week, Blake and David connect the dots between rising economic pressure and rapid tech change. They break down the lopsided cost of drone warfare, small businesses getting crushed by tariffs, AI tools handling tax and bookkeeping tasks, and new details on Botkeeper’s collapse. You’ll hear what these shifts could mean for accountants, firms, and the future of the profession.

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Show Notes

Iran's Drones Cost a Fraction of the U.S. Weapons Shooting Them Down 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/business/iran-drones-us-weapons-cost.html

Introducing GPT-5.4 

https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-4/

Breaking Up with TurboTax: How I Used Claude to File My Taxes for Free 

https://kachess.dev/taxes/ai/personal-finance/2026/02/27/breaking-up-with-turbotax.html

Show HN: Claude Skill to Do Your Taxes 

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47277164

Enrico Palmerino Explains Botkeeper's Fall 

https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/enrico-palmerino-explains-botkeepers-fall

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi Has an AI Clone 

https://www.fastcompany.com/91500087/uber-ceo-dara-khosrowshahi-has-an-ai-clone

KPMG-Audited Companies Are Trading Strangely on Polymarket 

https://eventwaves.substack.com/p/kpmg-audited-companies-are-trading

Zapier Updates: AI Guardrails & Governance Controls 

https://zapier.com/blog/february-2026-product-updates/

Record Numbers of Workers Are Raiding Their 401(k) Savings 

https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/retirement/401k-hardship-withdrawals-record-vanguard-2025

For Some Small Businesses, a Tariff Refund Isn't Worth the Pain of Pursuing It 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/small-businesses-tariff-refund-isnt-worth-pain-pursuing-it.html

Trump's IRS Lawsuit Offers Lessons on Privacy and Legal Process 

https://news.bloombergtax.com/tax-insights-and-commentary/trumps-irs-lawsuit-offers-lessons-on-privacy-and-legal-process

Democrats Unveil Bill to Resurrect Direct File 

https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/democrats-unveil-bill-to-resurrect-direct-file

I.R.S. Tactics Against Meta Open a New Front in the Corporate Tax Fight 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/business/irs-meta-tax-ireland.html

IRS Should Open Trump Accounts for Eligible Children Automatically, AICPA Says 

https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2026/feb/irs-should-open-trump-accounts-for-eligible-children-automatically-aicpa-says/

NASBA Urges U.S. Department of Education to Restore "Professional" Status for Accounting Degrees

https://nasba.org/blog/2026/03/05/status-for-accounting-degrees/

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