The Accounting Podcast

 Show Notes

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Is Botkeeper singing a different tune? 

In November 2018, Botkeeper raised $18 million from Greycroft and Gradient Ventures to use AI and machine learning to automate bookkeeping. Following the VC round, founder and CEO Enrico Palmerino told Accounting Today in December 2018 that Botkeeper is “a full bookkeeper replacement; it’s a robo-bookkeeper.”

Yet according to an email forwarded by a Botkeeper accountant partner (who uses the service on behalf of clients), Botkeeper may not be quite as robotic as it claims. Listen in to the latest episode for all the details.

Follow up on QuickBooks Live

Xero’s commitment to bookkeepers — Xero.com — Keri Gohman, President of Xero Americas, says “At Xero, our choice is clear: technology can only succeed when it improves human relationships. We believe people innovate – technology doesn't.”

Intuit is exploring bookkeeping, and it’s not a bad thing — Accounting Today — Cathy Iconis says, “I think there is another view that people are ignoring - QuickBooks will actually increase the market for bookkeepers. Yes, we will have to compete and differentiate ourselves from QuickBooks, but I wouldn’t mind a few more million small businesses to fight over.”

How you respond to Intuit's "live bookkeeping" shows where your firm is going — LinkedIn — Karen Reyburn says “You're now being pushed to be really, really clear about how you're different… This will push you to focus on the clients, and what they actually need.”

My Thoughts On Intuit's Live Bookkeeping Offer — Mark Wickersham — Mark Wickerham says, “My view on Intuit’s new test is that it hasn’t changed anything for those in the profession who are forward-thinking and willing to change. Machine learning and artificial intelligence is getting better. We already know that. We knew we needed to change our services because of the technological advances in our profession. Intuit’s experiment has just given us more immediacy to alter our service.”

Lorilyn A Crum on Twitter — Lorilyn Crum says, “The term bookkeeper needs to go away... instead rebrand as an accounting technician or accounting operations."

Bookkeepers: Is the Death Knell upon us in 2019? — Melanie Power — Mel Power says, ““With the introduction of cloud accounting, and further technology advancements around artificial intelligence and machine learning within the accounting vendor and ecosystem... the labour intensive process is reduced to almost zero. The truth of the matter is, there is NO value for highly skilled bookkeepers in doing data entry work when we have all of the tools available to do the job FOR us.”

IRS internal controls around refunds are a joke

Tampa man reported income of $18,497; IRS sent him a refund check for $980,000 — CNBC — By now, you may know that withholding a lot of income for taxes will result in an eventual refund. However, a Florida man pushed the envelope and claimed that he paid the taxman $1 million in taxes on less than $20,000 in wages.

That’s one expensive accounting textbook

Rare medieval accountancy book expected to sell for $1.5m — Financial Times — Christie’s will auction Luca Pacioli’s Summa de Arithmetica, a compendium of everything known at the time about mathematics, but also a practical, how-to guide to succeeding in business that is the first written record of the system of double entry accounting.

Blockchain to speed up international transfers at JP Morgan

JP Morgan is rolling out the first US bank-backed cryptocurrency to transform payments business — CNBC — Engineers at the lender have created the "JPM Coin," a digital token that will be used to instantly settle transactions in its wholesale payments business.

Bill.com + AMEX — How it works

Finally, thanks to Stephen Brown for pointing us in the right direction when it comes to the new American Express Vendor Pay by Bill.com. This is a service on the American Express website available to American Express Business and Corporate Card® Members only. Customers will be able to pay vendors via virtual cards for free. ACH and check services also will be available for a per transaction fee.

Down Under news

Reckon Shifts Strategy In MYOB, Xero Rivalry — PYMNTS — Reckon has reportedly decided to pull out of the market of accounting software marketed directly to small businesses. Instead, the company is working with the Institute of Public Accountants to white label its solution.

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Show Notes

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Bookkeeping is Dead: How Intuit Will Kill It for Good — Blake Oliver — Hot on the heels of TurboTax Live, Intuit is building an on-demand bookkeeping service called “QuickBooks Live" that will connect business owners directly with bookkeepers via video chat and screen sharing technology integrated directly into the QuickBooks application. 

Intuit is testing potential bookkeeping — AltAccountant Podcast — With Intuit/QuickBooks (and other software companies) testing the demand for bookkeeping services built-in the subscription.... some interesting questions to think about. What if the need for manual bookkeeping was replaced by software company? What would your business look like if you had to provide valuable services and “bookkeeping” as we know it ceased to exist? 

Is Intuit® Building the 'H&R Block®' of Bookkeeping? — Insightful Accountant — Joe Woodard provides his personal perspective and recommendations for bookkeepers on the QBO-Attached Bookkeeping Service Intuit is considering offering its users. 

inDinero Acquires mAccounting in Move to Transform the Outsourced Accounting Industry — PRWeb — inDinero, leading accounting and tax software for growth businesses, acquired outsourced accounting and tax firm mAccounting to fuel their next phase of growth. 

FreshBooks matures accounting offering — Enterprise Times — FreshBooks has started the year with several update, including the introduction of double entry accounting and bank reconciliation. 

KPMG shutters small business accounting unit — AccountingWEB — KPMG has confirmed that it will close its small business accounting venture after just five years in the market. 

American Express and Bill.com Introduce Vendor Pay — Bill.com — American Express and Bill.com announced a strategic partnership with a new offering: American Express “Vendor Pay” by Bill.com. 

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Show Notes

A new bank feeds process – simpler, faster, and more secure — Xero Blog — Now, to connect a new bank feed you can download a pre-populated application form in Xero with information about your organisation and bank account details. Simply sign and date the form, scan and upload it back into Xero and they'll take care of the rest. 

Dropbox Buys HelloSign To Improve Document Workflow — PYMNTS — Dropbox, the cloud storage company, announced Monday (Jan. 28) that it has acquired HelloSign, an easy-to-use eSignature and document workflow platform.

DaySmart Software Acquires PupKeep — BusinessWire — DaySmart Software, the leading provider of business management software supporting small business growth, today announced it acquired PupKeep, a pet services cloud software company. The acquisition will allow DaySmart to expand its pet services offerings to incorporate daycare, boarding, kenneling and training into its existing grooming salon and mobile pet grooming software. 

Stripe Raises $100M On A $22.5B Valuation — PYMNTS — Stripe has raised $100 million in venture capital funding from Tiger Global Management, boosting the digital payment company's valuation to $22.5 billion. 

Small-business banking is about to get a whole lot better — American Banker — Big data and artificial intelligence will allow banks to do more for small businesses, former SBA head Karen Mills argues. 

This Time Humans Triumph Over Robots As They Take Back Hotel Jobs — NPR — A Japanese hotel that became known as the "world's first robot hotel" three years ago is powering off many of its robots. It turns out that guests prefer humans to handle their requests. 

The ‘Hybrid’ Skills That Tomorrow’s Jobs Will Require — WSJ — Jobs that tap both technical and creative thinking will be likely to pay well—and resist automation 

Don’t Worry About Absenteeism: Leadership Expert — CFO — "Presenteeism," or not being engaged on the job, is a far more costly problem for employers than absenteeism. 

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Show Notes

According to a new pricing page on the QuickBooks website, Intuit is now offering QuickBooks software plus access to “real bookkeepers to help you manage your business” for between $210 and $350 per month.  

Now QuickBooks customers can “Get valuable insights from unlimited one-on-one conversations with an experienced bookkeeper that knows your business.” How does it work? "A QuickBooks Bookkeeper sets up your books via live video chat and is available for you all year long.”  

Blake and David discuss this breaking news and the implications for accountants, bookkeepers, and QuickBooks ProAdvisors, who are understandably concerned. 

In a response, Intuit has shared a feedback form for those in the community to share their thoughts.

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Thanks for listening! Let us know what you think on Twitter. Follow and tweet @BlakeTOliver and @DavidLeary. Also, to make sure you don’t miss any Cloud Accounting Podcast news, please like our Facebook page!

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Show Notes

January 24, 2019

Why we are calling for the definition of the word ‘accountant’ to be changed — Xero — Xero is calling for The Oxford English Dictionary to "change its out of date definition of the word ‘accountant’ to something that truly reflects what it means to be an accountant in 2019." 

Expensify This — Expensify — You have to see it to believe it. Expensify is out with a rap video about expense reports in advance of their big Super Bowl ad. 

Apparently EY’s ‘Program Mercury’ Is Hot Garbage and Some Folks Are Understandably Upset About It — Going Concern — Critics of EY technology have expressed concern that their submitted expenses aren't being paid, and blame EY's Program Mercury. 

Square's Newest Product Is Genius — Motley Fool — The Square Card, a free business debit Mastercard for Square merchants, gives its users access to funds as soon as they make a sale through their Square card reader. 

Intuit donates $2 million to U.S. Federal workers — Enterprise Times — As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility program, Intuit has announced the donation of $2 million to food banks supporting federal workers in the US. 

Fishbowl Adds Marijuana Tracking and Inventory Management — CPA Practice Advisor — Fishbowl now meets the tracking and inventory management needs of people and companies authorized to provide legal cannabis services and products among the increasing number of states who have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use. 

Avalara acquires alcohol compliance services provider — Accounting Today — Avalara has acquired the operational assets of Compli, which provides compliance services, technology, and software to producers, distributors, and importers of alcoholic beverages in the United States. 

Sage sells U.S. Payroll Solutions arm — Accounting Today — Sage, a U.K.-based provider of enterprise resource planning software, has sold its U.S.-based payroll outsourcing business for $100 million. The buyer is workforce management software maker iSolved, a portfolio company of tech-focused private equity firm Accel-KKR. 

Transforming the Government Shutdown into New Tax Business — Insightful Accountant — Is this year’s government shutdown one big hassle or one big opportunity? Well, probably a little of both. Find out how to turn it into an advantage for your tax firm. 

Keeping the CMA Relevant — Strategic Finance Magazine — The IMA says that, given the changing nature of the profession, the CMA exam should cover data analytics in more depth and also cover the digitization of the finance value chain. 

Why CPA Candidate Numbers Have Decreased: Part 2 — AccountingWEB — Stephanie Ng continues to explore decreasing CPA candidate numbers. 

The Big Tech Canary In The Faster Payments Coal Mine — PYMNTS — Karen Webster said the canary in the coalmine isn't about making payments move faster so much as sidestepping the "legacy incumbents" FIN says stand in the way. 

Metric of the Month: Finance FTEs Per $1B in Revenue — CFO — More finance organizations are finding that it’s better to have a smaller, highly strategic team than an army of workers focused on transactional activity. 

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Show Notes

Females underrepresented at the AICPA Annual Executive Roundtable — Twitter — Dan Hood, editor of Accounting Today, shares Barry Melancon’s complaint that only 22 percent of accounting firm partners are women — and that we need to do better. Meanwhile, only 5 to 10 percent of attendees at the roundtable were women this year. 

Super Bowl LII Will Feature An Ad About Expense Reports — AdAge — The Super Bowl marks Expensify's first ever TV ad. 

Tax season could still be ‘ugly’ as 57% of IRS workers to return — Accounting Today — The agency is rushing to update its systems following the biggest change to the tax code in three decades — while a government shutdown has kept seven in eight IRS employees away from work for the past 25 days. 

The New $99 Tax Service for the Masses — CPA Trendlines — A new startup called Visor has just raised $9 million in financing to build a tax service for the masses. 

ScaleFactor Adds $30M from Bessemer to Boost Accounting Software — Xconomy — ScaleFactor is adding a $30 million round of funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners to make new hires and add more features to its software 

BeachFleischman and GMLCPA create completely virtual firm — Accounting Today — BeachFleischman PC and GMLCPA PLLC have teamed up to create a virtual firm, MOD Ventures, that will service both firms’ outsourced accounting services clients going forward. 

Nurses Again Outpace Other Professions for Honesty, Ethics — Gallup — Accountants come in below police officers but above funeral directors on Gallup’s annual ranking of how Americans perceive the honesty and ethical standards of professionals. 

Google raises prices on its competitor to Microsoft Office for the first time in a decade — CNBC — Google is raising prices 20 percent for the basic and business versions of its G Suite productivity apps, like Gmail and Docs, for the first time ever. The price increase comes only months after former Oracle executive Thomas Kurian takes the helm. The price of the enterprise edition is not increasing. 

Will Farnell announces 6 hour workday and unlimited PTO for his firm — LinkedIn — Will Farnell, Founder & Director at Farnell Clarke Limited in the UK, announced on LinkedIn that his firm is moving to a six hour workday and unlimited PTO and remote work. 

Bank Of America’s Zelle P2P Transactions Increased 97 Pct In Q4 — PYMNTS — Zelle P2P payments increased 97 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, Bank of America said Wednesday (Jan. 16), signaling the latest burst of growth for that payment method. During that quarter, consumers made 52 million payments worth $14 billion via Zelle. 

Evolving tech could mean evolving the CPA license — AICPA Blog — Last year, NASBA and the AICPA launched the CPA Evolution initiative to explore ways to evolve CPA licensure to integrate technological and analytical expertise. Susan Coffey welcomes your feedback at  [email protected].  

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Show Notes

Accounting salaries remain high in 2019 — Accounting Today — Accounting professionals in the public accounting space should feel good entering the New Year, as average salaries have once again increased due to stiff hiring competition among firms. 

KPMG IT Advisory Associate Looking for Love on ‘The Bachelor’ — Going Concern — Onyeka Ehie will be trying to make the House of Klynveld proud as she tries to woo the heart of Colton Underwood in the new season of "The Bachelor." 

Plaid Buys Quovo To Help Developers Build Data-Driven Apps — PYMNTS — Plaid, the FinTech company that enables developers to create financial services applications, announced Tuesday (Jan. 8) that it has acquired Quovo to make it easier for developers to create products that include investment data. 

TaxJar gets $60 million for software that automates ecommerce sales tax calculations — Venture Beat — TaxJar, a subscription software company that helps businesses automate their sales tax calculations and filing, today announced that it has raised a $60 million round of growth equity capital from Insight Venture Partners. 

Why the Virtual Office Doesn't Work for CPAs — AccountingWEB — Working remotely is more popular than ever, but here's why Craig Smalley EA says it just doesn't work for accountants. 

Where Did Americans Move in 2018? — Tax Foundation — The 2018 National Movers Study shows Vermont, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona as the states with the most inbound migration. Meanwhile, outbound migration was highest in New Jersey, Illinois, Connecticut, New York, and Kansas. 

New Online Credit Card Payment System for License Renewal — California Board of Accountancy — The California Board of Accountancy is now accepting online credit card payments for license renewals. 

Your Cash Is No Good Here. Literally. — WSJ — As more retailers—including Drybar and Sweetgreen—ban paper money, it’s making things awkward for customers without plastic. 

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Show Notes

E-Verify AND E-Verify SERVICES ARE UNAVAILABLE — e-verify.gov — E-Verify and E-Verify services are currently unavailable due to a lapse in government appropriations. 

What the federal shutdown could mean for tax season — CNBC — Accountants are worrying about the prospect of an extended federal shutdown as tax season approaches. That means there's a possibility that tax refunds may be delayed and it could be difficult to get your questions answered by the IRS. What you should know. 

@IRSnews — Twitter — Whoever manages the Twitter account for the IRS appears to have been furloughed during the federal government shutdown. 

Why Perks No Longer Cut It for Workers - WSJ — The most successful companies give employees a sense of belonging. 

Indicators Of The Year: Opioids — Planet Money — Life expectancy in the U.S. is down for the second year in a row. One main reason: opioid abuse. But increasingly, companies are stepping up to address the problem, offering treatment plans to workers and supporting employees through treatment. 

Indicators Of The Year: #MeToo — Planet Money — The #MeToo movement transformed the experience of women in the workplace. The strong job market helped some women feel secure enough to speak up, but for others it still doesn't feel safe.  

Getting Ready for Making Tax Digital (MTD) with Cloud Accounting Software — Business Partner Magazine — Despite the deadlines and fines being highly publicised, approximately 750,000 people missed the deadline in 2018. 

2019: The Year Of Instant Payments — PYMNTS — The year 2018 saw a rise in instant payments and disbursements among workers, particularly in the gig economy, indicating the trend will only increase in 2019. 

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Show Notes

2019 Hiring and Compensation Trends for Accounting Firms — CPA Practice Advisor — Check out these six trends hiring managers in public accounting need to know, as identified by research for the 2019 Robert Half Salary Guide for Accounting and Finance Professionals. 

35 years ago, Isaac Asimov was asked by the Star to predict the world of 2019. Here is what he wrote — The Star — The famed science fiction writer was wrong about a world government, but pretty close on robots. On computers, though ... 

The year ahead for accounting: 2019 in numbers — Accounting Today — Accountants share their expectations and plans for the next 12 months, with data from Accounting Today's annual survey. 

Top 10 Accounting Marketing Trends for 2019 — AccountingWEB — Here are the top 10 accounting marketing trends for 2019 according to Dawn Wagenaar of Ingenuity Marketing Group. 

Mindbody to be Sold to Vista Equity for $1.9B — CFO — The deal adds Mindbody's business management software products for fitness and yoga studios to Vista's portfolio. 

Senators Prod Regulators on Fintech Oversight — CFO — A bipartisan letter follows attempts by Robinhood to rebrand a cash management service. 

What’s New in QBO: December 2018 — QuickBooks Blog — New in QBO: 1) Next-day credit card deposits in QuickBooks Payments, 2) Auto-collected contractor W-9s, and 3) Automate routine tasks in QuickBooks Online. 

Millennials and Gen Z Driving Major Shifts in Customer Expectations According to a New Study Commissioned by Zendesk — BusinessWire — Among the top takeaways: "According to this study, 67 percent of U.S. respondents have used live chat, social media, or texting for customer service. Among Gen Z and Millennials, 46 percent and 47 percent respectively have used social media to communicate with customer service in the past year -- compared to only 7 percent of Baby Boomers and 26 percent of Gen X. More than a third (36 percent) of Gen Z consumers prefer social media for simple inquiries compared to only 5 percent of Baby Boomers." 

The 30 Fastest Growing Business Apps in 2018 — Zapier — Chatbots were everywhere in 2017—only to fall off the zeitgeist in 2018. But they’re far from gone. ManyChat, this year’s fastest growing app on Zapier, found the sweet spot for chatbots, driving continued growth after being their fastest growing new app in 2017. 

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Show Notes

KPMG to fine staff £100 for late time sheets — The Guardian — The accounting company said it would impose the penalties if staff were late to file their time sheets, which record how long employees spend on tasks. 

British politician pledges to break up 'cartel' of big four accounting firms in radical overhaul — Business Insider — Leader of the Labour Party, John McDonnell, told the Financial Times that the big four firms which include EY, KPMG, Deloitte and PwC form a "cartel" that needs to be addressed. 

KPMG partners receive bumper payouts despite Carillion fallout — The Guardian — KPMG, the auditing firm that gave Carillion a clean bill of health, has reported a leap in profits that will result in the average pay of its 635 partners soaring from £519,000 to more than £600,000 each. 

Is There Really Such A Thing As An Independent Audit? — Forbes — FloQast CEO and former Big Four auditor Mike Whitmire examines some of key issues impeding auditor independence in the profession and suggests significant changes that could dramatically improve audit quality. 

Square Revives Request to Start a Bank — Wall Street Journal — The new unit, to be capitalized with $56 million, would primarily offer loans, deposit accounts and prepaid cards to small businesses 

Real-Time Payments Gathering Steam For Workers — PYMNTS — Earnin – which facilitates real-time payroll payments – announced Dec. 20 that it has raised $125 million in equity financing. The Earnin app allows people to be paid “the minute they leave work,” and claims to serve employees working for 50,000 employers from all 50 states. 

Flux raises $7.5M Series A to bring its digital receipts platform to more banks and merchants — TechCrunch — Flux bridges the gap between the itemised receipt data captured by a merchant’s point-of-sale (POS) system and what little information typically shows up on your bank statement or mobile banking app. 

The Case for the 6-Hour Workday — Harvard Business Review — The key takeaway: "Organizations are spending big money on digital transformation, but they could reap an immediate, and far more cost-effective transformational benefit just by changing the way they work, instead of what they use to work." 

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