Tax season is over. The real work is just beginning.

In this episode, Paul Peterson and Matt Barbieri pull back the curtain on what actually happens inside an accounting firm during busy season, and why, despite billions spent on software and a wave of AI optimism, this year was harder than the last. They get honest about the hidden costs of AI adoption, why offshoring is a band-aid not a fix, and why the most valuable thing an accountant holds isn't a tax return, it's context.

https://paulpetersonwiss.substack.com/p/title-why-does-accounting-have-to

After 25 years in the trenches together, Paul and Matt get candid about something most firm leaders won't say out loud: accounting has been a soul-crushing profession, and it didn't have to be. Sparked by a piece Paul wrote on the industry's broken culture, this episode unpacks why talented, hardworking accountants have spent careers feeling like they're failing, even when they're not. From the 340,000 accountants who left during COVID to the structural silos that still define most firms today, Paul and Matt trace the roots of the equilibrium problem, too much complexity, too little tooling, and a culture that rewards knowledge hoarding over collaboration. Then they turn to what's changing: why AI won't replace accountants but will finally give them the tools to match their ambition, why context and judgment will become the profession's highest-value currency, and why Wiss is betting big on a different kind of future. This one hits different.

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ttps://paulpetersonwiss.substack.com/p/title-why-does-accounting-have-to

In this solo episode, Wiss CEO Paul Peterson gets candid about a question he recently put in writing: why does accounting sometimes feel soulless? Paul draws on real responses from accounting professionals and sobering industry stats to make the case that the profession has a deeper problem than a talent shortage.

Using the Tribal Leadership framework, Paul walks through the five stages of organizational culture and challenges accounting leaders to honestly assess where they stand, and why getting to Stage Four isn't just a culture play, it's a prerequisite for successful AI adoption. He also speaks directly to the people living through the transition right now: doing their jobs the old way while simultaneously piloting new AI tools.

This one's a rallying cry for anyone who got into accounting because they wanted to make a difference and is still waiting for the profession to catch up.

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https://paulpetersonwiss.substack.com/p/title-why-does-accounting-have-to

Paul Peterson and Matt Barbieri break down the costly mistake venture-backed founders keep making — hiring a CFO before the fundamentals are in place, then watching the org chart balloon from the top down.

This week, Paul Peterson and Matt Barbieri break down two buzzworthy a16z articles asking the questions everyone in finance is thinking: will AI kill Excel? And what happens to your ERP?

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AI tools are advancing fast, but is your accounting team actually ready to use them? In this episode, Paul Peterson and Matt Barbieri dig into one of the most overlooked obstacles to successful AI adoption: tribal knowledge. Those undocumented, person-dependent workflows that live in people's heads (and endless Excel files) can make or break an AI implementation. They discuss why switching to an AI-native accounting stack isn't enough on its own, how to identify and address the real pain points before bringing in new tools, and what the "see it, fix it" approach looks like in practice. They also share an honest take on how they're using Claude and other LLMs day-to-day, and why every accountant should be experimenting right now.

Is your firm ready for what's next? Visit wiss.com to explore how Wiss is helping accounting teams cut through the complexity and build an AI strategy that actually works.

Everyone's asking how to implement AI. That's the wrong question.

In Episode 1 of This Week in Accounting AI, Paul Peterson and Matt Barbieri get into what's really behind the gap between AI adoption and AI results. Matt shares what he's hearing directly from CFOs — companies that have the tools in place but aren't moving the needle. The culprit? Not the software. It's what the software is sitting on top of. Broken workflows, fragmented data, legacy systems duct-taped together. AI doesn't fix bad architecture. It amplifies it.

The unsexy truth: before you pick a vendor, you need to run an inventory.

Ready to start asking the right questions? Visit wiss.com to see how Wiss is helping companies build the foundation AI actually needs to work.

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