Show Notes
Can one accountant really do tax prep five times faster with AI? Blake and David talk with Sam Leon, founder of The Millennial CPA, about how he uses Claude projects to turn client documents into tax workpapers, speed up review, and run a solo firm built around software. They also dig into where AI still falls short, why review remains the bottleneck, and what firms can realistically automate today.
Sponsors Digits - http://accountingpodcast.promo/digits The Value Builder System - http://accountingpodcast.promo/value OnPay - http://accountingpodcast.promo/onpay Cloud Accountant Staffing - http://accountingpodcast.promo/cas
Chapters (00:00) - Autonomous AI Reality Check
(00:11) - Show Welcome and Interview Tease
(00:55) - Sponsor Spotlight Digits
(02:34) - Trump IRS Deal Dismissed
(05:20) - California Billionaire Tax Fight
(07:35) - New York Pied a Terre Tax
(09:29) - Sponsor Spotlight Value Builder System
(11:18) - Xero CEO Pay and Stock Sale
(16:39) - Verification Tax and AI Jobs
(22:06) - Sponsor Spotlight OnPay
(23:21) - 1948 IBM Accounting Machine Lesson
(29:56) - Sponsor Spotlight Cloud Accountant Staffing
(31:07) - Meet Sam Leon Millennial CPA
(32:01) - Solo Firm Vision
(33:15) - From Big Firms to Millennial CPA
(35:42) - Why AI Agents Weren’t Ready
(37:19) - Automating Tax Prep Workflow
(40:33) - Smart Intake for Better Scoping
(43:06) - End to End Return Automation
(46:04) - AI Workpapers and Review
(49:38) - Claude Setup and Time Savings
(58:18) - Tech Spend and Pricing Strategy
(01:02:52) - Building TaxWeave Platform
(01:06:21) - Wrap Up and CPE Info
Show Notes Judge Smacks Down Trump's IRS Settlement And Orders Sanctions https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/13/politics/trump-irs-judge-ruling-settlement-sanctions Instead of Uniting the Left, California's Billionaire Tax Measure Has Split Democratic Allies https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2026/07/08/instead-of-uniting-the-left-californias-billionaire-tax-measure-has-split-democratic-allies/186379/ NYC lawyers slam pied-a-terre tax as a half-baked money grab https://www.audacy.com/1010wins/news/local/nyc-lawyers-slam-pied-a-terre-tax-as-a-half-baked-money-grab A 1948 IBM computer with no memory at all, fed by punchcards, was still doing the accounting at a Texas filtration company as recently as 2020 https://scienceblog.com/t-1948-ibm-402-punchcards-sparkler-filters-accounting-2020/ Time saved by AI partially canceled out by time spent checking AI https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/time-saved-by-ai-partially-cancelled-out-by-time-spent-checking-ai Research Suggests Jobs May be Safer at Companies that Embrace AI https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2026/07/07/research-suggests-jobs-may-be-safer-at-companies-that-embrace-ai/186281/ AI Is No Longer Just a Tech Occupation Story: It's Spreading Across Job Titles in the US and Europe https://www.hiringlab.org/2026/07/08/ai-is-no-longer-just-a-tech-occupation-story/ The 2026 Best Accounting Firms for Technology https://www.accountingtoday.com/list/the-2026-best-accounting-firms-for-technology
Need CPE? Get CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark: https://earmarkcpe.com Subscribe to the Earmark Podcast: https://podcast.earmarkcpe.com Meet Our Guest, Sam Leon, CPA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelaaronleon/ Website: https://www.millennialcpa.tax/ Website: https://www.taxweave.ai/ 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://cloudac
More from The Accounting Podcast
AI outperformed 12 CPAs on a month-end close benchmark, but that doesn’t mean it can replace them. Blake Oliver and David Leary unpack the study’s limits and why adding AI to existing workflows may not save time. They also explore survey findings that accounting budgets triple when businesses hit $1 million in revenue, plus why most firms are invisible in AI searches. Learn what these shifts mean for your firm’s processes, pricing, and marketing.
Could AI replace your CFO or simply make their job more exhausting? Blake and David debate automation’s limits, unpack an enrolled agent’s log of 188 IRS calls, and explore proposed reforms to taxpayer service. They also examine why AI is putting pressure on billable hours, gaps in AI safety audit requirements, and a romance scam victim’s $225,000 tax bill. Learn what these developments could mean for your firm, clients, and workload.
Will AI replace accountants—or finally ease the profession’s talent shortage? Blake and David unpack why AI-exposed accounting roles are seeing pay rise, not fall; how EY cut audit deficiencies from 28% to under 5%; and why firms must give AI agents limited access and auditable logins. They also explore the coming firm structure: fewer staff, more AI agents, and partners focused on judgment, review, and client relationships.
Could AI make a one-person audit firm possible—and what happens if the data-center boom slows down first? Blake and David examine the AI economy’s circular debt, the construction ripple effects of a pullback, and practical ways firms can document workflows before automating them. They also cover AI-powered continuous audits, Mercury’s new general ledger, and tax evasion headlines.
Is AI the real threat to accounting firms, or is it the client experience? Blake and David unpack a KPMG-linked Polymarket insider-trading investigation, AI-powered fraud, Xero’s influencer backlash, and a tax startup founder charged with defrauding investors. They also share their own experiments using Claude and ChatGPT to prepare tax returns, making the case that firms must eliminate frustrating back-and-forth if they want to keep clients.