Show Notes
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.
Sponsors UNC - http://accountingpodcast.promo/unc OnPay - http://accountingpodcast.promo/onpay Cloud Accountant Staffing - http://accountingpodcast.promo/cas
Chapters (01:27) - Sponsor Break UNC
(02:46) - War Costs and Drones
(08:58) - GPT 5.4 for Accountants
(11:13) - AI Agent Files City Tax
(15:23) - Claude Skill for Tax Prep
(17:11) - Sponsor Break OnPay
(18:55) - Gemini Makes Theme Music
(22:33) - Uber CEO AI Clone
(24:22) - Botkeeper Collapse Follow Up
(31:13) - QuickBooks Integration Doubts
(31:53) - Cloud Accountant Staffing Spot
(32:59) - KPMG Earnings Leak Theory
(37:23) - Zapier AI Guardrails
(39:43) - 401k Hardship Withdrawals Rise
(43:02) - Tariff Refunds and AI Lawsuits
(46:27) - Trump v Trump IRS Lawsuit
(48:43) - IRS Union Contract Termination
(50:01) - Direct File Act Returns
(51:56) - Meta 16B Tax Fight
(54:33) - Trump Accounts Auto Enrollment
(56:13) - Accounting Degrees Loan Limits
(57:39) - CPE App and Sign Off
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/ Need CPE? Get CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark: https://earmarkcpe.com Subscribe to the Earmark Podcast: https://podcast.earmarkcpe.com
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