The Accounting Podcast

$95 Million Missing—and Still a Clean Audit?

The Accounting Podcast

Show Notes

How does $95 million go missing at a bank—and still get a clean audit? Blake and David unpack the Evolve Bank/Synapse meltdown, what auditors missed, and how SOC reports fall short. Plus: the penny shortage pushing cash rounding at the register, the shocking stat that even 29% of partners don’t know partner pay, and the case for semiannual reporting. Walk away with practical takeaways for clients, staff, and your own firm.

Sponsors Cloud Accountant Staffing - http://accountingpodcast.promo/cas OnPay - http://accountingpodcast.promo/onpay

Chapters (00:44) - The Penny Shortage Crisis

(03:52) - Evolve Bank's $95 Million Scandal

(17:12) - Earmark CPE and Other Podcast Recommendations

(22:00) - Partner Salaries and Compensation Transparency

(28:27) - Data Breach at SAX Accounting Firm

(33:28) - Semi-Annual Reporting Debate

(36:25) - Debating Semi-Annual Reporting

(37:38) - Quarterly Reporting Games

(38:25) - LinkedIn Comment: The Case for Quarterly Reports

(39:11) - The Value of Financial Statements

(39:58) - Challenges in Modern Accounting

(46:57) - 2026 Accounting Predictions

(52:01) - AI's Impact on Bookkeeping

(01:09:08) - Closing Thoughts and Farewell

Show Notes

Square Enables Penny Rounding https://squareup.com/us/en/press/penny-rounding

CFPB Allocates $46 Million To Synapse/Evolve Victims In First-Ever Fintech Bailout https://fintechbusinessweekly.substack.com/p/cfpb-allocates-46-million-to-synapseevolve

The 2025 Accounting Today Salary Survey https://www.accountingtoday.com/list/the-2025-accounting-today-salary-survey

The Ultimate 2026 Accounting Salary Guide https://blog.workday.com/en-us/ultimate-2026-accounting-salary-guide.html

Deloitte's CTO: companies are spending 93% on tech and only 7% on people and that has to change https://fortune.com/2025/12/15/deloitte-cto-bill-briggs-what-really-scares-ceos-about-ai-human-resources/

Accounting firm waited 18 months to announce breach https://cybernews.com/security/sax-data-breach-quarter-million-exposed/

Should Public Companies Move to Semi-Annual Reporting? https://www.cpajournal.com/2025/12/19/should-public-companies-move-to-semi-annual-reporting/

United States Mint Hosts Historic Ceremonial Strike for Final Production of the Circulating One-Cent Coin https://www.usmint.gov/news/press-releases/united-states-mint-hosts-historic-ceremonial-strike-for-final-production-of-the-circulating-one-cent-coin

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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.

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Transcripts The full transcript for this episode is available by clicking on the Transcript tab at the top of this page

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