What does episode 500 reveal about where accounting is headed? Blake Oliver and David Leary celebrate the milestone with CFO.com’s Adam Zaki and Going Concern’s Adrienne Gonzalez. They unpack AI’s pressure on billable hours, shrinking entry-level pathways, the changing route to CFO, and PwC’s canceled Disney intern event. Plus, Blake shares what happened after NASBA challenged his CPE comments.
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Chapters
- (00:00) -
- (00:20) - Episode 500 Kickoff
- (02:59) - Origin Story Live Chat
- (07:22) - Billable Hour Fading
- (13:36) - AI Knowledge vs Data Risk
- (16:21) - PwC Intern Disney Cut
- (24:31) - Pyramid to Diamond Firms
- (34:29) - CFO Pathway Disrupted
- (37:25) - AI Without Apprenticeship
- (38:55) - Would You Work for AI
- (39:47) - CFO Pipeline Shrinking
- (41:11) - Skipping Entry Level
- (43:15) - Simulations vs Real Work
- (45:05) - Metaverse Training Fail
- (47:35) - Crypto Fraud Irony
- (49:10) - Listener Milestones
- (51:58) - Billable Hour Debate
- (01:01:21) - AI Auditing Future
- (01:02:33) - NASBA Speech Clash
- (01:11:48) - Wrap Up and Thanks
Show Notes
CrossCountry Consulting's new co-CEOs say billable hour is 'waning'
https://www.cfo.com/news/crosscountry-consulting-new-co-ceo-amy-bjarnason-neil-smith-discuss-their-industrys-future/826266/
Diamonds May Be a Firm's Best Strategy: How AI Is Rewriting the Structure of Modern Practice
https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2026/08/05/diamonds-may-be-a-firms-best-strategy-how-ai-is-rewriting-the-structure-of-modern-practice/188060/
Teikametrics CFO Brian Beaupre says the career path he took is disappearing
https://www.cfo.com/news/teikametrics-cfo-brian-beaupre-says-the-career-path-he-took-is-disappearing-cfo-leadership-council-/824716/
The Age of Artificial Intelligence: Quinnipiac University Poll on AI
https://poll.qu.edu/poll-release?releaseid=3955
We Went to the Boot Camp Where KPMG Teaches Auditors to Think Critically
https://www.wsj.com/business/kpmg-summer-interns-auditing-ai-training-941ad5cc
In Case You Didn't Hear, PwC Interns Won't Be Swarming Disney World This Year
https://www.goingconcern.com/in-case-you-didnt-hear-pwc-interns-wont-be-swarming-disney-world-this-year/
Bitquery CEO Faces $5M Theft Claim, 194 Records Deleted
https://www.analyticsinsight.net/news/bitquery-ceo-faces-5m-theft-claim-194-records-deleted
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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
