What happens when Congress passes a $3.8 trillion deficit-increasing bill by just one vote while promising fiscal responsibility? Blake and David break down the "Big Beautiful Bill" and reveal who really benefits—spoiler alert: it's not the middle class or the national debt. They explore QuickBooks' aggressive new AI agents rollout with price hikes up to 17%, examine why Tesla's CPA CFO earned $139 million in one year, and uncover how tariff-stressed businesses are weaponizing invoice rejections to manage cash flow. You'll discover why the time-based billing model is fundamentally broken in accounting, learn about the emerging "Next 12" tier of accounting firms, and understand why partners work the most hours while achieving only 6.9/10 job satisfaction.

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• (00:44) - The Big Beautiful Bill Act Overview
• (03:13) - Public Perception and Survey Insights
• (04:51) - Tax Implications and Specific Provisions
• (19:24) - National Debt Concerns
• (29:35) - QuickBooks AI Agents and Price Increases
• (32:52) - AI and Automation in Accounting
• (33:52) - Intuit's Earnings and Stock Performance
• (34:53) - Price Increases for QuickBooks Products
• (36:53) - AI Agents and QuickBooks Plans
• (38:01) - Impact of AI on Accounting Apps
• (38:56) - Intuit Enterprise and Accountants' Role
• (39:28) - Reframe 2025 Conference
• (42:40) - Big Four Transparency and Work Hours
• (48:18) - Tariffs and Invoice Rejections
• (54:52) - Big Four vs. Next 12 Accounting Firms
• (01:00:48) - Conclusion and CPE Information

Show Notes

Do Americans Support Trump's 'Big, Beautiful' Budget Package? What Poll Found Before it Passed in House 

https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2025/05/22/do-americans-support-trumps-big-beautiful-budget-package-what-poll-found-before-it-passed-in-house/161567/

Tesla CFO earns staggering $139 million compensation package 

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/tesla-cfo-earns-staggering-139-million-compensation-package

Tesla Exec Receives Record Pay Package, Highest Paid CFO 

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/tesla-exec-receives-record-pay-package-highest-paid-cfo/491938

Tesla CFO Vaibhav Taneja draws record $139 million salary 

https://americanbazaaronline.com/2025/05/21/tesla-cfo-vaibhav-taneja-draws-record-139-million-salary-462881/

Big 4 Transparency - Awards Season 

https://big4transparency.beehiiv.com/p/big-4-transparency-awards-season

Tariffs & Trade Uncertainty Creates Invoice Rejections Surge 

https://procurementmag.com/news/tariffs-trade-uncertainty-creates-invoice-rejections-surge

Invoice rejection spike suggests tactic's use as tariff buffer, study says 

https://www.cfodive.com/news/invoice-rejection-spike-suggests-tactics-use-as-tariff-buffer-study-says/748528/

Art of Accounting: Analysis of Top 100 Firms data https://www.accountingtoday.com/opinion/art-of-accounting-analysis-of-top-100-firms-data

The corporate work week grows even longer 

https://www.cfo.com/news/the-corporate-work-week-grows-even-longer-survey-microsoft-reclaim-ai-/748628/

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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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