Grant Thornton to Acquire CBIZ & Trump Puts Immunity Over Blanche

Could Grant Thornton’s $5 billion CBIZ deal create a Big Five? Blake and David unpack the private-equity-backed combination, what it means for accounting firm ownership, and why controller talent is still hard to find. They also examine AI’s effect on finance judgment—and why nearly half of Gen Z workers say it makes them less intelligent—plus tariff refunds, audit scrutiny, and rising software prices. Sponsors Cloud Accountant Staffing - http://accountingpodcast.promo/cas OnPay - http://accountingpodcast.promo/onpay Thomson Reuters - http://accountingpodcast.promo/taxautomation Veltrix - http://accountingpodcast.promo/veltrix Chapters (00:00) - TAP 499 (02:17) - Livestream and CPE Plug (03:12) - Grant Thornton Buys CBIZ (04:35) - Stock Spike and Activists (09:06) - PE Strategy and IPO Exit (11:09) - Deal Size vs Big Four (13:21) - Trump Immunity and Nominee (16:39) - EY Hack Claim Explained (18:56) - Trump Deal Appeal Update (21:37) - Controller Hiring Crunch (23:21) - Senior Pay Flattening (26:24) - Corporate Hiring Demand (27:59) - AI Boosts Finance Judgment (29:38) - Claude Transforms Forecasting (30:43) - Gen Z AI Dependency Fears (34:32) - Xero Price Hike Backlash (36:45) - Lovable Connector Moat (40:38) - Agents Use Existing SaaS (45:29) - Tariff Refund Windfall (48:20) - NYC Pied-a-Terre Tax (51:44) - PwC UK Audit Failures (55:03) - Wrap Up and Episode 500 Show Notes Grant Thornton Advisors to acquire CBIZ in $5 billion transaction https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2026/07/29/grant-thornton-set-to-buy-cbiz-for-5-billion-become-5th-largest-firm-in-u-s/187542/ Accounting Firm CBIZ Urged by Activist Investor to Pursue M&A https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-07/accounting-firm-cbiz-urged-by-activist-investor-to-pursue-m-a Trump floats pulling Blanche's AG nomination until after GOP holdouts leave office https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/30/trump-blanche-ag-doj-cornyn-tillis.html Donald Trump's tax audit immunity remains in place as Blanche's path to confirmation is cleared https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/as-blanches-path-to-confirmation-is-cleared-trumps-tax-audit-immunity-remains-in-place-3858601/ Ernst & Young data breach claimed by ShinyHunters extortion gang https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/ernst-and-young-data-breach-claimed-by-shinyhunters-extortion-gang/ 2026 Corporate Finance & Accounting Talent Research Study https://controllerscouncil.org/2026-corporate-finance-accounting-talent-research-study/ Accounting's missing middle https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/accountings-missing-middle A third of companies look to increase finance and accounting hires https://www.cfo.com/news/companies-look-to-boost-hiring-pay-for-finance-and-accounting-staff-controllers-council-report/824667/ AI's top value for finance now lies in improving judgment, not efficiency https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/ai-top-value-finance-now-085159658.html Nearly Half of Gen Z Workers Say AI is Making Them Less Intelligent https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2026/05/19/nearly-half-of-gen-z-workers-say-ai-is-making-them-less-intelligent/183621/ Xero Announces U.S. Subscription Price Changes https://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/update/ Introducing the Lovable Xero connector: build on your Xero data, no code required https://devblog.xero.com/introducing-the-lovable-xero-connector-build-on-your-xero-data-no-code-required-386873b591bc We Peaked at 30 AI Agents. Now We're Coming Back Down to 20 https://www.saastr.com/we-peaked-at-30-ai-agents-now-were-coming-back-down-to-20-heres-what-consolidation-actually-looks-like-the-agents-011-live/ Amazon Got a $600 Million Tariff Refund, Some Going to Shoppers https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/30/amazon-trump-tariff-refunds.html NYC Extends Deadline for Pied-à-Terre Tax Exemption Applications to Sept. 18 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-01/nyc-extends-deadline-for-second-home-levy-exemption-requests Staten Island Homeowners Say They Fear for Safety After Names, Addresses Published on NYC Tax List https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2026/07/31/staten-island-homeowners-say-they-fear-for-safety-after-names-addresses-published-on-nyc-tax-list/187775/ PwC Fined $4.4 Million by UK Watchdog Over Babcock Audit Failures https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/uk-financial-watchdog-fines-pwc-4-4-million-over-babcock/ New York Governor Trolls LeBron James with Tax on Rumored NYC Home https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2026/07/31/new-york-governor-trolls-lebron-james-with-tax-on-rumored-nyc-home/187765/ Need CPE? Get CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark: https://earmarkcpe.com Subscribe to the Earmark Podcast: ...