Gen Z embrace accounting, Big Tech’s hidden AI spend, and FASB’s debate on intangibles

Welcome to our weekly digest—a space to reflect on where the accounting profession is headed and how it’s evolving in real time. Each week, we bring you the latest accounting news, with a curated roundup of recent headlines, ideas, and innovations shaping the future of the industry.

From emerging technologies and shifting talent pipelines, to strategic mergers and evolving client expectations, the profession is in motion. Our goal is to surface stories that matter—whether you’re leading a firm, advising clients, or just ruminating about what comes next.

In last week’s issue, we covered the AICPA plan to centralize peer reviews for private-equity/APS firms, NASBA–AICPA’s exposure draft to modernize CPE standards, and FASB’s software cost capitalization update. This week, we cover Gen Z’s unexpected embrace of accounting as a career path, the hidden surge in Big Tech’s AI spending through finance leases, and FASB’s debate over how to recognize intangibles. Plus, we look at KPMG’s new AI Assurance services, major cross-border mergers at Grant Thornton and CRI, and fresh insights on ESG, workplace psychological safety, and tech change management.

Let's dive in.

🔍 Top headlines

Gen Z revives accounting as a promising career path

Long dismissed as one of America’s “boring” jobs, accounting is attracting new energy from Gen Z, just as the profession faces a historic shortage. We’ve covered the numbers before: 340,000 accountants have left in the past five years, and 75 percent of those remaining are expected to retire within a decade. But this latest trend signals that revitalization isn’t completely unlikely.

Gen Z is drawn to work that combines stability with purpose, and accounting is beginning to offer both. Programs like the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) show students the profession’s human side, helping low-income families secure nearly $11 million in refunds at California State University, Northridge, in 2024 alone. For many, the work feels less like number crunching and more like changing lives, from recovering lost Social Security benefits to putting thousands of dollars back in household pockets.

AI buildouts reveal hidden capex surge at Microsoft and Oracle

The race to build AI infrastructure is costing Big Tech hundreds of billions of dollars— and the true spend is even higher than it looks. Companies like Microsoft and Oracle are increasingly turning to finance leases, a tool that allows them to acquire data centers without the immediate free-cash-flow hit of traditional capital expenditures. Microsoft’s finance-lease liabilities jumped 70% in fiscal 2025 to $46.2 billion, while Oracle booked $4 billion in its latest quarter after reporting none a year earlier.

The accounting implications here are twofold: first, headline capital expenditure (capex) numbers no longer tell the full story, and second, lease accounting is becoming a critical lens for evaluating corporate financial health. Adding finance leases into the equation pushes Microsoft’s capex-to-sales ratio from 28% to 38% and Oracle’s from 41% to 58%. With Amazon and Meta also ramping up lease commitments, the intensity of AI investment and the accounting maneuvering behind it is reshaping balance sheets across the sector.

FASB weighs next steps on intangibles accounting

FASB is reviewing more than 40 comment letters on whether to update standards for intangibles with assets such as brand recognition, patents, and customer relationships. Under current guidance, most acquired intangibles are recognized as assets, while those developed internally are expensed, leaving a gap in how companies report the value drivers of a service- and technology-based economy.

Feedback during the public comment period was mixed. While many agreed that a single, principles-based standard isn’t workable, stakeholders suggested tailoring recognition to the type and stage of the intangible. The CFA Institute called intangibles one of accounting’s “hard problems,” urging a disclosure-first approach to give investors more visibility into unrecognized assets. Board members echoed that one-size-fits-all rules may not apply, signaling that any project would need to balance comparability with practical application. For firms, any shift could reshape reporting in areas where intangible value outweighs physical assets.

💻Technology & innovation

AI “workslop” is draining productivity

Generative AI is spreading fast in workplaces, but the payoff isn’t keeping up. A recent HBR piece highlights how tools meant to streamline tasks are instead fueling “workslop;” AI-generated output that looks polished but lacks substance, pushing the burden of fixing it onto colleagues. Nearly 40% of surveyed employees said they had to deal with workslop in the past month, estimating that approximately 15% of the content they handle at work falls into the category. The result? Lost time, eroded trust, and an invisible tax that can cost companies millions. Rather than indiscriminately push for AI, leaders need to set thoughtful guardrails, encourage purposeful use, and reinforce the technology as a tool to enhance instead of offloading real work.

The murky math behind AI startups’ ARR claims

Venture-backed AI startups are boasting astonishing revenue growth: $0 to $100 million ARR (annual recurring revenue) in a matter of months. But behind the hype lies some pretty fuzzy accounting. Once a trusted SaaS-era metric, ARR is now being stretched to include pilots, one-off contracts, or “booked ARR” based on future hopes rather than signed commitments … “vibe revenue,” as one VC put it.

For accountants, the red flags are familiar: inflated metrics, inconsistent definitions, and contracts with easy outs that undermine “recurring” claims. Experts suggest a shift toward alternative metrics such as retention, daily usage, and unit economics—better suited to AI’s unpredictable cost and churn dynamics. Until then, ARR risks becoming the dotcom-era “channel stuffing” of today’s AI boom.

KPMG rolls out AI assurance services

KPMG has launched a suite of AI Assurance offerings aimed at helping organizations scale generative AI responsibly. The services include model risk assessments, validation, and real-time systems testing, tools designed to evaluate accuracy, governance, and compliance with frameworks like SOC and FedRamp. By collaborating with partners such as Microsoft, KPMG is positioning itself at the intersection of audit and emerging tech, offering boards and executives clearer oversight of AI-driven operations. The move underscores how assurance is evolving beyond financial reporting to address ethical, regulatory, and operational risks tied to AI adoption, an area that could quickly become central to client trust and compliance strategies.

🧠Practice management

Accounting firms find opportunity in the ambiguity of ESG

ESG reporting is a moving target, shaped by shifting US politics, delayed EU rules, and new state-level mandates such as California’s climate disclosure laws. But a Moss Adams survey also shows just how central it’s become: 76% of ESG decision-makers now view reporting as a high priority, driven by compliance needs, investor pressure, and brand value.

Yet while uncertainty lingers, accounting firms are finding opportunity, too. Firms such as Baker Tilly, KPMG, and BDO are stepping in to design controls, validate data, and prepare clients for assurance—while also showing how sustainability initiatives can cut costs, unlock tax incentives, and open new markets. As one BDO leader noted, the real opportunity isn’t just compliance, but operational strategy: helping clients turn ESG efforts into profitability.

Survey highlights lack of psychological safety at work

A new report from Zety finds that emotional well-being remains a blind spot in many workplaces. Just 32% of employees rate their workplace as highly psychologically safe, while two-thirds say they’ve had to “mask” emotions to appear professional. Nearly one-third have also cried at work, often driven by burnout, heavy workloads, or lack of support. The stigma runs deep: 44% report being judged for expressing stress, and a quarter wouldn’t feel safe telling a manager if their mental health was suffering. For firms, the findings underscore a critical management challenge: addressing emotional safety not as a soft issue, but as a core factor in retention, productivity, and employee trust.

🏢 Firm news & mergers

Grant Thornton US acquires European sister firms

Grant Thornton US, backed by private equity firm New Mountain Capital, has struck deals to acquire member firms in France, Spain, and Belgium, representing about 6% of the global network’s revenue. The move strengthens the US arm’s push for full financial integration, offering multinational clients a seamless service model and providing new capital for technology investment. For the European firms, integration with the US business offers scale and resources.

The acquisitions mark another step in an escalating rivalry with Grant Thornton UK, which is pursuing its own PE-backed consolidation strategy through Cinven. With more deals expected, the split highlights how private equity is reshaping global accounting networks and raising the stakes for firms navigating cross-border growth.

CRI expands into San Antonio with WSM merger

Carr Riggs & Ingram (CRI), a top 100 firm with more than $500 million in revenue for the last fiscal year, is deepening its Texas footprint by merging with Williams Steinert Mask CPAs. The third-generation, family-owned practice has been a fixture in San Antonio for more than 60 years, serving clients across real estate, construction, nonprofits, and other sectors. The deal brings offices in San Antonio and Bulverde—along with three partners and their team—into CRI’s fold. Chairman Bill Carr called the move a cornerstone of the firm’s growth strategy in Texas. With this addition, CRI now operates in 38 markets across 12 states.

📅 Events, podcasts & webinars

WATCH

In the Know: ProAdvisor Academy updates

In this episode of In the Know, Jaclyn Anku walks through recent updates to ProAdvisor Academy that make it simpler to find and track the training you need. ProAdvisors can now register for webinars, conferences, and CPE-eligible events directly within the platform, with certificates automatically logged for easy access. Enhanced filters also help users quickly locate the right self-paced courses or live events, while past webinars are available on-demand within hours.

REGISTER

On the Books: A discussion on technology change management

In this episode of On the Books, Erin Hutton and Janelle Fox, former firm leaders now at Intuit, share lessons on navigating technology change during mergers and acquisitions. They dig into who owns software and data, how to transfer contracts, and how to prioritize tech decisions. The conversation also covers AI’s role, data cleanup, and simplifying firm tech stacks—practical guidance for any leader facing transition.

🗣️ Quote of the week

The future of accounting is unfolding every day, and it’s being shaped by professionals like you who are exploring new ideas, testing what works, and finding better ways to support clients. Whether you’re growing your skill set, expanding your services, or simply staying curious about what’s next, we hope this issue gives you a few useful sparks.

We’ll be back next week with more insights, trends, and tools to help you keep moving forward—one step, one win, and one update at a time.