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.SponsorsCloud Accountant Staffing - http://accountingpodcast.promo/casOnPay - http://accountingpodcast.promo/onpayThomson Reuters - http://accountingpodcast.promo/taxautomationVeltrix - http://accountingpodcast.promo/veltrixChapters(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 NotesGrant Thornton Advisors to acquire CBIZ in $5 billion transactionhttps://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&Ahttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-07/accounting-firm-cbiz-urged-by-activist-investor-to-pursue-m-aTrump floats pulling Blanche's AG nomination until after GOP holdouts leave officehttps://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/30/trump-blanche-ag-doj-cornyn-tillis.htmlDonald Trump's tax audit immunity remains in place as Blanche's path to confirmation is clearedhttps://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 ganghttps://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/ernst-and-young-data-breach-claimed-by-shinyhunters-extortion-gang/2026 Corporate Finance & Accounting Talent Research Studyhttps://controllerscouncil.org/2026-corporate-finance-accounting-talent-research-study/Accounting's missing middlehttps://www.accountingtoday.com/news/accountings-missing-middleA third of companies look to increase finance and accounting hireshttps://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 efficiencyhttps://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/ai-top-value-finance-now-085159658.htmlNearly Half of Gen Z Workers Say AI is Making Them Less Intelligenthttps://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 Changeshttps://www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans/update/Introducing the Lovable Xero connector: build on your Xero data, no code requiredhttps://devblog.xero.com/introducing-the-lovable-xero-connector-build-on-your-xero-data-no-code-required-386873b591bcWe Peaked at 30 AI Agents. Now We're Coming Back Down to 20https://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 Shoppershttps://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/30/amazon-trump-tariff-refunds.htmlNYC Extends Deadline for Pied-à-Terre Tax Exemption Applications to Sept. 18https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-01/nyc-extends-deadline-for-second-home-levy-exemption-requestsStaten Island Homeowners Say They Fear for Safety After Names, Addresses Published on NYC Tax Listhttps://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 Failureshttps://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/uk-financial-watchdog-fines-pwc-4-4-million-over-babcock/New York Governor Trolls LeBron James with Tax on Rumored NYC Homehttps://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.comSubscribe to the Earmark Podcast: ...