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AICPA says firms need clearer guidance on SALT (1)
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I share the 4-5 most important accounting that actually matter. I scroll so you don’t have to.
So grab your coffee, take a quick break, and lets catch up.
Number of the day, 100,000.
That's how many dollars it reportedly cost to get one ticket to the Met Gala. Meanwhile, the price of a table was $350,000, or as attendees call it, half a facelift.
Today’s Ledger:
The Big Four are hiring more AI specialists than auditors.
A missed Form 8621 can keep a client’s return exposed for years.
Everest is getting more expensive, more crowded, and still breaking records.
WTF of the Day🤯
The Big Four Are Hiring For A Different Kind Of Accountant
The Big Four are still accounting firms, but their job boards are starting to tell a different story. Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC posted more AI-related jobs than traditional audit jobs in 2026, Nearly 7% of their postings asked for AI expertise, up from less than 2% in 2022. Audit roles were just under 3% of postings last year. One firm said a single listing can sometimes cover multiple openings, but the direction is still pretty clear.
This matters because the Big Four have always run on a pyramid model. Lots of junior people do the early work, then managers and partners review, package, and sell it. AI threatens that setup because it can handle parts of the work young accountants and consultants used to learn on.
That does not mean accountants disappear tomorrow. It means the entry-level ladder is getting rebuilt while people are still climbing it.
What’s poppin in accounting🍿
Missing Form 8621 Can Keep The Whole Return Open
Some U.S. taxpayers own foreign investments like non-U.S. mutual funds or foreign ETFs. Those can be treated as PFICs, which means they often require Form 8621.
If a client was supposed to file Form 8621 and didn’t, the IRS may get extra time to audit that return. In some cases, the statute of limitations may stay open until the missing form is filed.
This is easy to miss because clients don’t know what a PFIC is, statements don’t always label it clearly, and there may be a filing requirement even if nothing was sold. The practical takeaway, firms need to ask better questions about foreign investments before filing. Otherwise one hidden foreign fund can turn into years of cleanup.
$992 Billion in Art Could Change Hands. Why Are These 71,105 Investors Paying Close Attention?
Deloitte ran the numbers. They project UHNW art and collectibles wealth -- already at $2.5 trillion -- to hit $3.47 trillion by 2030.
The institutional world has been quietly preparing for this. Back in 2011, 25% of wealth managers surveyed offered art-related services. In 2024, 51%. Family offices now average a 13.4% allocation to art and collectibles. And it’s not just because they love art. It’s because they like the math.
These positions were built over decades through private dealer relationships most investors never had. The access just wasn't there.
Masterworks is changing that:
71,000+ investors
$1.3B deployed across 525+ artworks
29 closed sales
Net annualized returns like 16.5%, 17.6%, and 17.8%, not including those unsold.
Investing involves risk. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. See important disclosures at masterworks.com/cd.
Weekly Trend Chart 📊
Everest Has a Traffic Problem
Kami Rita Sherpa just did something no one else has ever done. The 56-year-old Nepali guide reached the top of Mount Everest for the 32nd time, breaking the record he already owned. These are absurd numbers when you remember Everest is 29,032 feet tall and still one of the hardest places on earth to survive.
The bigger story is that Everest is having one of its busiest seasons ever. Nepal raised the spring climbing permit from $11,000 to $15,000 last year, but that did not slow demand. The government still issued a record 492 permits for the March to May season, which has revived the old concern about overcrowding near the summit. There were an estimated 846 successful Everest summits last year including guides and support climbers.
That is still close to record territory, though deaths fell to four, down from 11 in 2019. So Everest is getting more expensive, more crowded, and somehow still pulling in more people who want to stand on top of the world.
Meme of the Day😂
Hope ya’ll had LOTS of CAKE!