The Tuesday Lowdown ⬇️

If you're new around here, every day I share the 4-5 best accounting insights I saw in the past 24 hours.

I scroll. so you don't have to.

💎 WTF of the Day

IRS Boosts Tax Certainty for Big Players

Brian Wade wasn’t a CPA, but he sure played one. The Pennsylvania “accountant” told more than 80 small business owners he’d handle their payroll and taxes. Instead, he disappeared with over $150,000.

Now he’s headed to state prison for up to 5 years. His victims? They’re fired up. One even showed up to court in orange , to match the jumpsuit Wade’s now wearing. Wade was never licensed. So even after all this, there’s no license to yank, no regulator to stop him from trying again somewhere else.

Source: FOX 

💎 What’s poppin in accounting

PCAOB Dodges Shutdown

The U.S. Senate just threw the PCAOB a lifeline. Lawmakers tried to shut down the audit watchdog and hand its powers to the SEC, but a budget rule blocked it. The Senate’s Parliamentarian said the change had nothing to do with taxes or spending, so it had to go.

That means the PCAOB is safe for now, but experts say the fight isn’t over. If the House keeps pushing, it’ll need 60 votes in the Senate, which isn’t likely. For now, your audit cop is still on the beat.

Source: CFO Dive

 📊 Weekly Trend Chart

Apple Might Buy Its Way Into AI

Apple's been falling behind in AI while rivals like Google and OpenAI sprint ahead. Now, it’s reportedly eyeing Perplexity, a red hot AI search startup with 780 million queries last month, as a shortcut to catch up.

Why now? Apple’s $20 billion search deal with Google (yes, Google pays Apple billions to be the default search engine on Safari) is under fire in an antitrust case. If that deal dies, Apple loses a massive cash stream and its fallback plan (Siri) isn’t cutting it. Perplexity could be its shot at staying in the game.

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