Why the accounting talent crunch could get ugly fast.

Hope you enjoyed Labor Day! We took Monday off too. The good news? You’re getting back-to-back newsletters this week. Your inbox missed us. Probably.

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.

Today’s Ledger:

• Accountants are working past 65.

• Scammers are stealing tax firms’ filing IDs.

• America is hammering AI tools.

WTF of the Day🤯

Accountants Aren’t Retiring

Nearly 1 in 7 bookkeeping and accounting clerks in America is 65 or older. That is almost double the rate across the overall workforce. In San Francisco, it gets even crazier. Nearly 1 in 4 bookkeeping and accounting clerks is past 65.

And this matters for one big reason. A lot of accounting knowledge is sitting with people who may leave the workforce soon. There are still 317,000 accountants, auditors, and bookkeeping clerks age 65 or older working today. So the talent shortage might not just get worse. It could get worse fast.

Read the article

What’s poppin in accounting🍿

Scammers Are Stealing Tax Firms’ Filing IDs

Here’s the scam. A fraudster tricks a tax firm into handing over its EFIN, which is basically the firm’s ID for filing returns with the IRS. Sometimes it happens through fake emails that look like they came from tax software companies. Other times it comes from hacked accounts or stolen firm data. Once scammers have the EFIN plus taxpayer info, they can file fake returns that look like they came from a real preparer.

A new bipartisan bill wants to close that hole. Tax software would have to check the EFIN with the IRS before a return can be filed. If the number is stolen, revoked, or no longer valid, the return gets blocked. Pretty simple idea. Make sure the tax firm is actually the tax firm before the IRS accepts the return.

Read the article

Weekly Trend Chart 📊

America Is Addicted to AI

Americans made 26.9 billion visits to AI tool websites in 2025. That is more than India, Brazil, and Germany combined. And the gap is huge. The U.S. made up 21% of all AI website traffic worldwide, while India came in second with 12 billion visits.

But here is the weird part. China ranked just 15th. That does not mean China is ignoring AI. This data only counts website visits, not app usage, and a lot of China’s AI activity happens inside mobile apps. So the real takeaway is not that America uses all the AI. It is that Americans are clicking into AI tools at a ridiculous rate.

Meme of the Day😂

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