Earn Free CPE: Progression or Extinction: AI’s Accounting Reckoning
Firms that depend on junior staff to do work that AI can now handle aren't just inefficient. They may not survive the decade.
That's the argument Richard Lynch, managing principal at Sikich, made when we sat down for episode 113 of the Earmark Podcast. And it's hard to poke holes in it.
The pyramid-shaped firm has worked for decades. Lots of staff at the bottom, fewer partners at the top. That model existed because junior roles did real work — and in doing that work, they learned. But AI is taking over the work. So if there's nothing left at the base, the pyramid becomes a diamond: fewer entry-level people, more in the middle, different expertise at every level.
That changes everything. How you hire. How you train. How you bill. How you measure whether someone is actually getting better at their job.
Richard and I dug into all of it on the pod. And now you can earn free CPE credit just for listening.
Register here: https://www.earmark.app/c/3402
Here's what else we covered:
The "super accountant" and what it actually means: AI isn't replacing accountants. It's compressing the learning curve. Professionals who adapt will do in an hour what used to take a week. Those who don't may find the market has already moved on.
Why the billable hour is on borrowed time: When AI does the work in minutes, billing by the hour stops making sense. We get into which metrics should replace it and why timesheets persist even when everyone knows they're broken.
Training without doing: Junior accountants used to learn by doing the work. If AI handles the work, how do you develop the next generation? This is the question keeping me up at night. There's no easy answer.
What the firm of 2030 actually looks like: Richard maps out who gets squeezed out in the transition, who thrives, and how leaders can get ahead of it rather than react to it.
Progression or extinction: Firms that wait to see how AI plays out may not get a second chance. Lynch says the time to act is now and shares what that looks like in practice at a firm like Sikich.
How to earn free CPE
Listen to episode 113 of the Earmark Podcast, take a short quiz, and get your CPE certificate.
Register here: https://www.earmark.app/c/3402
