This Week in Accounting AI

In this solo episode, Wiss CEO Paul Peterson gets candid about a question he recently put in writing: why does accounting sometimes feel soulless? Paul draws on real responses from accounting professionals and sobering industry stats to make the case that the profession has a deeper problem than a talent shortage. 340,000 people left the field during COVID CPA exam sittings hit a 20-year low in 2022 50% of accountants under 30 say they regret their career choice Using the Tribal Leadership framework, Paul walks through the five stages of organizational culture and challenges accounting leaders to honestly assess where they stand, and why getting to Stage Four isn't just a culture play, it's a prerequisite for successful AI adoption. He also speaks directly to the people living through the transition right now: doing their jobs the old way while simultaneously piloting new AI tools. This one's a rallying cry for anyone who got into accounting because they wanted to make a difference and is still waiting for the profession to catch up. Sources: https://paulpetersonwiss.substack.com/p/title-why-does-accounting-have-to https://www.triballeadership.net/

Paul Peterson and Matt Barbieri break down the costly mistake venture-backed founders keep making — hiring a CFO before the fundamentals are in place, then watching the org chart balloon from the top down. They unpack the traditional finance build, why it creates mismatched roles and bloated headcount, and why that model becomes even harder to unwind once a company is locked in. The conversation shifts to what a smarter alternative looks like: partnering with a co-sourcing firm that can scale up or down with the business, bring AI-powered workflows to the areas that matter most — AP, AR, revenue — and give your head of finance the tools and intelligence they need to operate as a true strategic partner, not a glorified bookkeeper.

This week, Paul Peterson and Matt Barbieri break down two buzzworthy a16z articles asking the questions everyone in finance is thinking: will AI kill Excel? And what happens to your ERP? Spoiler...neither is going anywhere. Instead, Paul and Matt make the case for an AI layer that works around your existing systems, eliminating the Excel workarounds that have quietly become your source of truth. Matt shares how he uses Claude in Excel daily, why even the most die-hard spreadsheet maven doesn't need to memorize formulas anymore, and how Wiss used AI to finally get HubSpot and their revenue data speaking the same language. The takeaway? Don't wait for your system of record to catch up. Find the pain, get a small win, and build from there, because every week you wait, a competitor isn't. Ready to find your small win? Visit wiss.com to learn how Wiss is helping companies cut through the noise and put AI to work where it matters most. Sources: Will AI Kill Spreadsheets? — a16z Speedrun Why the World Still Runs on SAP — Andreessen Horowitz a16z: The Hardest Enterprise Software, and the Greatest Opportunity in AI

AI tools are advancing fast, but is your accounting team actually ready to use them? In this episode, Paul Peterson and Matt Barbieri dig into one of the most overlooked obstacles to successful AI adoption: tribal knowledge. Those undocumented, person-dependent workflows that live in people's heads (and endless Excel files) can make or break an AI implementation. They discuss why switching to an AI-native accounting stack isn't enough on its own, how to identify and address the real pain points before bringing in new tools, and what the "see it, fix it" approach looks like in practice. They also share an honest take on how they're using Claude and other LLMs day-to-day, and why every accountant should be experimenting right now. Is your firm ready for what's next? Visit wiss.com to explore how Wiss is helping accounting teams cut through the complexity and build an AI strategy that actually works.

Everyone's asking how to implement AI. That's the wrong question. In Episode 1 of This Week in Accounting AI, Paul Peterson and Matt Barbieri get into what's really behind the gap between AI adoption and AI results. Matt shares what he's hearing directly from CFOs — companies that have the tools in place but aren't moving the needle. The culprit? Not the software. It's what the software is sitting on top of. Broken workflows, fragmented data, legacy systems duct-taped together. AI doesn't fix bad architecture. It amplifies it. The unsexy truth: before you pick a vendor, you need to run an inventory. Ready to start asking the right questions? Visit wiss.com to see how Wiss is helping companies build the foundation AI actually needs to work. Links: Citrini Research The AI Disruption: From Doomsday Destruction to Do-Nothing Bots!