Footnote

Footnote

Independent reporting on how AI is reshaping accounting. Weekly. Honest. Tactical.

Is It Safe to Use AI With Client Data? An Honest Answer for Accountants

Aug 25, 2026

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6 min read

Is It Safe to Use AI With Client Data? An Honest Answer for Accountants

What the AICPA confidentiality rule, IRC 7216, and the FTC Safeguards Rule require before AI touches client data, and the controls that hold up.

Footnote Editorial
Footnote Editorial
Congress wants AI audited. The profession that invented the audit should read this bill.

Aug 25, 2026

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6 min read

Congress wants AI audited. The profession that invented the audit should read this bill.

The FRONTIER Act asks for independent audits of frontier AI. A CPA marked up the bill, the AICPA is circling, and the 1933 rhyme is loud.

Footnote Editorial
Footnote Editorial
The agents have started improvising. The people running them are talking.

Aug 21, 2026

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3 min read

The agents have started improvising. The people running them are talking.

Six practitioners tell Accounting Today what happens when agents act alone. The fixes they landed on all point the same direction.

Footnote Editorial
Footnote Editorial
The Big Four's audit failures just collapsed. The firms credit the machines.

Aug 18, 2026

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6 min read

The Big Four's audit failures just collapsed. The firms credit the machines.

The 2025 PCAOB inspections show Big Four deficiency rates collapsing. The firms credit AI. Three other explanations deserve airtime.

Footnote Editorial
Footnote Editorial
Executives trust AI with the annual report. Their own audits say the errors already got out.

Aug 14, 2026

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2 min read

Executives trust AI with the annual report. Their own audits say the errors already got out.

Workiva's new survey finds executives trusting unreviewed AI while their own audits catch errors reaching boards. The gap has a name.

Footnote Editorial
Footnote Editorial
Your next client will ask an AI to pick an accountant. What will it answer?

Aug 11, 2026

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5 min read

Your next client will ask an AI to pick an accountant. What will it answer?

Pew's data shows the click collapsing. What AI engines actually cite, and how a small firm stays findable when the answer eats the search page.

Footnote Editorial
Footnote Editorial
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