Is Working From Home Less Productive? & IRS Is (Finally) Going Paperless

Blake and David delve into the use of AI in detecting plagiarism in students' papers and its implications for the ongoing debate on AI's impact on employment. They also shed light on the increasing cost of audits and the alarming decline in audit quality. Shifting the focus to remote work, they analyze a study's findings on productivity and emphasize the importance of considering the nature of the work. The conversation takes a concerning turn as they address the shortage of accounting staff and the urgent need to address overwork and its detrimental effects. The episode wraps up with an intriguing discussion on the IRS's transition to paperless operations and recent incidents involving lost tax information. As a bonus, they share amusing anecdotes of fraudsters and a heartwarming story of an accountant being inducted into a water ski hall of fame. Sponsors LiveFlow - http://accountingpodcast.promo/liveflow Zoho - http://accountingpodcast.promo/zoho South Carolina Association of CPAs (SCACPA) - http://accountingpodcast.promo/SCACPA Chapters (00:04) - Preview: Where did Hunter Biden's income come from? (00:59) - Welcome to the show and a few quick AI stories (04:49) - Leaders split on whether AI will reduce or expand headcount (06:44) - The price of audits has doubled over the last 20 years (12:54) - Remote workers are less productive? (21:02) - The cost of forcing employees back to the office (29:07) - Less than 1% of accounting firms can find enough staff (34:58) - EY Oceania survey shows problems with work hours and culture at firm (40:12) - The IRS is going paperless? (45:37) - The IRS is losing track of tax info during shipments (47:05) - Some new details on the Hunter Biden story (48:58) - Tax preparer arrested after seeking over $124 million in phony tax credits (51:56) - A Chinese accountant stole the equivalent of $677,000 USD in an attempt to keep her boyfriend (54:30) - Blake reads some listener mail on ways to get the extra 30 hours required for a CPA license, and if getting a CPA license is the right choice (01:00:14) - How to reach David and Blake and subscribe to us on YouTube Need CPE? Subscribe to the Earmark Accounting Podcast: https://podcast.earmarkcpe.com Get CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark CPE: https://earmarkcpe Show Notes IRS loses track of tax info during shipments between processing centers | Accounting Today https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/irs-loses-track-of-tax-info-during-shipments-between-processing-centers Leaders split on whether AI will reduce or expand headcount | Accounting Today https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/leaders-split-on-whether-ai-will-reduce-or-expand-headcount Hunter Biden plea deal outlines tax and accounting problems | Accounting Today https://www.accountingtoday.com/articles/hunter-biden-plea-deal-outlines-tax-and-accounting-problems Less than 1% of accounting firms can find enough staff | Accounting Today https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/less-than-1-of-accounting-firms-can-find-enough-staff IRS will finally let most Americans file taxes online next year https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/3/23818531/irs-paperless-tax-filings-2024 Audit fees triple in 20 years | Accounting Today https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/audit-fees-triple-in-20-years We're now finding out the damaging results of the mandated return to the office–and it's worse than we thought https://fortune.com/2023/08/01/research-damaging-results-mandated-return-to-office-worse-than-we-thought-rto-remote-work-careers-leadership-gleb-tsipursky/ Students can use AI on applications, Arizona State law school says | Reuters https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/students-can-use-ai-applications-arizona-state-law-school-says-2023-07-28/ EY Finally Admits It Has Some Serious Culture and Overwork Problems After Someone Died at the Office https://www.goingconcern.com/ey-finally-admits-it-has-some-serious-culture-and-overwork-problems-after-someone-died-at-the-office/ JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon chides managers who work from home: ‘I don’t know how you can be a leader and not be completely accessible to your people’ https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jpmorgan-ceo-jamie-dimon-chides-184750015.html Get in Touch Thanks for listening and for the great reviews! 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