Author: Michael Kraten
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Concerned That A.I. Will Destroy Your Accounting Career? Establish Your Future In The Profession’s One (Obvious) Area Of Job Growth
Last week, at TXCPA Houston’s annual Fall Accounting Conference & Technology Symposium (F.A.C.T.S.), speaker after speaker addressed the future prospects of A.I. Although much of the content was optimistic in tone, an undercurrent of concern permeated the presentations. Why? It’s likely that A.I. applications will soon be capable of performing many current human functions in…
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For Sustainability Accountants, New Entities Step Forward As The Federal Government Steps Back
Sustainability accountants may have been worried when the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) permanently withdrew its climate change (carbon emissions) reporting requirements. What would they do? Were their jobs in jeopardy? Apparently, their employment prospects weren’t bleak after all. Last month, the private sector stepped into the void with the launch of the Task…
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Worried About AI Hallucinations? You May Need To Add AI Sycophancy To Your List Of Concerns
Many AI users are now familiar with hallucination risk. A recent article, appearing on the web site of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, explained that: “AI hallucination is a phenomenon where AI generates a convincing, contextually coherent but entirely fabricated response that is independent of the user’s input or previous context. Therefore, although the…
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Public Accounting Firms: The Impact Of Alternative Practice Structures On The Career Paths Of Young Professionals
Many sources are reporting that the Graduating Class of 2025 is confronting an uncertain employment outlook in the public accounting sector. Some sources are noting, for instance, that firms are expanding their use of AI to complete tasks that were previously assigned to entry level staff accountants. There are other explanatory factors, though, that may…
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Storm Flooding Catastrophes: Assessing A Region’s Response Capability
Two weeks ago, a storm flood surged through the Hill Country of central Texas, inflicting more than one hundred fatalities. Last year, Hurricane Helene caused a similar level of damage in North Carolina and other southeastern U.S. communities. Neither of these events, though, matched the destructive power of Hurricane Katrina in 2005; striking New Orleans…
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A.I. Queries, Implicit Variation, and the Practice of Due Professional Care
Are you aware that your A.I. queries provide documentary evidence of your practice of “due professional care” in researching business information? If you utilize an electronic platform with A.I. technology to search for business data, you could be held legally responsible for relying on inappropriate information that is generated by flawed queries. Let’s review an…
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The Perrier Mineral Water Violation: Sustainability Enters The Business Mainstream
Last month, the French government accused Nestle of a serious legal violation. Although the firm has always advertised its Perrier mineral water brand as one that represents “natural” water, the government charged that Nestle actually disinfects and processes the water before bottling it. Thus, according to French law, it isn’t “natural” at all, and must…
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The Implications Of “Peak Shale”
During the past fifteen years, technological advancements in extracting crude oil from shale rock have propelled the United States into the unfamiliar role of the world’s top oil producer. Recently, though, representatives at several leading fossil fuel companies predicted that American oil production is peaking and will soon decline. The causal factors that they cited…
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End-To-End Supply Chain Management Systems: Have A Cup Of Coffee!
How has life changed for organizations in this era of tariff-induced supply shortages? For starters, it’s more important than ever to prioritize the risk that running out of a single critical part can halt an entire production process. As a result, holistic and comprehensive end-to-end supply chain management systems are soaring in popularity. Enterprise Resource…
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Entrepreneurial Capital: A Very Old Sector Produces New Options
Are you an entrepreneur in need of capital? You may have been focusing on private equity, venture capital, and other alternative investment sources. Next year, however, an unexpected sector may present you with new opportunities. It’s the Stock Exchange sector, a source of capital that has existed for centuries. Operating under the TXSE acronym, the…
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AI On The Road: Driverless Freight Trucks To Begin Cruising Interstate Highway This Month
Since Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems seized the spotlight with the initial release of ChatGPT in November 2022, business analysts have been waiting for the technology to be placed in widespread use in major economic sectors. The outcome metrics from such case applications are required to assess the financial implications of the technology on sales, cost,…
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United Airlines’ Scenario-Based Investor Guidance Isn’t Worrisome At All
United Airlines is drawing attention over its recent decision to release two different sets of investor guidance. Some commentators are correctly noting that two sets of guidance is a “novel” occurrence. Usually, companies release one set of guidance that reflects its assumptions about the economy’s probable future path. Alternatively, on rare occasions, companies may decline to…
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A Plastics Power Hour
Many thanks to Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) graduate student Shiyuan Liao for an objective and sobering webinar presentation about the uses and risks of plastics in our supply chains and product lines. The webinar was sponsored by SolPods, a nonprofit student-focused community in the sustainability field, and introduced by its Co-Founder…
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Staying Focused On Regulatory Risk
What is the greatest short term threat to financial profitability? For many organizations, the obvious answer is now “protective tariffs.” That’s a reasonable reply, but regulatory risk may represent a potentially greater long term threat to corporate performance. Earlier this week, for instance, Chevron lost an environmental lawsuit and was ordered to spend three quarters…
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The Trump Tariff System And The Role Of Sustainability Accounting
A few hours ago, President Donald Trump issued his long-awaited announcement regarding a new tariff system for imports into the United States. The system includes an emphasis on “non-monetary barriers” that compel the U.S. federal government to assess higher tariff rates against certain countries. The three examples of “non-monetary” barriers that Trump emphasized were currency…
Save The Blue Frog 