In the News - December 16, 2025

This just in: Woody the groundhog has officially nestled into his burrow for the long winter ahead. Please mark your calendar for February 2nd, when he’ll emerge to tell us how much you can save on your Scaling New Heights 2026 registration! 

In other news this week, we have a free webinar with Woodard’s own Shirley Koss to help you find calm during the year-end madness, more mergers and acquisitions, updates to QuickBooks Desktop, and exciting news from some technology partners. Read on to enjoy our top news picks for the week in accounting.

What’s Happening at Woodard

Free CPE Webinar 12/18/2025: Finding Calm in the Chaos: Leading with Clarity During Year-End Pressure (Woodard Webinar)

Year-end can amplify stress for firm owners and their teams. This live webinar focuses on practical strategies to stay grounded, make clear decisions, and lead with intention during one of the most demanding times of the year. Attendees will explore ways to reduce overwhelm, prioritize what matters most, and build habits that support resilience—not just in December, but year-round. Register now.

Holiday Generosity Without Turning Your Firm Into a Charity (Woodard Report)

Giving back can build trust and strengthen culture, but it can also create confusion if your boundaries aren’t clear. This article by Debra Kilsheimer offers a practical approach to year-end generosity that protects profitability while still serving people well. It covers how to choose a giving strategy that fits your firm, how to avoid discounting your services in ways that undermine value, and how to set clear expectations so generosity stays intentional rather than becoming the default. Read more…

Blake Oliver’s Blueprint for Modern Accounting Firms (Woodard Report Podcast)

In this podcast episode, Blake Oliver shares a framework for building firms that can thrive as client expectations and technology change. The conversation focuses on modern firm models, where advisory services fit, and how owners can rethink operations so growth doesn’t automatically mean more stress. It’s also a useful listen for leaders who want to align staffing and pricing decisions with how work is actually delivered today. Read more…

Technology News

Zoom brings its AI assistant to the web with access to free users (TechCrunch)

Zoom is expanding AI Companion access by adding a web experience and opening some capabilities to free users. The focus is on practical output—meeting summaries, action items, and insights—without requiring everyone to live inside the desktop app. For accounting firms, the release is one more sign that AI “assist” features are quickly becoming standard across the tools teams already use every day, raising the bar for internal policies on quality control and client confidentiality. Read more… 

What’s New in the QuickBooks Desktop December 2025 Release (Insightful Accountant) 

Intuit released a December update for QuickBooks Desktop Pro Plus, Premier Plus, and Enterprise (R18_45_1), continuing the steady flow of enhancements for desktop users. The article provides a quick overview and points readers to a deeper breakdown. If your firm still supports Desktop clients, this is a good reminder to set a consistent cadence for release notes, update management, and documentation—especially as year-end work ramps up. Read more… 

Double Raises $6.5M Series A (CPA Practice Advisor)

Double (formerly Keeper) announced a $6.5M Series A, signaling continued investor confidence in tools built for modern bookkeeping and accounting workflows. The funding announcement emphasizes product momentum and scale, which is worth noting for firms evaluating long-term vendor viability. If your team is standardizing on workflow tools, funding updates like this can be a useful input when assessing a provider’s runway and roadmap. Read more… 

Pilot Unveils Local Partner Program (CPA Practice Advisor)

Pilot introduced a local partner program to connect firms and advisors through a structured referral/partner framework. The launch reflects a broader trend: platforms want stronger channel relationships, and firms want clearer ways to expand service capacity without rebuilding everything internally. For practices exploring partner ecosystems, this is another model to watch—especially if you’re thinking about referral revenue, co-selling, or overflow capacity during busy seasons. Read more… 

Paychex Unveils Intelligent AI Solutions to Revolutionize Workforce Management (TMCnet)

Paychex announced new AI-focused capabilities positioned around workforce management, aiming to streamline employer tasks and improve decision support. For firms that offer payroll services or advise clients on HR systems, announcements like this matter because they influence what clients expect from “standard” tools—and what they may assume their accountant can interpret or oversee. As always, the practical question is how these features perform in real workflows and how vendors handle data privacy. Read more…

Mergers and Acquisitions

Doeren Mayhew Acquires TBK CPA in Houston (CPA Practice Advisor)

Doeren Mayhew is expanding in Texas through the acquisition of TBK CPA in Houston. The announcement underscores how firms continue to broaden geographic reach and add specialized talent through acquisition—especially in high-growth markets. For owners watching consolidation trends, it’s another example of how regional firms are building scale to compete on advisory depth, industry focus, and client experience. Read more… 

Baker Tilly to buy Berkowitz Pollack Brant (Accounting Today)

Baker Tilly plans to acquire Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs, expanding its footprint into South Florida and strengthening its East Coast presence. Accounting Today notes the firms’ scale and specialties, including BPB’s strength with real estate and high-net-worth clients and Baker Tilly’s continued acquisition momentum following private equity funding. It’s a reminder that the “Top 100” landscape is still shifting quickly, and firms at every level are being pulled into new competitive dynamics. Read more…

Other Interesting Things We Found

Is AI Really Transforming M&A — or Is It Just the Latest Hype? (Entrepreneur)

This piece explores where AI is genuinely changing M&A work versus where it’s being oversold. The practical takeaway: AI can speed research, pattern-finding, and document review, but it doesn’t remove the need for judgment—especially in due diligence, integration planning, and risk evaluation. For accounting professionals supporting transactions, it’s a timely reminder to treat AI as a tool for narrowing focus and improving consistency, not a replacement for experience. Read more…

Corporate Disclosure in the Age of AI (Harvard Business Review)

HBR makes the case that corporate disclosure risk has changed: AI can infer strategic insights from information that might have seemed harmless on its own. That raises the stakes for what companies share in routine communications, presentations, or operational updates—because the “combined picture” may reveal far more than intended. For accounting leaders, this connects directly to governance, audit committees, and how organizations document AI use, controls, and risk oversight. Read more…

If you see a headline we should include next week, send it our way. We’ll be back with another roundup soon as we track year-end changes, product updates, and firm moves that matter to your practice.

This article was written with the assistance of AI and edited by a human.