In the News: May 18, 2026

This week’s news is packed with AI announcements, IRS updates, audit standard changes, and practical firm growth insights. From Canopy’s new AI coworker to Xero’s custom agent builder and the AICPA’s latest guidance priorities, the profession continues to move quickly toward more connected, automated, and advisory driven workflows.

What’s Happening at Woodard

Marketing Your Accounting Firm in the Age of AI (The Woodard Report)

As AI-generated content floods every channel, Micky Deming argues that accounting firms need to become more focused, human, and consistent in their marketing. The article highlights shifts in buyer behavior, including declining organic traffic and increased AI referral traffic, and encourages firms to define their communities, show up with a real human voice, and build trust through clear expertise rather than generic content. Read more…

Strange New World, Smarter Decisions (The Woodard Report Podcast)

In episode 171 of The Woodard Report Podcast, Joe Woodard and Heather Satterley discuss changes in payments, pricing, AI, process discipline, and firm leadership. The conversation includes Intuit’s FedNow certification, Digits’ outcome based pricing model, and how firms should think about AI as work performed rather than just software purchased. Read more…

IRS & Regulatory Updates

IRS announces terms of a time-limited settlement opportunity for eligible taxpayers involved in conservation easement disputes (IRS.gov)

This offer applies to certain partnerships and provides a 90-day window with a 10% gross valuation misstatement penalty, followed by a 45-day period with a 20% penalty. The IRS says the initiative is intended to resolve cases more efficiently while continuing enforcement against abusive syndicated easement transactions. Read more…

AICPA submits nearly 200 recommendations for IRS guidance plan (Journal of Accountancy)

The AICPA submitted 193 recommendations to the IRS for its 2026 to 2027 Priority Guidance Plan. The letter covered the following areas: corporations and shareholders; employee benefits; exempt organizations; individual and self-employed; international; IRS advocacy and relations; partnerships; S corporations; tax methods and periods; and trust, estate, and gift tax. Read more…

Taxpayers advised they can ignore CP53E notice — after verifying error (Journal of Accountancy)

The Taxpayer Advocate Service says taxpayers who are not due a refund but received a CP53E notice may ignore it after confirming through their IRS online account that it was sent in error. The notice, created as part of the transition from paper checks to electronic refunds, asks taxpayers to update bank account information for direct deposit. Read more…

Audit & Standards

AICPA updates audit confirmation standard (Accounting Today)

The AICPA has approved a new Statement on Auditing Standards on external confirmations, modernizing how auditors obtain audit evidence. The update introduces a requirement to use external confirmation procedures for cash and cash equivalents held by third parties unless certain conditions exist, reflects the increased use of intermediaries, and adds conditions for negative confirmations. Read more…

AICPA Updates Standards Involving Audit Confirmations (AICPA & CIMA)

The AICPA’s release provides additional detail on the new audit confirmation standard, including guidance on directly accessing information maintained by a knowledgeable external source as a way to satisfy confirmation requirements. AICPA Chief Auditor Jen Burns said the updates are designed to strengthen external confirmations in a more digital and intermediary driven environment. Read more…

Technology & AI

Tech news: CLA launches CLA One Digital service (Accounting Today)

Accounting Today’s tech roundup includes several major AI and digital workflow announcements. CLA launched CLA One Digital, a unified digital services offering covering AI and automation, analytics, cybersecurity, software modernization, change management, governance, skill building, and strategic consulting. Xero debuted XeroForce, an invitation only alpha custom AI agent builder that lets small businesses and accountants create agents using natural language across Xero and third party tools. Emburse also announced an AI agent that analyzes transactions, receipts, and itineraries to prepare compliant expense reports ready for review. Read more…

Intuit Unlocks New Phase of Growth for Mid-Market Businesses, Combining Data and AI to Drive Faster, More Profitable Decisions (Intuit)

Intuit announced several enhancements to Intuit Enterprise Suite, positioning it as a command center for mid-market businesses. The updates deliver AI-powered real-time insights, automate complex financial management processes, and integrate Human Capital Management operations and money transactions in one place so businesses can save time and make faster, more profitable decisions. Read more…

Canopy Introduces AI Coworker for Firms (The Woodard Report)

 

Canopy has introduced Canopy Coworker, an AI capability designed to coordinate work, monitor stalled tasks, and automate routine follow ups inside the Canopy practice management platform. Canopy describes the tool as an execution layer rather than a traditional chatbot, signaling another step toward embedded AI that helps manage firm workflows rather than simply generate suggestions. Read more…

Practice Growth & Opportunities

Submissions now open for the 2026 VAR 100 (Accounting Today)

Accounting Today is now accepting submissions for its annual VAR 100 Survey, which ranks top value-added resellers in the accounting technology space and explores the issues affecting them. Read more…

This week’s stories show how quickly the profession is shifting from individual tool adoption to broader ecosystem change. AI is becoming part of firm execution, mid-market platforms are adding more intelligence, audit standards are adapting to digital evidence, and tax guidance continues to demand close attention. For practice leaders, the opportunity is not just to keep up, but to make smarter decisions about which changes deserve action now.

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