In the News: September 4, 2026

There’s a lot going on in the accounting industry this week. This week’s In the News includes an IRS move that could affect tax-exempt status for private schools, Accrual’s acquisition of Puzzle, a look at the top 10 most secure jobs, and a new podcast on charging for value.

What’s happening at Woodard

Stop Selling Your Time: Start Selling Your Value (The Woodard Report Podcast)

In episode 186 of The Woodard Report Podcast, Heather Day is joined by Michelle Weinstein of The Abundant Accountant for a conversation about pricing, sales conversations, client value, and why many accounting professionals struggle to charge what their work is worth. They also discuss how firms can move away from transactional work and build stronger, more relationship-based client conversations. Read more...

September 15 Is Coming. Call Your Clients. (The Woodard Report)

Debra Kilsheimer shares a timely reminder about the value of proactive client communication ahead of the September 15 estimated tax payment deadline. This article looks at how regular conversations can help clients stay prepared and give accounting professionals better information for planning. Read more...

The 6-Pillar Foundation for Building a Powerful Firm (The Woodard Report)

Liz Farr outlines six foundational areas that can help accounting practices become more resilient and better positioned for growth. This framework focuses on building structure around the practice rather than relying on time alone to solve operational challenges. Read more...

How to Connect QBO to Claude, ChatGPT, and Codex (The Woodard Report)

Waseem Daher explains how a Model Context Protocol (MCP) connection can link QuickBooks Online (QBO) with AI tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, and Codex. This article walks through setup and examples while emphasizing the need to consider security, compliance, and data privacy before using these connections. Read more...

IRS and tax updates

Treasury, IRS Move to End Tax-Exempt Status for Discriminatory Practices in Private Schools (IRS)

Treasury and the IRS issued proposed regulations that would clarify when private schools could lose federal tax-exempt status for racial discrimination. The proposal would apply across admissions, scholarships, athletics, and other school programs, with final rules expected to apply to tax years beginning on or after May 31, 2027. It’s estimated that the proposal may affect as many as 18,000 private educational institutions. Read more...

Mergers and acquisitions

Accrual to Acquire Puzzle, Expanding Its AI Platform into Client Accounting Services (Business Wire)

Accrual has entered into an agreement to acquire Puzzle’s accounting-firm technology and business, expanding its AI platform into client accounting services. The transaction will bring Puzzle’s ledger and month-end close capabilities into Accrual’s broader platform for accounting practices. The press release states that Puzzle will continue serving startups and small businesses independently and that Puzzle founder and CEO Sasha Orloff will join Accrual. Read more...

Eftsure Acquires Relish for Enterprise Payments From Onboarding to Payment (CPA Practice Advisor)

Eftsure has acquired Relish, bringing vendor data validation, workflow automation, and invoice processing together. The combination is intended to strengthen payment controls while helping businesses manage vendor information and finance workflows across existing systems. Read more...

Technology updates

Expensify Launches Native Integration with Rillet, the AI-Native ERP (CPA Practice Advisor)

Expensify launched a native integration with Rillet that provides automatic two-way synchronization between the two platforms. Expense categories, tax rates, card transactions, reimbursements, and other information can move between the systems without relying on manual exports or CSV files. Read more...

Workplace and economy

U.S. Job Openings Edge Higher in Sign of Stable Labor Demand (CPA Practice Advisor)

U.S. job openings increased to 7.27 million in July, while layoffs declined, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The report points to a labor market where employers remain cautious about hiring but are also generally holding on to existing workers. Read more...

New Job Security Index Reveals Which Careers Feel Most Secure (CPA Practice Advisor)

A new Job Security Index from Zety found that jobs involving specialized knowledge, analysis, and technology tend to receive higher security ratings from workers. Accountants and auditors ranked among the top 10 occupations, with a job security score of 3.48 out of five. Read more...

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