In episode 189 of The Woodard Report Podcast, Joe Woodard and Heather Day discuss the Accrual and Puzzle acquisition, the growing accounting skills gap, AI governance, empathy, and what it means to work alongside technology without becoming overly dependent on it.
Current events
Heather opened with news that Accrual is acquiring Puzzle. She and Joe discussed what the acquisition could mean for the continued blending of tax and CAS and the broader consolidation happening across accounting technology.
Joe also shared a new initiative from four state CPA societies focused on measuring professional learning and practical skills. He and Heather discussed the larger challenge of preparing accounting professionals to review, advise, and exercise judgment as AI takes on more of the manual work traditionally used to build those skills.
Watch Episode 189 here
TV and movie quotes
Heather discussed a quote from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and connected it to persistence, innovation, and the willingness to move forward with an idea even when the market may not be ready for it yet.
Joe discussed a quote from Wonder Woman about what people do when they are faced with the truth. He connected it to the rapid changes surrounding AI and the need to recognize new realities rather than fall back on what feels familiar.
That led Heather and Joe into a broader discussion about AI safety, governance, and the importance of staying informed as the technology develops.
Excellent things learned
Heather shared something that stood out to her from Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead about the difference between empathy and sympathy. She explained that empathy is not about trying to fix someone’s situation, but being willing to understand it from their perspective and sit with them in it. “Empathy is feeling with people. It’s not feeling for people,” Heather said.
Joe shared the concepts of centaurs and reverse centaurs. A centaur is a person who uses technology to extend what they can do, while a reverse centaur is a person whose role primarily supports what the technology is trying to accomplish.
Two truths and a lie
Heather’s round focused on horses, including the structure of their legs, the evolution of their hooves, and where horses originally evolved. Joe’s round centered on Glacier National Park, its glaciers, grizzly bears, and the Continental Divide.
Their discussion also turned to the importance of actually taking time away from work. Joe talked about the discipline, boundaries, delegation, and trust required to disconnect from the business and take a real vacation.
Woodard Report article of the week
Heather highlighted Kara Kennedy’s article, 10 Ways Your Writing May Look AI-Generated. She and Joe discussed the difference between using AI to support your own ideas and allowing the technology to do the thinking and writing for you. They also talked about ways to preserve your own voice, including starting with transcripts, dictated thoughts, or an original draft before using AI to help structure the content.
Listen to the full episode and subscribe to The Woodard Report Podcast
🎧 Listen to the full episode at woodard.com/podcast.
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This article was written with the assistance of AI and edited by a human.
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