Record 401(k) hardship withdrawals rise

What do tariffs, war, AI agents, and a collapsed accounting startup have in common? This week, Blake and David connect the dots between rising economic pressure and rapid tech change. They break down the lopsided cost of drone warfare, small businesses getting crushed by tariffs, AI tools handling tax and bookkeeping tasks, and new details on Botkeeper’s collapse. You’ll hear what these shifts could mean for accountants, firms, and the future of the profession.

Sponsors
UNC - http://accountingpodcast.promo/unc
OnPay - http://accountingpodcast.promo/onpay
Cloud Accountant Staffing - http://accountingpodcast.promo/cas

• (01:27) - Sponsor Break UNC
• (02:46) - War Costs and Drones
• (08:58) - GPT 5.4 for Accountants
• (11:13) - AI Agent Files City Tax
• (15:23) - Claude Skill for Tax Prep
• (17:11) - Sponsor Break OnPay
• (18:55) - Gemini Makes Theme Music
• (22:33) - Uber CEO AI Clone
• (24:22) - Botkeeper Collapse Follow Up
• (31:13) - QuickBooks Integration Doubts
• (31:53) - Cloud Accountant Staffing Spot
• (32:59) - KPMG Earnings Leak Theory
• (37:23) - Zapier AI Guardrails
• (39:43) - 401k Hardship Withdrawals Rise
• (43:02) - Tariff Refunds and AI Lawsuits
• (46:27) - Trump v Trump IRS Lawsuit
• (48:43) - IRS Union Contract Termination
• (50:01) - Direct File Act Returns
• (51:56) - Meta 16B Tax Fight
• (54:33) - Trump Accounts Auto Enrollment
• (56:13) - Accounting Degrees Loan Limits
• (57:39) - CPE App and Sign Off

Show Notes

Iran's Drones Cost a Fraction of the U.S. Weapons Shooting Them Down 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/business/iran-drones-us-weapons-cost.html

Introducing GPT-5.4 

https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-5-4/

Breaking Up with TurboTax: How I Used Claude to File My Taxes for Free 

https://kachess.dev/taxes/ai/personal-finance/2026/02/27/breaking-up-with-turbotax.html

Show HN: Claude Skill to Do Your Taxes 

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47277164

Enrico Palmerino Explains Botkeeper's Fall 

https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/enrico-palmerino-explains-botkeepers-fall

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi Has an AI Clone 

https://www.fastcompany.com/91500087/uber-ceo-dara-khosrowshahi-has-an-ai-clone

KPMG-Audited Companies Are Trading Strangely on Polymarket 

https://eventwaves.substack.com/p/kpmg-audited-companies-are-trading

Zapier Updates: AI Guardrails & Governance Controls 

https://zapier.com/blog/february-2026-product-updates/

Record Numbers of Workers Are Raiding Their 401(k) Savings 

https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/retirement/401k-hardship-withdrawals-record-vanguard-2025

For Some Small Businesses, a Tariff Refund Isn't Worth the Pain of Pursuing It 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/small-businesses-tariff-refund-isnt-worth-pain-pursuing-it.html

Trump's IRS Lawsuit Offers Lessons on Privacy and Legal Process 

https://news.bloombergtax.com/tax-insights-and-commentary/trumps-irs-lawsuit-offers-lessons-on-privacy-and-legal-process

Democrats Unveil Bill to Resurrect Direct File 

https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/democrats-unveil-bill-to-resurrect-direct-file

I.R.S. Tactics Against Meta Open a New Front in the Corporate Tax Fight 

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/business/irs-meta-tax-ireland.html

IRS Should Open Trump Accounts for Eligible Children Automatically, AICPA Says 

https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2026/feb/irs-should-open-trump-accounts-for-eligible-children-automatically-aicpa-says/

NASBA Urges U.S. Department of Education to Restore "Professional" Status for Accounting Degrees

https://nasba.org/blog/2026/03/05/status-for-accounting-degrees/

Need CPE?

Get CPE for listening to podcasts with Earmark: https://earmarkcpe.com
Subscribe to the Earmark Podcast: https://podcast.earmarkcpe.com

Get in Touch

Thanks for listening and the great reviews! We appreciate you! Follow and tweet @BlakeTOliver and @DavidLeary. Find us on Facebook and Instagram. If you like what you hear, please do us a favor and write a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser. Call us and leave a voicemail; maybe we'll play it on the show. DIAL (202) 695-1040.

Sponsorships

Are you interested in sponsoring The Accounting Podcast? For details, read the prospectus.

Need Accounting Conference Info? 

Check out our new website - accountingconferences.com

Limited edition shirts, stickers, and other necessities

TeePublic Store: http://cloudacctpod.link/merch