News

All five of Connecticut’s congressional delegates this week signed on as sponsors of the Taxpayer Data Protection Act, which aims to prevent unauthorized access to taxpayer information housed within the US Treasury Department.

As the busy season ramps up, the risk of cyberattacks increases. Cybercriminals know that heightened workloads, tight deadlines and the influx of client communications create opportunities for exploitation. Whether through phishing emails, intercepted networks or fraudulent disbursement requests, the stakes for CPAs and their clients are high.

With the rising popularity of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and its potential for business transformation, there's a significant push for CPAs to leverage AI features to save time and boost profitability. While it's certainly feasible and beneficial to use AI for enhancing operational efficiency and automating routine tasks, claiming that AI can handle complex accounting and tax-related tasks, such as preparing a detailed study, is quite a stretch. Yet, I see numerous "pop-up" shops emerging, boldly asserting that AI can handle 80% or more of an R&D credit study.

Finance leaders struggle to determine generative AI’s costs and benefits, but there are suggestions on how to tackle the problem.

The majority of respondents feel that AI will fundamentally change the nature of their business over the one-to-two-year horizon (56% in the next year and 67% in the next two years).

Gov. Ned Lamont and Sen. James Maroney, who clashed last year and still disagree over the degree to which the state should regulate generative AI, found common ground Tuesday in the opening of the Connecticut Online AI Academy.

Connecticut consumers can now opt out of most targeted advertising and sales of their personal data by using a single tool, like a browser extension.

Finance leaders have a multifaceted role in building and funding cyber defences, including creating and testing an incident response plan.

Here are the most prominent and potentially damaging threats businesses face and how CFOs can prepare to mitigate them.

Finance transformation has taken accounting departments by storm in the past decade as more and more organizations are asked to do more with less – but it isn’t always easy to know where to start on the finance transformation journey. There are specific actions you can take to move forward in terms of people, process, and technology to create efficiencies, reduce cost, and improve employee morale all while maintaining proper controls.

Organizations are adopting AI tools at a lower rate than many may have expected.

Interest in the implementation of generative artificial intelligence tools has risen among CPA decision-makers in business and industry over the last year, a steady progression that could signal rapid change on the horizon.

More than half of organisations identified as leaders are seeing a strong return on investment from artificial intelligence adoption.

Here’s how leading finance leaders will navigate the generative AI revolution next year.

So far companies are still looking to AI mainly for enhanced efficiencies and productivity, Diligent Institute finds.

As the year ends, CFOs should focus on these key areas to ensure a smooth close process and improve operational performance.

In October, the CTCPA hosted an informative Town Hall meeting featuring Melissa Travis, FEMA CISA specialist and CEO of the Rhode Island Society of CPAs . Travis delivered crucial insights on business continuity planning, disaster preparedness, and the pressing challenges of cybersecurity.

Most employees blame their lack of skills with artificial intelligence on their employers; Microsoft has added 10 AI agents in Dynamics 365; Teams can now block workers for signing in after hours; and and seven other recent developments in technology.

At the NASBA annual meeting, there was a session on "AI Revolution: Unlocking the Future of Tomorrow," which showcased the remarkable pace at which artificial intelligence is being integrated into various sectors. With 80% of Fortune 500 companies weaving AI into their workflows just nine months after the launch of ChatGPT, it's evident that we stand on the brink of a transformative era.

Companies with more mature cybersecurity approaches expect to increase cybersecurity spending and better integrate their cyber strategy into overall transformation plans.