Random musings

​Where are we? Post-tax season. 2Q16 estimated tax payments coming up in the next couple weeks. Still Spring but feels like Summer in NYC (pretty nice). This is a perfect season for CPE. CPAAcademy.com is a pretty decent 'free' source of CPE education hours. 

Bookkeeping issues - machine learning & AI - is it here yet? Yes and no. The biggies (QB, Xero) are still...'analog'...so to speak...BUT in the area of personal finance there is an interesting entry into the space in an app called Penny. They've only been able to capture like 6 categories, so far, but the idea and execution: the practical analysis and helpful insights into your finances, is useful. If applied to business (and more accounts/categories) this would be a pretty great tool for not only small businesses but also for CPAs/Bookkeepers to gain key insights into the finances of the business. Frankly, I'm not sure how nimble the elephants in the room can be on this: Quickbooks & Xero...because their offerings are so core to the General ledger but it wouldn't surprise me if a business 'Penny' came in as an 'add-on' to these guys and possibly as a stand-alone accounting software.

What else? We also have been experimenting with an AI calendar 'virtual assistant'. Note, this is specifically for calendar scheduling, not anything else. The idea is that they handle the mundane back & forth that inevitably happen when 2 or more people schedule a meeting and post everything to everyone's digital calendar. I've used both Genee and Amy (x.ai). Genee is better at multiple person meetings, I've experienced, whereas Amy can take direct commands (like mark x time on my calendar for me to y) without involving others. Both are nascent and will take some improvement before they are as good as a person but it is interesting and kind of fun.