Everyone loves a good requel—a franchise reboot that reinvents a beloved classic with a modern twist to attract a younger generation of fans.

EY apparently thinks the accounting profession is a prime candidate for such a makeover, with a budget that would make even Marvel Studios blush.

The Big 4 accounting firm “announced plans to invest $1 billion over three years in talent and technology to revolutionize the experience of early career accounting professionals and improve the attractiveness of the profession,” according to a news release.

EY said it will use the money to boost compensation for early career professionals, strengthen “well-being benefits,” create “AI-enabled audit and tax platforms,” conduct “outreach and support for college students,” and implement a new “launch pad and accelerator” program for campus recruits.

The planned pay bump would put the accounting profession “on par with other business majors,” according to the announcement. Meanwhile, EY is implementing AI capabilities into its audit platform “to enhance audit quality, improve productivity, support risk assessment, and deliver better insights.”

To continue reading about EY’s investment in the accounting profession, click here.—AZ

No. 1 trick to boosting your biz to unrivaled heights? You gotta harness the right KPIs to deliver meaningful reports and crush your goals. Easier said than done, sure. Luckily, we’ve got somethin’ that will help you ace it.

We’re talkin’ about Oracle NetSuite’s KPI Checklists: A Practical Step-by-Step Guide. This absolute game changer is jam-packed with in-depth guides to give you the one thing CFOs need heading into Q3: consistent top-notch performance.

Inside this guide, you’ll find:

• customizable templates, checklists, spreadsheets, and sample SLAs
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Master your metrics.

Auditors will now have more clarity around using technology during audits, thanks to the PCAOB. The agency recently amended two of its rules around technology-assisted audits, adding more detail. It also tightened a rule around when auditors can be held liable for noncompliance on the part of their firms.

Greater certainty around tech: The PCAOB updated portions of standards AS 1105, Audit Evidence, and AS 2301, The Auditor’s Responses to the Risks of Material Misstatement, that deal with using “technology-assisted analysis” during audits, to:

• Evaluate the reliability of information in audit procedures, such as a company’s controls over digital data;
• Establish when and how audit evidence can be used for more than one purpose;
• And perform tests and then drill down into details—for instance, using technology to identify transactions that should be looked at in greater depth, such as all those processed by a certain individual.

The amendments are designed to “reduce the risk that auditors will issue an opinion without obtaining…reliable audit evidence,” the PCAOB said in a statement. It will also give auditors greater clarity around the agency’s expectations. Some auditors, Chair Erica Williams said during prepared remarks, weren’t using technology-assisted analysis due to perceived regulatory uncertainty.

For more on the new PCAOB rules, click here.—CV

Nvidia this. Nvidia that. We’ll go full Jan Brady: Nvidia, Nvidia, Nvidia!

Chipmakers like Nvidia have been driving the AI boom, and it’s easy to forget that there are other chipmakers that aren’t helmed by Jensen Huang and seemingly printing money. But don’t feel too bad for the metaphorical middle children of the tech world: Broadcom, which reported its Q2 earnings on Wednesday, seems to be doing juuuuust fine.

The Palo Alto-based chipmaker topped revenue estimates, bringing in $12.5 billion, a beat from the $12 billion analysts expected. That marked a 43% YoY jump.

“Broadcom’s second quarter results were once again driven by AI demand and VMware,” CEO Hock Tan said in an earnings statement. “Revenue from our AI products was a record $3.1 billion during the quarter.”

The company acquired software company VMware for $69 billion last year, and the move is paying off; Tan noted in Broadcom’s earnings call that the integration “is going very well.”

On the back of the strong Q2 report, Broadcom raised its fiscal 2024 revenue guidance to $51 billion. In all, it’s a pretty picture. And in a sense, it needs to be. Earlier this month, Tan topped an analysis from the Associated Press and Equilar regarding CEO pay: His nearly $162 million pay package in 2023 clinched him the top spot.

Click here to continue reading.—NP

Cash flowin’, ROI growin’. Versapay commissioned Forrester to do a study on the ROI of their cash application automation solution. Hold on to your hats, because it found customers achieved 138% ROI and improved efficiency by 69% when leveraging the cash application automation system. Read the full study.