Accounting: Past, Present & Future

Welcome to issue #001 of New Age Accounting. How 'counting beans' became a high-tech revolution — almost overnight.

Accounting. The language of business. The numbers game. The bean counting & number crunching.

Founded by the ‘Father of Accounting,’ Luca Pacioli, in the 1490s, it’s been the universal language through which the world does business — beginning with the abacus, adopting the ledger, evolving to spreadsheets, and arriving at the present day.

By nature, accountants are creatures of habit. Routine is essential — and for good reason. Consistency, accuracy, and repeatability are the backbone of timely and accurate financial reporting.

For years, the playbook has been the same:

1/ start with QuickBooks until you’re ready for NetSuite,

2/ perform manual work for heavy transaction volume (keeping you in the back office),

3/ hire, hire, hire,

4/ repeat.

For years it has worked; I’ve seen this firsthand — both from an audit lens and from in-house accounting roles. It always left me with one question: Why does it feel like we’re so far behind the times?

Well, the times have changed.

So what’s changed? Simple answer — everything.

Spend management platforms like Ramp and Brex have made expense reporting and corporate cards nearly painless. AI-native ERPs like Rillet are beginning to replace the clunky, legacy systems we’ve tolerated for decades. Sales tax compliance tools like Sphere and Anrok have turned one of accounting’s biggest headaches into something that practically runs itself. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Then came January 12, 2026.

Anthropic released Cowork — and the accounting world hasn’t been the same since. Not an exaggeration: it may be the single most transformative tool to ever touch the profession.

And it didn’t stop there. Vibe coding tools like Lovable and Replit have made it possible for accountants — not developers — to build their own custom tools. No coding degree required.

What’s the new playbook? Here’s my take:

1/ implement an AI-native ERP that scales as you scale,

2/ automate routine tasks through AI-enabled software and systems (e.g. expense management, sales tax, etc.),

3/ leverage Cowork and other tools to create dynamic reports, processes, and routines,

4/ become a strategic accountant who isn’t kept in the back office but assists with high-level strategy and cross-departmental growth,

5/ repeat.

The future of accounting isn’t coming. It’s already here. Start taking action now — break away from the creature of habit stigma of the traditional accountant. It’s time to become builders, not bookkeepers.

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Here’s my question to you:

What are you the most excited about? Click the button below and tell me. I read every response.

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The purpose of New Age Accounting is simple: to empower accountants — at every level — to become builders, not bookkeepers. Whether you're a staff accountant, a controller, or a CFO, there's something here for you. Some topics will be high level, others will come with step-by-step guides, and some will include the exact prompts and tools you need to start building today.

If you've made it this far, you're already thinking differently about this profession. Subscribe and come build with us.