Accounting
Biden defends economic record, says Trump plans threaten growth
President Joe Biden warned that Republican Donald Trump’s plans to extend tax cuts and reshape global trade through tariffs risked reversing economic gains, even as dissatisfaction with his own handling of the economy contributed to last month’s stinging electoral loss.
Biden, speaking at an event Tuesday at the Brookings Institution, sought to reverse perceptions of his economic performance, arguing his policies had worked to help Americans recover from the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Most economists agree the new administration is going to inherit a fairly strong economy, at least at the moment,” Biden said in an address at the think-tank in Washington. “It is my profound hope that the new administration will preserve and build on this progress.”
That’s unlikely, after Trump vowed dramatic change to economic policy on the campaign trail, helping propel his return to the White House and Republican control of both chambers of Congress. The defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris, who entered the race with just months before Election Day after Biden stepped aside, underscored dissatisfaction with his post-pandemic tenure among the electorate.
Still, the president argued that his policies have planted the seeds that will grow the economy in a way that bolsters working and middle-class families and warned that those gains could be imperiled if Trump enacts tax cuts for the wealthy, cuts entitlement program spending, rolls back investments in infrastructure and levies fresh tariffs. He also warned that a retreat from free trade policies threatened to allow adversaries to take a greater role shaping the world.
“I believe this approach is a major mistake,” Biden said.
“If we do not lead the world, who does?,” he added.
Biden jabbed at Trump over many of the Republican’s first-term policies, saying that tax cuts he implemented had benefited the wealthy and seeking to draw a contrast with his own agenda, touting measures to help expand access to health insurance and a push to expand the child tax credit.
“The previous administration, quite frankly, had no plan, real plan, to get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history,” Biden said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Focus on legacy
Tuesday’s event had the tone of a valedictory address, as Biden spoke to a largely friendly audience of economists, consumer advocates and business and labor leaders. But Biden acknowledged that outside the room, many remained wary of his handling of the economy.
“I know it’s been hard for many Americans to see, and I understand it,” Biden said.
Biden cited 16 million new jobs, the lowest average unemployment rate of any administration in the last 50 years, 20 million applications for new business and a stock market “at record highs” to defend his economic playbook.
“401(k)s are up, more than a trillion dollars in private sector investment in clean energy and advanced manufacturing in just two years alone. After decades of sending jobs overseas for the cheapest labor possible, companies are coming back to America, investing and building here and creating jobs here in America,” Biden said.
And he said that inflation — which fueled much of the public angst over his economic agenda — was “coming down faster than almost anywhere in the world.”
But also evident was a sense of frustration from Biden that his record had not been celebrated. At one point, Biden noted that Trump as president had sent out stimulus checks during the pandemic with his signature on them.
“I also learned something from Donald Trump. He signed checks for people,” Biden said. “And I didn’t.”
Trump plans
Trump has vowed to undo many of the hallmark policies of Biden’s tenure, including elements of the Inflation Reduction Act, a sweeping tax and climate package, and the Chips and Science Act, which provides billions in incentives to bolster domestic chip manufacturing and reduce U.S. reliance on Asia.
Most notably, Trump has said he would scrap an electric vehicle tax credit, part of a Biden push to transition the U.S. to cleaner energy that fueled anxiety among blue-collar workers worried about its impact on jobs.
Trump has also derided the Chips Act subsidies as a bad deal that is costing the U.S. billions. Republican lawmakers, who will control both the House and Senate, may look to claw back funding from laws Biden signed.
Biden said the investments his administration backed had helped both Republican and Democratic states and predicted that GOP lawmakers would buck at efforts to undo projects in their communities.
Messaging challenge
Tuesday’s speech highlights how Biden, and Harris after she replaced him atop the Democratic ticket, struggled to translate positive economic data into support at the polls.
During his own campaign, Biden briefly embraced the term “Bidenomics” — coined by his critics to disparage his approach — and crisscrossed the country to highlight domestic manufacturing, clean energy and infrastructure investments from legislation he signed, arguing that they were bringing high-paying jobs. But those efforts failed to reverse the negative perceptions of his handling of the economy.
Harris in her campaign struggled to distance herself from Biden even as she sought to assure voters that she would be more attuned to helping middle- and working-class families deal with high costs.
AI-specialized accounting platform company
“We’re putting every dollar back into the platform and team – to invest in ML research, to continue to bring the most cutting-edge AI to accounting firms, and to open additional slots for firms,” said Matt Harpe, Basis co-founder, in an email.
Basis, which emerged from stealth
“This technology is a new paradigm for accounting. Learning to work with your computer, not just on it, might be an even bigger shift than going from paper to digital. Over the last year, as accountants have experienced what’s possible with the most cutting-edge AI, we’ve seen more and more firms decide that AI must become the top strategic priority. We’re excited to continue to equip firms with AI that actually works,” said Mitch Troyanovsky, Basis co-founder in an email.
Basis sells exclusively to accountants versus selling directly to businesses or building ‘new’ accounting firms, and is tailored specifically for use by expert accountants. Basis focuses on building agents that understand, and can operate on, accounting broadly instead of isolating only a specific task. This allows Basis to work across clients and workflows without losing context, and to quickly take on new workflows, said Basis. Accountants onboard Basis to engagements and assign it core workflows for one-time or ongoing execution
“Accounting is a massive industry, and Basis is clearly leading on the AI side. This is one of the few AI agents that’s already deployed and working. Matt and Mitch have put together the best NYC team in the applied AI space,” said Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, who also co-founded Sun Microsystems.
Platform Accounting Group has added two more accounting firms, based in Indiana and Illinois, bringing the total firms that have joined the Utah-based company this year to 12.
Platform Accounting Group, founded in 2015, invests in and acquires small accounting firms, and announced it
Midwest Advisors, formerly known as Philip+Rae & Associates, is headquartered in Naperville, Illinois, and has provided fractional CFO roles, controllership and back-office accounting operations for more than 30 years. Additionally, the firm offers tax preparation, accounting and auditing, financial planning, estate planning, payroll services, small business consulting, bookkeeping, back-office accounting, small business consulting and more.
In operation for 30 years, Indianapolis-based Crossroads Advisors, formerly Peachin Schwartz + Weingardt, serves high-net-worth individuals, closely-held businesses and not-for-profit organizations. The firm supports clients throughout their life cycle, from the startup phase to mature businesses seeking an exit or succession strategy.
“Because of my experience and time there, I deeply value the tight-knit community and small-town feel of the Midwest,” said Reyes Florez, CEO of Platform Accounting Group, in a statement. “We are thrilled these firms, who like us, prioritize relationships and roots, are joining our group and will be able to invest even further in their clients and communities.”
Platform Accounting Group has nearly 1,000 employees across 12 states and expects to add a few more accounting firms in January, the company said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission today
The budget totals $399.7 million, which funds 945 positions. The accounting support fee totals $374.9 million, comprising $346.1 million for public company issuers and $28.8 million for registered broker dealers.
The 2025 budget is a 3.8% increase from this year’s budget of
“Well-functioning financial markets are built on trust,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a
“While the 2025 budget assumes a necessary increase in the ASF overall, we anticipate the smallest billable issuers will see no increase, while the median difference per bill for issuers will likely be only $100, “PCAOB chair Erica Williams said in a statement.
Williams added, “This budget enables us to both provide our staff with competitive compensation that acknowledges their extraordinary work on behalf of investors and retain them, as well as attract new, expert talent to help us meet our investor-protection mission.”
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 provides the SEC with oversight responsibility over the PCAOB, including reviewing and approving the PCAOB’s annual budget and accounting support fee.
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