The Firmlever Weekly Roundup: Issue #25

The Highlights

1. Claude releases its new Anthropic Economic Index. Millions of anonymized conversations were crunched to produce the world's first Economic Index based on AI usage. Notice how less than 6% (bottom right box) is being used today for financial related tasks--this will be a goldmine opportunity for finance pros looking to increase margin. Less than 1% currently used to:

   • Analyze financial data & develop investment & budgeting strategies (0.8%)

   • Provide personal financial advice and education (0.8%)
     

   

2. New stats on month-end close: If you take less than a week to close your books you're doing better than 50% of finance teams. Some interesting stats from Ledge's new Month-End Close Benchmarks for 2025 report:

   • 50% of teams take 6+ business days to close

   • Cash reconciliation is the #1 most time-consuming activity

   • Excel remains a universal tool—and a universal pain point

   • Most teams automate less than 40% of their close

     

3. A pretty cool LinkedIn post on why software vendors should delight their customers--and one CPA who noticed.

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What Else I'm Tracking This Week:

1. Fathom is getting into "portfolio" management: A new feature that lets firms get a bird's eye portfolio view of their entire client base. Quickly see who's struggling and may need some additional advisory services. Could be the difference in getting more client upsells from your Bronze to your Silver or Gold plan.
   

   

2. Notion wants to manage your Gmail with its new AI. I'm a huge Notion user and started using their new Inbox feature to manage mail. It's great at organization and seems to get smarter using AI to help you prioritize. I must admit I just started using it so while I cannot fully vouch for it yet, I do like the fact that unlike Gmail/Google Workspace mail I can teach it my preferences without creating a bunch of filters.

3. The Rise of the ESOP: A great quick read on how converting to an employee stock ownership plan offers firms tax benefits and an alternative to private equity.

4. Podcast Invite: The next round of scheduling is now open for guests on my new podcast, Pitch Your Firm. (Apply Here):

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