AI - Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors

The Great Starbucks Gift Card Incident of 2025 (And Why Your Holiday Inbox is a Minefield)

Picture this: Thanksgiving week at an accounting firm. Everyone’s wrapping up projects before the holiday, planning their Black Friday strategy, when suddenly—Christmas came early! A $25 Starbucks gift card lands in everyone’s inbox. “How thoughtful!” they all said. “The firm really gets us!”

Spoiler alert: The firm didn’t send it. It was part of our monthly employee phishing campaign tests.

A quarter of the team had already clicked that link, ready to fuel their pumpkin spice addiction, before someone asked the fateful question: “Hey, did anyone else’s card not work?”

Welcome to our very own holiday phishing attempt. Nothing happened (other than those who clicked the link got signed up for extra cyber security training), but watching some smart minds fall for a fake latte was… educational (and mildly entertaining).

Why the Holidays Are Hacker Christmas

Here’s the thing—that fake gift card didn’t work because we’re gullible (we do cyber security training for all staff, through out the year). It worked because it was PERFECTLY timed. During the holidays, our defenses are down and our expectations are […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2025-12-03T20:54:47+00:00December 2nd, 2025|AI, Tech|0 Comments

The AI Time Machine Paradox: Why Your “Time-Saving” Tech Might Be Stealing It Instead

Remember when we all thought smartphones would give us more free time? Yeah, about that…

We’re seeing the same pattern play out with AI in business today. Every vendor promises their AI solution will “save you hours,” “boost productivity by 300%,” and basically turn your team into efficiency superheroes. But here’s what they’re not telling you: firms will spend the next year experimenting with AI to find more complementarity with humans (Wharton School), and that experimentation phase? It’s expensive—in both time and money.

The Hidden Cost Nobody Talks About

Picture this: You’re a growing business owner who just invested in AI tools to streamline operations. Six months later, you’re drowning in more meetings, more training sessions, and somehow less actual work is getting done. Sound familiar?

While AI tools are now commonplace, most organizations have not yet embedded them deeply […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2025-11-18T17:21:18+00:00November 18th, 2025|AI, Tech|0 Comments

Writing an AI Governance Policy for Your Business

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way businesses operate. Its capacity to gather and process data, as well as to mimic human interactions, offers remarkable potential to streamline operations and boost productivity.

But AI presents considerable challenges and concerns, too. With so many tools available, employees may inadvertently or purposely misuse the technology in ways that are unethical or even illegal. Compounding the problem is that many companies lack a formal AI governance policy.

Few in place

In August 2025, software platform provider Genesys released the results of an independent survey of 4,000 consumers and 1,600 enterprise customer experience and information technology (IT) leaders in more than 10 countries. It found that over a third (35%) of tech-leader respondents said their organizations have “little to no formal [AI] governance policies in place.”

This is a pointed problem, the survey notes, because many businesses are gearing up to deploy agentic AI. This is the latest iteration of the technology that can make decisions autonomously and act independently to achieve specific goals without depending on user commands or predefined inputs. The survey found that while 81% of tech leaders trust agentic AI with sensitive customer data, only 36% […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2025-11-04T19:28:43+00:00November 4th, 2025|AI, Tech|0 Comments

The New Face of Digital Deception: How AI is Changing the Scam Game (And How to Stay Ahead)

Remember when scam emails were easy to spot? The Nigerian prince with questionable grammar? Those days are rapidly becoming quaint, nostalgic memories. Today’s digital threats are wearing sophisticated masks, powered by the same AI tools revolutionizing legitimate business. But here’s the good news: understanding these evolving threats is your first line of defense.

The AI Revolution Cuts Both Ways

While we’re leveraging AI to streamline processes and increase work life balance, bad actors are using similar tools to craft increasingly convincing schemes. The technology that helps us serve our clients better is, unfortunately, also making scammers more dangerous.

But knowledge is power, and that’s exactly what we’re sharing today.

The New Threats on Your Digital Doorstep

1. The California FTB Text Scam: A Real-Time Warning

Right now, Californians are being bombarded with fake text messages claiming to be from the Franchise Tax Board about tax refunds. An example would be: “Your tax refund has been processed, click here to provide bank details.” It’s 100% fake. The FTB never texts about refunds—period. These scams use […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2025-09-09T17:20:17+00:00September 9th, 2025|AI, scams, Tech|0 Comments

Developing a Comprehensive AI Strategy for Your Business

We’ve reached a point where artificial intelligence (AI) offers functionality and enhancements to most businesses. Yours may be able to use it to streamline operations, improve customer interactions or uncover growth opportunities.

However, getting the max benefit calls for doing much more than jumping on the bandwagon. To make this technology truly work for your company, you’ve got to develop a comprehensive AI strategy that aligns with your overall strategic plan.

Identify your needs

Many businesses waste resources, both financial and otherwise, by hastily investing in AI without thoroughly considering whether and how the tools they purchase effectively address specific needs. Before spending anything — or any more — sit down with your leadership team and ask key questions such as:

What strategic problems are we trying to solve?
Are there repetitive tasks draining employees’ time and energy?
Could we use data more effectively to guide business decisions?

The key is to narrow down specific challenges or goals to actionable ways that AI can help. For example, if your staff spends too much time manually sorting and answering relatively straightforward customer inquiries, a simple AI chatbot might ease their workload and free them up for more productive […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2025-07-24T15:35:47+00:00July 24th, 2025|AI, Tech|0 Comments