Online publishing platform Substack has a vast amount of information on a huge range of subjects, including topics of interest to accounting professionals wanting to boost their knowledge.

Launched in 2017, Substack allows experts to publish newsletters, articles, podcasts and videos directly to their audience. Some of the content is subscription only, often for a fee of a few dollars a month, but there’s also a lot of free information that CAs could find useful.

Here are four Substacks to take a look at.

1. AI In Finance

Cost: monthly subscription A$22; annual subscription from A$175

This Substack examines how different AI models perform a range of financial, accounting and auditing tasks.

In one recent post, the authors used two different Claude AI models to audit the books of a fictional company, Born2Cycle, which contained a cash variance of $1,035,000. The post reveals which model performed best – Claude Fable 5 vs Opus 4.8 – with Fable finding two issues that Opus missed entirely. It also explains which auditing tasks each model is best suited to.

Paid subscribers can expect to receive practical prompts, workflows and real-world examples from finance and accounting teams.

2. Secret CFO

Cost: free

Written by an anonymous finance executive with more than 20 years’ experience managing multi-billion-dollar P&Ls, Secret CFO promises to provide “battle-tested advice” to help other CFOs progress in their careers.

It covers topics such as financial planning and analysis, working capital, AI in finance, cash flow and data management.

While subscribing to this Substack is free, some articles link to additional resources on the author's website.

3. The Finance Hybrid

Cost: Free

The Finance Hybrid is aimed at professionals who want to move their career beyond just finance to include strategic thinking, cross-functional leadership, executive presence and the ability to work on problems that have nothing to do with the balance sheet.

The Melbourne-based author writes about strategic networking, personal brand, portfolio careers, the skills finance people need that no-one teaches and how to position yourself for roles that go beyond the finance function.

A recent post outlines how bringing data to a meeting or presentation isn’t enough. As finance professionals become more senior, they also need to share their view on the data.

Another post discusses the benefits of networking with a diverse range of people, rather than focusing only on those who are more senior or can immediately advance your career.

4. Death & Taxes

Cost: subscriptions from A$5 a month

Published by the Australian Taxpayers' Alliance (ATA), Death & Taxes explores Australian tax policy and economic issues. Most posts are free, despite the availability of paid subscriptions, in the hope they will incite conversations about the nation’s tax system.

This Substack focuses on current affairs, with posts on Australia’s best and worst state treasurers, problems with the recent capital gains tax reforms, and globalisation and protectionism. Expect some robust views!

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Substack lets users search for content by topic, including publications focused on specific countries. It also features a list of the platform's most popular finance Substacks.