Since at least the 1980s, every new piece of technology in the finance world has come with a familiar headline:
“The role of the accountant is now obsolete with electronic spreadsheets.” – The Economist, 1987
“Tax season is now a one-click affair. Good luck CPAs…” – Fast Company, 2001
“The cloud will disrupt the accounting industry beyond recognition.” – The Wall Street Journal, 2004
“Robots will soon do your taxes. Bye-bye accounting jobs.” – Wired, 2025
And yet—decades later—CPAs are busier than ever. Bookkeepers are in demand. Cost segregation engineers are booked out. Compliance professionals are overwhelmed.
So what’s going on?
Let’s make one thing clear: technology hasn’t replaced accountants—it’s changed how accountants work. And with the rise of AI, that evolution continues.
At Rockerbox, we recently launched Segmenti—an AI-based platform for automating cost segregation studies.
Naturally, some skeptics have asked: “Is Segmenti trying to eliminate CPAs, construction engineers, or tax professionals?”
The answer is simple: No.
Segmenti isn’t a replacement.
It’s a tool.
It’s built to augment, not eliminate. To accelerate, not override. To automate tedious steps, so experts can spend more time doing what they do best: advising clients, exercising judgment, and ensuring compliance.
Because despite the headlines, real estate tax planning isn’t just math.
** It’s strategy.
** It’s interpretation.
** It’s collaboration between humans who understand context, risk, and nuance.
Segmenti simply makes the process of executing a compliant cost segregation study faster, cheaper, more scalable, and—yes—less painful for everyone involved.
As we like to say at Rockerbox:
“Segmenti doesn’t have the power to change or eliminate what you do—but it does have the power to change how you do it.”
And that’s exactly the point.