Leveraging advanced tech
Q How do you envision AI transforming the accounting industry?
A While it’s easy to get caught up in technology, the key is to focus on the jobs and/or tasks that accountants are performing and associated challenges. In both tax and audit, there’s a large body of information/rules that’s continually changing. It’s impossible for any one person to become a comprehensive expert, so professionals specialize. AI has the potential to change that dynamic. AI tools can enable a generalist who understands the principles of accounting well to perform specialized services. The shift to generalist accountants reduces both the time and cost required to provide services while simultaneously delivering a higher quality of service to clients.
Q How do you see advanced technologies reshaping the staff experience?
A Staff in accounting firms now spans at least four generations. Generally speaking, younger staffers are more reluctant to ask for help from their supervisor for fear of looking ignorant and those workers also seek a greater sense of purpose and meaning from their work. Technology plays a role in solving both challenges – “context-aware” tools direct staff to information and training relevant to the task at hand. For instance, an entry level staffer working on a partnership return would see content that provides more basic training on partnerships from within the return view — providing authoritative guidance without the embarrassing need to ask a partner. Technology also greatly reduces or eliminates the time required to perform manual, non-value-added tasks. A simple example is a scanning tool that performs data entry and validation from source documents freeing staffers from manual entry and allowing those employees to focus instead on the client’s tax situation.
Q How should accountants be thinking about advances in AI and the impacts to the client experience?
A Clients seek out accountants for both their knowledge of complex issues and for representation. While technology can help explain complex topics to lay persons, the proper application of tax and accounting principles requires a trained professional. Which is not to say that there’s not an impact. More efficient tools allow professionals to focus more on their clients and less on manual tasks. This in turn boosts the value that accountants provide to clients through a better understanding of the client’s situation and by providing advisory services. Consider for instance a state or federal regulatory change. How can your solutions help you understand and communicate relevant changes to clients? Can the solution identify which clients are impacted and how? Advances such as these allow the profession to increase relevance and at the same time provide a better sense of purpose for those Gen Z staffers joining the firm.
