The Future of Accounting with AI? Less Busywork, More Human Connection

AI is all about opportunity.

On the surface, the opportunity of AI for the accounting profession may seem similar to the use cases seen in any number of industries. Automating routine tasks. Cutting down on busywork. Saving time and effort. Maybe that’s why 85% of accounting professionals are so intrigued or excited by AI.

Despite that excitement, I hear from accounting firm leaders all the time who say they just haven’t seen the results to match the hype. They’ve bought the paid version of ChatGPT and told their team they have free reign, for example, but staffers, even the younger, tech-savvy ones, aren’t really leveraging it.

My response to them is almost always the same. Do your people really know what they’re supposed to do with AI? Do they know what the time savings of AI might mean for them? Do they know what it means to serve clients differently?

What the promise of AI should mean for accountants is a better work-life balance. More time for deeper, more meaningful advisory relationships with clients. An opportunity for better human connections.

That’s why firms that embrace a human-centered AI strategy will be the ones that make the most of the tremendous opportunity that lies ahead. Let’s dig into what that looks like.

The Human Potential of AI: Less Burnout, Greater Retention

AI doesn’t always have to be about doing more work.

In accounting, AI’s potential is largely human-centered, with opportunities to reduce burnout and increase retention among staff, which remain critical priorities amid ongoing talent shortages. Here are three key areas where AI can help:

• Increased efficiency: In addition to trying to find and keep great people, many accounting firms are also struggling to figure out a profit margin ratio that is sustainable and scalable. AI can unlock efficiencies that can help on both of these critical fronts, allowing firms to work better with the people and resources they already have.
• Better work-life balance: Want to make accounting more attractive to more bright young talent? AI can help inspire a cultural shift by automating routine processes to ease the burden of intense deadlines and busywork. It’s not necessarily a matter of simply doing more with AI; it’s about opening up an opportunity to work differently.
• Value beyond deliverables: Accountants are often stuck in a strictly transactional, task-oriented workflow. When AI can automate some of those tasks, however, the client relationship can be transformed into something more advisory in nature. Now staff can start to frame client interactions beyond deliverables by asking more thoughtful questions and offering well-informed recommendations.

What do all of these benefits have in common? They’re all rooted in the human aspect of accounting. Technology (AI in this case) is simply the catalyst for enabling that human change.

Human-Centered AI in Practice: Saving Time, Spurring Insights

AI can be used to crunch numbers and generate the same financial reports and the same talking points that an accountant without AI would. But only using AI in this way is underutilizing the technology. After all, AI may do the work faster and thus free up some time, but what are you doing with that time? How are you offering clients more value thanks to that AI assist?

A more human-centered approach is to use AI as a tool to create opportunities to ask thoughtful questions and to dig deeper into a client’s business. For example, if your firm works across a variety of industries, you probably don’t have expertise in any one industry to the degree that a client would. Maybe you’re working with a veterinary clinic. AI can help answer questions like:

• What is a reasonable profit margin in this industry? How does that compare to an engineering consulting firm or a restaurant?
• What sort of extra costs are expected in the veterinary space?
• How much should vets budget for marketing compared with other industries?
• What does the local competition look like?

These are all factors that accountants may not readily know. And trying to dig into them could mean hours and hours of research that a client probably won’t want to pay for. But by using AI as a tool to help expedite that research, you’ll be ready for a very well-informed strategic conversation, rather than just another routine appointment to deliver another basic report.

Most clients probably won’t expect their accountant to be an expert in their field. But when a client really feels heard and understood by someone who has clearly done some homework, it opens up a different dynamic for the relationship. Now you’re doing a better job of meeting them where they are. You’re speaking their language. You’re more invested in their business.

In other words, you’re connecting on a more human level. And in doing so, you’re delivering more value to your client.

The AI Implementation Playbook: 5 Tactics for Building a Human-First AI Program

Before you can use AI to help provide that added value to clients, however, your staff has to be on board with the technology. And it’s not always an easy sell, particularly if they see the “more with less” prospect of AI as code for “you’re replaceable.” Or even if they just can’t see how AI is going to make their lives better or easier.

This is where implementation becomes such a crucial piece of the AI puzzle. Here are five things to focus on as you pilot and roll out new AI tools:

• Clearly outline the benefits and allay any fears: Be very clear and open about what AI means for the staff. They may be stressing about layoffs, when what they should be focusing on are things like potentially greater profits (which can lead to compensation increases), less deadline stress, more reasonable hours, and more personalized client work.
• Lead from the front: Don’t just talk the talk on AI, walk the walk. Partners and senior managers should be leading the way with AI adoption and sharing their experiences frequently. If you’ve created a bot that works or found a highly effective prompt, let everyone know about it.
• Provide education and training: Throwing someone an AI tool and telling them to have at it is not a formula for success. Make sure your staff really understands how (and how not) to use the technology so they can get comfortable with it and see the possibilities for themselves.
• Set clear guidelines and expectations: Establish a clear understanding with staff of what AI is meant to be in the firm. It’s an enhancer, not a crutch. It’s meant to expedite their work, not do it.
• Encourage experimentation and practice: The more staff uses AI, the more comfortable they’ll get with it. Try hosting occasional AI sessions with pizza and AI-related team challenges to keep the process fun and rewarding.

AI Can Help Accountants “Get Out From Behind the Desk”

Almost every accountant I know loves working with numbers. It’s part of the calling.

But clients these days expect more from their accountant than just a tax form or a financial statement. They can get that anywhere (ironically, probably even from AI). They want more value.

And accountants often want more than to just crunch those numbers and deliver a report. They want to dig into the financials and really understand what makes a client’s business tick. They want to get out from behind the desk and build a more meaningful and valuable advisory relationship with their clients.

They (and their clients) want more human connection. And AI can be the tool that delivers it.

Twyla Verhelst, CPA, is Vice President of Industry Relations & Community at Karbon, where she bridges innovation and community, champions AI-powered transformation, and amplifies the voices of accountants shaping the profession’s future. Twyla has co-founded an advisory-led accounting firm, launched a technology start-up, and led accountant channels and partnerships at FreshBooks and Mercury. She also co-founded TB Academy, where she empowers accountants to harness AI with clarity and confidence.

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