Almost every firm is using AI. Only 1 in 5 can prove it’s working.
In most firms, the AI story reads less like a tidy case study and more like a messy diary.
We surveyed 486 bookkeeping and accounting professionals across North America to find out how far along they really are — and what’s standing between adoption and actual results.
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Over 7 in 10 accounting professionals are optimistic about AI, while less than 1 in 10 are concerned. Whatever’s slowing down adoption, it isn’t dread.
Straight from the Source
What firms told us worries them most about AI: confident answers, no accountability
I worry that giving the day-to-day coding of transactions or more tedious work to AI means there are less entry-level positions and no one will be able to learn the basics. This would create a large gap between legacy professionals and new professionals who don’t have the same solid foundation.”
It feels like AI will reduce/eliminate staff level work. My concern is that a how I learned my job was a staff level in the trenches. I worry those following me won’t be ready. It’s a BIG step up.”
There needs to be better accounting and tax knowledge transfer in order for lower level staff to enter and be proper experience to oversee AI.”
AI isn’t changing what I sell. It is changing how I deliver it. I don’t think AI creates a sustainable competitive advantage anymore because everyone has access to it. The advantage comes from working with a business, judgment, and execution.”
AI can produce answers that sound extremely confident, but confidence doesn’t always equal accuracy.”
It’s the difference between just using a calculator to get an answer and understanding how the calculator came up with the answer in the first place. How can you verify if something is right (or wrong) if you don’t understand the basics of the concepts?”
I’m worried that if AI is wrong, there is nobody to hold accountable for the mistake that it made.”
It feels like AI will reduce/eliminate staff level work. My concern is that a how I learned my job was a staff level in the trenches. I worry those following me won’t be ready. It’s a BIG step up.”
I worry that giving the day-to-day coding of transactions or more tedious work to AI means there are less entry-level positions and no one will be able to learn the basics. This would create a large gap between legacy professionals and new professionals who don’t have the same solid foundation.”
Treat AI as a brand-new employee that knows nothing about your business. It needs all the safeguards and limits that you give a new employee.”
I treat AI as an additional service provider that must meet the same confidentiality standards as any bookkeeping platform. I use only approved business-grade tools with appropriate security, privacy, retention, and ‘no training on client data’ protections.”
Do not use AI for things you don’t know how to solve. AI is only as good as the data it is given and the question being asked.”
I usually use ChatGPT to help me think something through when I need to bounce ideas off someone else.”
I use it as a support tool for work more efficiently, while I still review and verify the information before applying it in client work.”
I use it to help with transaction categorization in QuickBooks Online. If I meet with a challenge or something new to me, I will often use AI to help become more knowledgeable.”
There is nothing that used to eat up my day that AI now handles.”