Accounting firms are being asked to do more work with fewer new people coming into the profession. The answer is not to automate the accounting. It is to automate the work around it, the chasing and sorting that fills an accountant's week without needing an accountant.
A shrinking pipeline
AICPA trends data, as reported by Tax Practice News, shows first-time CPA exam candidates in the United States falling from 48,004 in 2016 to 32,188 in 2021, roughly a third fewer. Those are US figures and Canada has its own numbers, but firms on both sides of the border describe the same thing: more clients per person, and busy season that feels longer every year.
Where the hours actually go
- Chasing. Emailing clients, again, for the slip, the statement or the signature.
- Status questions. "Did you get my documents?" and "When will my return be done?" answered one by one.
- Sorting. Working out which attachment is which, and whose file it belongs in.
- Re-keying. Typing numbers from a PDF into the software that should have read them.
Definition
Document chasing
The repeated follow-up a firm sends to get the records it needs from a client before work can start. It is necessary, it is rarely billable, and it is almost entirely predictable, which makes it a good candidate for automation.
What AI is good at here, and what is just a rule
Reminders are rules. A checklist of missing items and a schedule of polite nudges needs no AI at all, and it is usually the first thing worth turning on. AI earns its place where something has to be read: telling a T4 from a bank statement, pulling the key figures out of a scanned document, or understanding a client's reply that says "the other one is coming next week". Extraction should always be checked by a person before it reaches a return.
What stays with the accountant
Judgement does. Tax positions, advice, anything signed and anything a client relies on stays with a qualified person. A good system makes their time go further by making sure that when they open a file, everything is already there and in the right place.
A sensible order for an accounting firm
- 1.Automated document requests and reminders, driven by a checklist per client.
- 2.A status update that goes out on its own when a file moves stage, so clients stop having to ask.
- 3.AI sorting and extraction on incoming documents, with a person checking every figure.
- 4.Then booking and intake for new clients ahead of busy season.
A note on the evidence
Sources: AICPA trends data on first-time CPA exam candidates, 2016 to 2021, as reported by Tax Practice News. These are United States figures and are used here to show the direction of the pipeline, not the Canadian numbers.
