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The adoption of AI can help smaller accounting firms meet client demands and expand services.
6 ways AI will impact client demands
29 May 2025
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8 minute read
Since the release of ChatGPT by US firm OpenAI at the end of 2022, AI has swept the world, including public accounting practices large and small. The Australian Financial Review reported in late 2024 that larger accounting firms using AI grew an average of 50 per cent faster than firms that did not report using the technology. Smaller accounting firms are also increasingly getting on board with the technology.
So, using AI can make your accounting firm more profitable. But how will using AI impact on demands from your clients? Here are some likely ways:
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Faster, cheaper routine services. Most accounting firms provide a range of relatively routine, compliance-driven tax and other services to their clients. Automation of such services has been underway for many years and the process is being supercharged by AI. Clients will want some human eyeballs to check the numbers, but they will want you to use machine technology to the fullest, not only to lower compliance costs but also to reduce human error.
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Real-time financial monitoring. AI-powered systems can automatically gather and consolidate financial data from various sources including bank accounts, investment portfolios, and expense tracking tools on a real-time basis. As well as fraud protection, alerts can be programmed to instantly advise accountants of issues and possible opportunities for their clients.
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Research and analytics. Your clients want insights and analysis and not just numbers. AI large language models excel at high-speed analysis of large data sets, making predictions and identifying trends and anomalies for human review. AI tools also enable you to undertake deeper research and personalise how you present your analytics to clients. Clients still value human skills such as critical thinking and judgment borne of years of experience. However, they now want you to use machines to do as much of the routine and previously labour-intensive aspects of data analysis as possible, leaving you to add valuable insights based on the expertise and wisdom that machines lack, at least at present!
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Additional services. The more you can deploy AI on relatively routine and compliance-focused tasks, the more time you will have to offer other services to your clients, which they are likely to see as being more valuable and perhaps subject to higher fees. Such additional services will vary between accounting firms, but often include strategic advisory roles, business and financial planning, risk management, and business growth strategies.
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Data security. Hopefully you are obsessed with the security of your clients’ data. Clients have always entrusted sensitive information to their accountants, but the digital age has made this exercise both easier and riskier. Some accountants and other professional advisers are still making basic mistakes such as putting client confidential data into ChatGPT and other public AI platforms. You need strong processes and robust data privacy protocols within your firm to avoid such outcomes as well as protection from cyberattacks.
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Help clients with their own AI challenges. OK, you are running an accounting firm and not an IT consultancy. However, let’s assume that you are a reasonably early adopter of AI in the realm of accounting and finance. Most of your clients will be on a similar journey of implementing AI in their own organisations. As well as offering empathy, you may be able to offer practical tips and war stories from your own experiences. Better still, if you have a number of clients in the same industry or sector, organise events where those who are willing can share experiences. Yes, some aspects of AI implementation will be competitively and commercially sensitive, but in other areas, some degree of industry standardisation could benefit all players and they will thank you for doing the cat herding.
AI has arrived in the accounting and wider world. It is not a fad, and its sophistication and use will only increase, perhaps on an exponential basis for many years. Less than three years into the age of AI, it is already clear that client expectations for speed, accuracy, strategic insight, personalised service, and reduced fees from their accountants have already been elevated.
As a result, AI is starting to transform the accounting landscape from transactional, compliance-focused services toward strategic, data-driven partnerships. Smart accounting firms are adapting quickly to changing client demands by embracing technological advancements, enhancing their advisory roles, and developing new skill sets to meet these evolving expectations.
Tony Frost, author of The Professional: A Playbook to Unleash Your Potential and Futureproof Your Success, is a highly sought-after speaker, executive coach, trainer and author who helps individuals and teams thrive in the age of complexity and AI.
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