Tech news: BDO announces $1B AI strategy

Published May 30, 2025 10:07 AM

Updated May 30, 2025 10:53 AM

1 Min Read

BDO announces $1 billion AI strategy; Plaid introduces Transactions for Business solution; Xero partners with Tallyfor; and other accounting technology news and updates.

BDO announces $1 billion AI strategy

The New York offices of Top 10 Firm BDO USA

BDO New York offices

Photo: Richard Falco

Top 10 firm BDO launched the next phase of its artificial intelligence strategy, backed by a global investment in AI of more than $1 billion over a period of five years. As part of this strategy, the firm is focusing on several high-impact areas poised to shape the future of its offerings and operations. Beyond enhancing and accelerating current initiatives, BDO plans to lean hard into Generative AI Assistants that will aid professionals in drafting reports, analyzing data and modeling scenarios. The firm also plans to focus on AI enabled hyper-personalized customer experiences and advisory services (for example, developing AI tools for calendar management, such as a task and event organizer). Meanwhile, the firm will continue integrating AI-driven automation across business processes with operational processes such as billing, scheduling, and service desk modernization. Finally, AI systems will integrate text, voice, podcast and visual data. To help lead and execute BDO USA's AI strategy, the firm appointed Mike Gerhard to the newly established role of chief data and AI officer in 2024. Gerhard spearheads BDO's data and AI initiatives while also using data analytics and technology to drive business insights and innovation. He works collaboratively with leaders across the firm to develop proprietary AI tools that support how BDO professionals work and enhance their service delivery for clients. He also oversees the firm's Research and AI Development team, which focuses on research and prototyping based on business priorities for enterprise-wide AI testing and deployment.

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Plaid introduces Transactions for Business solution

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Business finance solutions provider Plaid launched its Transactions for Business solution for turning business bank account data into actionable insights. Until now, most Plaid transaction data has been optimized for personal use cases. That meant customers serving businesses often had to interpret raw transaction strings or build their own categorization logic. In its Transactions API, Plaid is introducing a categorization model specifically designed for businesses. Now in beta, this model includes 13 business categories to help businesses better understand their customers' overall finances, from inflows to outflows. The new categories include revenue, payroll and loan payments.

Xero partners with Tallyfor

Small business accounting platform Xero announced an integration with business tax engagement platform Tallyfor. The integration allows accountants to pull Xero data into Tallyfor in just a few clicks, allowing them to get started on the tax process immediately. The integration also automates the posting of journal entries from Tallyfor back to Xero. As part of this collaboration, Xero and Tallyfor are exploring further enhancement opportunities, such as adding new features to make tax preparation faster. To mark the occasion, Xero is offering 12 months of complimentary access to Tallyfor's tax workflow tool.

Other news

Karbon, a provider of practice management software, announced the appointment of Twyla Verhelst as vice president of industry relations and community. She will spearhead Karbon's efforts to elevate accounting professionals while advancing the company's customer-led growth strategy. Specifically, she will engage across the accounting community to build trusted relationships with firm leaders, influencers and partners. Her mission is to strengthen the global accounting community by championing firm success, showcasing customer stories, and leading conversations around innovation, AI adoption and the future of the profession. Verhelst joins Karbon from Mercury, a fintech company, where she served as head of accounting partnerships. … Vena, an FP&A platform provider specializing in the Microsoft technology ecosystem and powered by agentic AI, announced the winners of the 2025 Venny Awards, which celebrates those setting new standards for innovation, operational excellence and strategic leadership within their organizations. The awards were presented at this year's Excelerate Finance 2025 conference. … Rillet, an AI-native ERP provider, announced $25 million in Series A funding led by Sequoia Capital. This round, which comes 10 months after Rillet's last fundraising, includes existing investors First Round Capital, Creandum, Susa Ventures and top angels, such as former NetSuite CFO Ron Gill and former Twilio CFO Lee Kirkpatrick.