AI raising expectations for human accountants

AI has raised the bar for what counts as good service in clients' eyes, meaning the humans will need to up their game, perhaps through the use of AI. 

This was one of the findings of billing and payment solutions provider Bill in its latest Accounting Firm AI Ambitions Survey, which is based on responses from more than 200 accounting firm leaders. The poll found 82% of those accounting leaders saying AI has raised client expectations across a wide range of criteria. 

Clients, more than anything else, want their human accountants to be faster, as speed of service topped the list of how expectations were changing, at 79%. Following this, they want their accountants to give better advice (67%), be better on data privacy (66%), have stronger cybersecurity (65%), do better on compliance (63%) and be more transparent (51%). Firms are getting more rush requests, more fee scrutiny, and a growing risk of client churn for those that can't respond fast enough. 

"AI doesn't win clients over on its own," said Ariege Misherghi, senior vice president of AP solutions and accountant partnerships at Bill. "But when it helps a firm respond faster, serve better, and build trust at every touchpoint, the payoff shows up in NPS, retention, and revenue."

Some might think "so what," as clients have always demanded their professionals work faster and be smarter. With AI being able to deliver something at least resembling trenchant advice nearly instantly, it should not surprise us that clients now expect similar speed and insight from the humans they hire as well. 

However, the findings on data privacy, cybersecurity, transparency and compliance indicate the higher bar is also in response to the impact of AI on the wider environment. AI has quickly become a factor in both cybersecurity and data protection, which can potentially affect even those who do not use AI. Another study last month found demand for transparency has intensified, as 82% of consumers worldwide say it's important for companies to disclose when AI is used in their interactions. AI is generally seen as a novel governance challenge that many firms are still in the process of figuring out. 

The poll found that firms are using AI to shift from traditional compliance-centric models to advisory-focused ones. Leaders said AI is enabling them to expand into entirely new service areas, such as tax planning and preparation (50%), client advisory services (39%), business consulting and strategy (38%), technology implementation and support (36%), and risk management and compliance (30%). 

Bill noted that CAS in particular is a fast-growing area enabled by AI, as 38% of survey respondents say their firms currently offer it on top of the aforementioned 39% who are moving into it now because of AI. 

"The movement toward CAS has been underway for years," said Kimberly Blascoe, senior director of professional services from CPA.com. "What's new is AI's ability to capture, connect and interpret the data CAS depends on. Compliance and operations work generates the data. Advisory is how firms turn that data into strategic guidance. AI closes the gap by making tailored advice scalable."