Accounting professionals have a superpower that's always intrigued me: a community that openly shares problems and solutions. I see it at every accounting professional event I attend. People exchange information and ideas and problems with no gatekeeping. Everyone is open about what has worked and what hasn't.
As AI becomes the new baseline, that openness to collaboration is about to face a new test. A recent
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Is your firm a 'transformer' or an 'optimizer'?
An accounting firm's AI strategy typically follows one of two paths: "optimizers" that use the technology to improve today's workflows or "transformers" who use it to redesign how the firm delivers value.
Optimizer firms view AI through the lens of improving processes. The primary goal is to do existing work faster and cheaper, layering AI into existing workflows and systems. They typically limit their time investment in AI to tool adoption.
For many firms, particularly smaller practices with limited resources, this is a logical starting point. It's a pragmatic approach that identifies bottlenecks, applies AI and captures the productivity benefit. Yet the strategy has limitations. When AI simply makes existing work faster, fundamental firm economics such as staffing and pricing remain unchanged.
Transformer firms are not simply more enthusiastic about AI; they are making different operating choices. Their primary goal is to create capacity in order to shift toward higher-value work, redesigning workflows around what AI does best.
According to our research, transformers are twice as likely to devote over 20% of staff time to AI adoption.
What makes a transformer firm different
That time investment is translating into progress. Fifty-five percent of transformers report substantial or moderate progress automating routine, time-consuming tasks, compared with 31% of optimizers.
Transformer firms are also revisiting workflows, roles, training, quality controls and service mix. They measure success through client responsiveness, data-driven insight, advisory capacity and differentiated services
Among the firms I speak with, you can see how the difference shows up in the way transformers are serving clients. At Ledgerly Consulting, a three-person firm, AI has helped shift the focus from transaction management to shaping strategy. Co-founder and managing partner Brittany Malidore has described it as moving from "what happened" to "what's possible."
Client meetings are no longer about what happened last month; they're about strategizing for the next. She says the shift required training and new muscles to challenge AI outputs and bring intuition to data.
The results are tangible: Ledgerly reduced one nonprofit client's reconciliation time by 60%, allowing the team to spend less time chasing transactions and more time providing strategic insight. For a small firm, that is the promise of AI. They are not just doing the same work faster, but creating capacity for more valuable guidance like scenario planning.
Malidore's advice: View AI as a co-strategist. She says AI made them sharper and more intentional.
Redesigning around AI
Not all small firms are as advanced in their approach to AI. Many are still using it as a personal tool, whereas large firms are thinking about systematic tooling and in-house product development.
Hiline, a 50-person, 300-client firm we work with at Bill, is an example of how firms are redesigning around AI. They've built their own AI agents and tested native apps. Their approach is to view agents as if they're hiring an associate — training the agent on how the work should get done, setting guardrails, providing feedback and insight along the way, and eventually letting it do its thing.
Eric Cohen, the firm's head of technology, says not using AI is like insisting on paper ledgers when everyone else is optimizing with Excel. "AI is the new standard, and it's not about being replaced, but being left behind if you don't adapt. What we look forward to the most is perfecting AI agents, allowing them to take over work with minimal oversight."
His advice on pushing your firm deeper into AI: Just try it out. Put it into daily use and test what it can do.
Turning efficiency into client value
One lesson from firms like Ledgerly and Hiline is that transformation starts with asking what you can do with the time AI gives back to you.
Larger firms may have more resources, but smaller firms have advantages of their own. They are close to clients, faster to change workflows and often less burdened by legacy systems or complex approval processes. The first step is to start with one recurring workflow that creates friction for your team or your clients: reconciliations, bill pay, client onboarding, reporting, document collection or cash-flow analysis. After that, ask three questions: What steps can AI help remove? What should still require human judgment? And what new client conversation becomes possible if the firm gets that time back?
This is how you convert capacity into even stronger client relationships, with faster answers, better visibility, more proactive guidance and more time spent helping business owners make decisions. For SMB clients in particular, that is the value they need from their accounting firm.
Accounting's greatest asset
The accounting profession's collaborative culture might be its greatest asset. The firms furthest ahead have a chance to show what is possible, and the firms just beginning have a chance to learn faster because of it.
Bringing the same openness to AI that accountants have always brought to solving client problems will give firms more room to do the most human parts of the work: advising, interpreting, questioning and helping clients see what is possible next.
