A new survey of Canadian accounting and tax pros suggests that businesses (and likely not just those in Canada) are losing money after relying on general-purpose AI tools such as ChatGPT for financial, bookkeeping and tax advice.
Commissioned by Dext, accountants and bookkeepers warned the risks could escalate into business failures by 2026. The research included 500 accountants and bookkeepers across Canada, which found that 50 percent are aware of businesses that have suffered direct financial losses – including overpayments, missed allowances, penalties, fines or compliance issues – as a result of incorrect or misleading AI-generated advice.
The findings suggest public AI adoption is accelerating across Canadian businesses, but that misuse of these tools for complex financial decisions is creating a growing and costly risk, one accountants and bookkeepers fear will intensify as more firms treat AI outputs as reliable guidance.
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“The damage is no longer hypothetical,” said Paul Lodder, VP accounting product strategy at Dext. “Businesses are already losing money, and accountants are spending valuable time correcting avoidable mistakes, from tax and payroll errors to misinterpretation of expenses.
“AI has a powerful role to play in finance but there’s a fundamental difference between specialist tools built for accounting and bookkeeping, and general-purpose chatbots that don’t know a business’s true financial context.”
AI reliance surges as clients challenge professional advice
Throughout 2025, 76 per cent of accountants and bookkeepers say they have seen an increase in clients using public AI tools, such as ChatGPT or other large language models, to seek financial, tax or bookkeeping advice.
At the same time, 70 per cent have seen an increase in clients using AI-generated outputs to question or challenge professional advice, while 68 per cent report a rise in clients suggesting that AI could replace the need for professional accounting services.
However, this growing reliance is being accompanied by a sharp rise in errors, with consequences already showing up in client finances.
‘AI slop’ in the books
According to the research, accountants and bookkeepers are now encountering client mistakes on a regular basis due to incorrect or misleading public AI-generated financial or tax advice.
- 11% report encountering client mistakes on a daily basis
- 29% say they are seeing client mistakes every week
- A quarter report seeing mistakes monthly
- Only 7 per cent say they have never encountered public AI-driven mistakes.
The most common errors reported include incorrect interpretation of business expenses (44%), incorrect tax claims or charges (43%), flawed personal tax planning (36%), payroll errors (35%) and incorrect business tax planning advice (35%).
The hidden cost: hours wasted fixing AI mistakes
Beyond direct financial losses, the research highlights a growing productivity drain on the accounting and bookkeeping professions, and unnecessary hours billed to businesses.
Among those encountering public AI-related mistakes, 44 per cent spend up to three hours per month correcting errors caused by AI-generated advice, 27 per cent spend between four to six hours, and 11 per cent spend 7-10 hours fixing errors.
2026 warning: insolvency risk, fraud, penalties and CRA scrutiny
Looking ahead to 2026, accountants expect the risks to intensify if businesses continue relying on public AI tools without professional oversight.
A quarter (27%) warn of a higher risk of insolvency or business failure, while others expect increased misuse of AI outputs to justify inappropriate or fraudulent claims (42%), rising fines and penalties (40%), and greater CRA scrutiny due to incorrect or late filings (38%). Nearly half (46%) believe businesses making decisions based on false confidence from incorrect AI outputs will become more common.
Calls for regulatory clamp down
With concerns mounting, accountants are calling for urgent intervention. The vast majority (94%) believe regulation and restriction is needed– two-fifths believe public AI tools should be restricted when providing financial or tax-related advice, and 62 per cent are specifically calling for formal regulation.
Lodder added: “If we head into 2026 with more businesses treating AI outputs as trusted tax and financial advice, without professional oversight, the consequences could be severe. The focus now should be on responsible guardrails, clearer restrictions around financial advice, and better education for businesses on what these tools can and cannot safely be used for.”
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