PwC’s US CEO has claimed that partners who resist the advance of AI will have no place at the firm as it overhauls its core services and pricing models to protect its business from being undermined by the technology.
According to a report in the Financial Times, Paul Griggs said that PwC would start to offer alternatives to the traditional model of billing clients based on the number of hours worked by its army of staff.
Instead, it would convert some tax and consulting services into AI-powered automated tools that clients could access “without a PwC person in the loop,” potentially paid for on an annual subscription. Senior staff who were not “paranoid about being AI-first” would probably be replaced by others more comfortable with the changing technology.
“I don’t think anyone gets a free pass here. Anyone,” Griggs said in an interview with the FT.
Anyone who believed they had the “opportunity to opt out” of AI is “not going to be here that long”, he added. Griggs, who became PwC’s US chief executive in May 2024, is attempting to get ahead of AI-led disruption that could upend the professional services business model. The Big Four — which includes Deloitte, EY and KPMG, as well as PwC — have traditionally hired thousands of junior staff to perform relatively routine tasks. AI promises to automate much of that work, threatening a model based on billing by the hour. In the long run, it could tempt clients to do more in-house instead of calling in consultants.
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PwC recently launched “PwC One,” an AI platform for clients to access six automated services, with a promise to add more in the coming months. The platform provides low-cost access to the firm’s expertise on subjects ranging from M&A due diligence to tax rules, Griggs said.
AI expert Raj Abrol, CEO of Galytix said:“AI is here to stay, and the sooner businesses wake up to this fact the better. The technology is set to bring sweeping changes to the way organisations manage risk and decision-making.
At a time of immense uncertainty, the ability to accurately assess and respond to shifting risk profiles can be accelerated through AI. With uncertainty now the new normal, market intelligence data is an essential asset, and will help reassure investors and risk managers in complex times.”
Kenny MacAulay, CEO of Acting Office, a software platform for accounting practices said: “AI sceptics have no place in the big four, or any credible business for that matter. With the technology set to shake up traditional working models and reshape industries, forward thinking leaders will move quickly implement AI as an urgency to stay ahead of the competition.”
Photo credit: PwC US
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