The pace of AI adoption across CPA firms is steady but measured. Many leaders are moving carefully by design as they evaluate tools and navigate heavy questions about security, accuracy, client confidentiality and oversight. Training and upskilling that can help get team members working with AI effectively also take time—and for most firms, these efforts are essential due to critical skills gaps.
Research for Robert Half’s latest Demand for Skilled Talent report found that only 6% of finance and accounting leaders have the necessary capabilities to accomplish priority projects this year, and AI implementation is one of the top strategic priorities for leaders this year. Well over half (57%) of leaders surveyed say they need to upskill their current team members, and many point to AI literacy as one of the most evident skills gaps to address. Leaders also highlight the growing importance of soft skills like critical thinking and adaptability as AI becomes more embedded in everyday work.
These findings help underscore why AI adoption in CPA firms is a workforce issue as much as a technology challenge. It requires strong leadership to be successful. Without a clear plan, AI use across the firm is likely to be uneven, with some employees embracing it quickly, others resisting change, and managers struggling to set expectations or reinforce good habits with their staff. To create a structured approach to AI adoption, CPA firm leaders need to understand how and where to achieve quick wins with AI and what best practices that can help teams make the most of these capabilities responsibly.
How CPA firms are using AI tools—and how it benefits their teams
Many CPA firms are already using AI to support a growing range of tasks across tax, audit and client service workflows. It helps their employees move faster through time-consuming steps such as document intake, summarization, research preparation, analytics and exception spotting. Generative AI assistants for CPA firms are also helping teams work more efficiently within familiar systems and workflows for research, documentation, communication and more.
A key benefit of using AI tools—especially in document-heavy workflows—is to help ease some of the pressure that contributes to employee burnout, especially during peak work periods like tax season. For example, when a client uploads a folder filled with mixed PDFs, statements and prior-year materials, AI can help generate a first-pass summary of what’s included, pull out key details for review and compare files against a prepared-by-client list so the team can more quickly see what’s missing. AI can also help teams flag potential duplicate files, mismatches, patterns or outliers earlier.
AI implementation in CPA firms: Turning experimentation into lasting value
A practical starting point for AI adoption in any organization is to define a short list of approved use cases. In a CPA firm, this work may include document intake, summarization, research preparation, internal drafting support or analytics triage. These are often manageable entry points for AI use because they can help teams save time without removing the need for human review. Starting with a limited set of use cases also helps leaders clarify expectations and learn where oversight is most needed, which helps reduce risk.
The next step is to establish and communicate AI best practices for everyone in the firm. Teams should know what tools are approved, what confidentiality rules apply and what information should never be entered into an AI system. Employees should also know what steps are required to validate AI outputs, and what types of work is always subject to those steps. The goal of setting guardrails like these for AI use isn’t to create red tape, but to make good habits easy to adopt and apply consistently.
As employees expand their use of AI, emphasize that their judgment becomes more important—not less. While tools can summarize information, surface patterns and draft language quickly, they can’t determine what deserves skepticism, what needs escalation or what outputs are appropriate to feature in client-facing work. That’s why team members working with AI need clear guidance and training from firm management on how to:
- Verify AI-assisted work before it moves forward
- Protect confidential or other sensitive information
- Recognize when an AI output is incomplete, unsupported or off-base
- Escalate concerns when something doesn’t look right
CPA firm leaders can further strengthen AI literacy across their team by making it part of day-to-day workflows and talent management strategies. That includes:
- Incorporating AI guidance into employee onboarding and training
- Clarifying where AI can support workflows and where more caution is needed
- Helping managers reinforce employees’ responsible use through regular coaching
- Hiring and developing professionals with strong judgment, communication skills and adaptability
- Regularly assessing employees’ comfort with AI and their readiness to build new skills as part of their professional development
Leaders can also make AI training more effective for staff by tying it to real engagement scenarios. Short, role-based sessions for tax, audit and client service teams can help demonstrate how and where AI can be useful, and where caution is a must. It also helps to document AI best practices in straightforward, accessible formats, such as workflow checklists or approved prompt examples. Be sure to update this guidance regularly as tools evolve and encourage employees to share lessons learned so that everyone can grow AI literacy faster and help the firm continually strengthen its overall AI governance.
From AI in tax preparation to AI in audit support, CPA firm leaders and their teams have a growing range of opportunities to use AI tools to work more efficiently, improve productivity and deliver greater value to clients. AI can reduce time spent on repetitive tasks, ease friction in document-heavy workflows and support better prioritization of tasks. But those gains aren’t automatic. Realizing the benefits of AI use depends less on how quickly firms can adopt new capabilities and more on how they put them to work with structure, purpose and oversight.
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Steve Saah is the executive director of permanent placement at Robert Half, the world’s first and largest specialized financial talent solutions service. The company has more than 300 locations worldwide. He is responsible for leading U.S. operations, based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. He was named executive director in 2017, previously serving as director of permanent placement services.
Saah has been with the company since 1998, where he started as a recruiting manager, following a career as an internal auditor and assistant controller. He is a noted expert, author and presenter on career, management and hiring trends, particularly those affecting the accounting and finance fields. Saah earned a finance degree from Virginia Tech.
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