The first State of Client Experience in Accounting benchmarking report shows how accounting firms are approaching client experience, operational efficiency, and AI adoption, revealing challenges in translating firm priorities into meaningful improvements. The report was commissioned by HubSync, an end-to-end client experience and automation platform built specifically for CPA firms.
“Accounting firms have always focused on delivering high-quality work, but the experience clients have throughout that process is just as important,” said John McGowan, Founder and CEO of HubSync. “Our research shows that firms recognize the importance of client experience, yet many still face internal challenges that make it difficult to deliver a consistent experience. We wanted to better understand where those challenges exist and give firm leaders a benchmark for evaluating their own operations.”
The report identifies three key trends shaping the future of client experience across the accounting profession:
- Client Experience as a Competitive Differentiator: Accounting firms increasingly recognize client experience as a driver of growth, but few believe they’ve mastered it. While 53% of respondents ranked improving client experience among their top business priorities, only 12% rated their firm’s current experience as excellent.
- External Experiences Depend on Internal Operations: Many client experience challenges begin behind the scenes, where manual processes and disconnected systems create additional work for employees and friction for clients. Half of respondents identified chasing documents as the operational process consuming the most staff time.
- AI Ambition Meets Readiness Challenges: AI adoption is a growing priority for accounting firms, but many are still navigating the organizational and technical challenges associated with implementation. Only 9% of respondents described their firm’s current AI adoption as leading.
“Technology can play a major role in improving the client experience, but simply adding another tool isn’t the answer,” added McGowan. “Firms need to look at how work moves across their organization and where technology can make a meaningful difference. It’s about making everyday processes easier for employees and creating a better, more consistent experience for clients.”
Looking ahead, the accounting profession’s focus on client experience will place greater demands on the operations behind each engagement. As firms pursue AI adoption and respond to changing client expectations, manual processes and disconnected systems will become increasingly difficult to sustain. Firms that address these barriers and build technology into day-to-day workflows will be better positioned to deliver consistent service, strengthen client relationships, and compete over the long term.
The full report offers a deeper look at the findings, along with additional insights and a self-assessment to help accounting firm leaders evaluate their own client experience. HubSync’s State of Client Experience in Accounting report is available for download now.
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