Top 10 accounting firm Grant Thornton announced on Sept. 4 that Grant Thornton Advisors is investing $1 billion over three years to provide artificial intelligence tools and technology to the entire workforce at its multinational professional services platform, which stretches from the Americas across Europe to the Middle East.
The firm said the investment will help the platform deliver innovative and high-quality accounting, tax, and advisory services based on a people-centric model powered by AI. As a result, the multinational platform will be able to deliver a better end-to-end digital experience for both its professionals and its clients.
Grant Thornton Advisors established its multinational, mutidisciplinary platform in January 2025, with backing from private equity firm New Mountain Capital, which acquired a significant stake in Grant Thornton US in June 2024.
As a result, Grant Thornton now operates in an alternative practice structure: Grant Thornton LLP, a licensed CPA firm, provides attest services, and Grant Thornton Advisors LLC provides business advisory and non-attest services.
To date, Grant Thornton US sister firms from Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland/Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands, and the Channel Islands have joined the multinational platform.
- Related article: Grant Thornton US Keeps Growing Multinational Platform
As part of its AI investment, Grant Thornton Advisors is providing the more than 13,500 platform professionals in 60 multinational offices with access to Microsoft 365 Copilot. The rollout complements an earlier pilot project that saw Grant Thornton Advisors provide Microsoft’s AI tool to a 400-person cohort of professionals, generating significant productivity gains, the firm said.
“This isn’t just about investing in AI and technology, it’s about investing in our people,” Grant Thornton Advisors CEO Jim Peko said in a statement. “We’re giving every professional across our multinational platform—from Chicago to Dubai—the kinds of tools they need to work smarter, faster, and in keeping with their individual styles. The result is something that is uniquely Grant Thornton: People who are empowered do their best work so clients benefit from the quality and results they need.”
Mike Kempe, chief information officer for Grant Thornton Advisors, added, “This investment is a big step as we ensure that every person at the Grant Thornton Advisors platform has AI and technology resources at the ready—from our newest hires to our most seasoned professionals. The Microsoft 365 Copilot rollout, for example, will help our people save time, balance their workloads, and make more insightful decisions. This means they’ll be able to efficiently provide our clients with personalized high-quality services.”
Tom Puthiyamadam, Grant Thornton Advisors’ managing partner for advisory services in the U.S., stresses that the Copilot rollout is one of many moves that will help the firm deliver quality services powered by AI and grounded in human insights.
“We’re building a full-service platform amplified by AI and advanced technologies,” he said. “Investing in tools such as Copilot is a critical next step in this effort and part of a steady cadence of innovations that will help us provide clients with novel solutions to whatever challenges lie ahead.”
Over the past year, Grant Thornton Advisors has made progress implementing a phased AI maturity model across its platform. In May, it launched CompliAI, a proprietary AI solution that uses advanced capabilities and a custom-trained large-language model, to help clients control and assess risks.
- Related article: Grant Thornton Rolls Out New CompliAI Internal Tool
- Related article: Grant Thornton to Join Forces with Auxis for Nearshoring Services
- Related article: Grant Thornton to Add Strategy Consulting Firm Stax
In addition, Grant Thornton Advisors recently acquired Auxis, a U.S.-based leader in outsourcing and business modernization services. And last month, it added Stax, a strategy consulting firm specializing in commercial due-diligence, value-creation, and exit-planning services for private equity firms, as well as their portfolio companies and advisors.
Thanks for reading CPA Practice Advisor!
Subscribe Already registered? Log In
Need more information? Read the FAQs
