AI: The Perfect Partner for Accounting Firm Teams
I don’t have to tell you that AI is all that. I’m guessing that a lot of firm team members are at least testing the possibilities of AI, if not at full throttle. AI is not only the BBF (business best friend) to partners, it’s a built-in bestie for individuals across departments and roles.
Like firm partners, many of you have been in the profession for several years, acquiring your own level of intuition. You know, those gut feelings that tell you: “This is the way to do it.” Intuition is imperative to accounting pros, but so is AI. When you pair the two together, trust me, you can reach new heights of efficiency, organization and innovation. And just think what you can do with all that extra time. I can read your mind: Serve clients with higher-value advisory services.
If you haven’t already, it’s time to tap into AI’s power to do all of this. All you have to do is start with a conversation. Just start talking to the bot — like it’s your BBF. You’ll not only find this relationship to be off-the-charts valuable, but it’s also kind of fun.
The sooner you partner AI with your well-honed intuition and expertise, the better off you’ll be. It’s a killer combination when put into practice with focus — and a little bit of zeal, if I’m being honest.☺
If you test it…the benefits will come
I’ll say to you what I say to partners: There’s no real risk in experimenting with AI. Nothing to lose and everything to gain. Just think about the value for a minute.
Bolster your confidence. AI provides data-driven insights to decisions, giving you that added shot of assurance to move forward.
Improve strategies. AI can quickly help you enhance operational efficiency and strategic planning. You can use AI to process mountains of unstructured data into structured data to identify patterns quickly and accurately, predict outcomes and suggest optimizations that might not be visible to the naked eye.
Evaluate performance. No need to wait for your annual employee evaluation. You can use AI to analyze your performance throughout the year, giving the opportunity to course correct and apply tweaks where needed. Set yourself up for a stellar review by practicing and enhancing all year long.
You can use AI to self-evaluate yourself in key areas. AI will spit out a scorecard, complete with advice and recommendations and areas of improvement. See this sample:
Get your gab on
I have regular conversations with AI. Like full-blown discussions that take me from a pain point to possible resolutions to an action plan. Think about a few common challenges and then ask your BBF for a little help.
Here’s a good example: A group of remote team members are having issues with visibility and feeling connected to the firm. Here’s what that convo might look like:
Team member: Me and some of my team members are remote and feeling disconnected to the firm and onsite team. How can we approach management to find a solution?
AI:
Identify key issues:
Lack of communication or informal interactions.
Difficulty staying updated with company goals.
Feeling excluded from decision-making.
Less engagement with onsite team members.
Propose solutions:
Regular virtual check-ins: Suggest weekly video calls to align remote and onsite teams.
Casual virtual meetups: Organize virtual coffee breaks or team-building activities.
Hybrid team meetings: Encourage onsite teams to include remote members
in discussions.Collaboration tools: Recommend better communication tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams or Notion.
Feedback loop: Request periodic surveys to assess remote employee engagement.
Request a meeting with management:
Present data or testimonials from team members feeling disconnected.
Emphasize how better integration benefits productivity and retention.
Offer specific, actionable steps instead of just presenting problems.
Would you like help drafting an email or proposal to management?
Team member: Yes, please.
AI: Here’s a sample email to get you started.
This is the beauty of AI. It gets you past the “staring at a blank page” stage and moving in the right direction. In the above example, albeit a bit formal, you’re provided with a basic communication that you can tweak as you plan your strategy to address management.
AI is ready and waiting for you
Combining intuition, expertise and AI can take you to new levels of efficiency, organization and innovation. Start with a little experimentation and then move forward with bold confidence. From helping you solve common pain points to streamlining day-to-day work, AI is the BBF you’ll want to hold on to.
