The 2026 AI in Professional Services Report from �������� tells a striking story. Sixty-two percent of professionals are using generative AI daily. Thirty-four percent of tax firms are deploying it at an organizational level — up from 21% just a year ago. And yet only 19% of those firms are actually measuring the ROI of their AI tools. More than half aren’t measuring at all, and the remainder have no idea how their firms are measuring AI’s output. The pace of change is accelerating faster than most firms anticipated, and the window for early-mover advantage is closing.

But adoption alone isn’t the headline. The real story is what’s happening inside the firms that have moved from experimentation to transformation.

Leading firms are putting AI to work

Our research shows that just 14% of tax firms say agentic AI is currently part of their workflow, but 80% expect it to be central to how their organization operates within five years. The question for every firm leader is whether they’re building for that future today or planning to catch up later.

At ��������, we launched in March 2025 — not as a pilot, but as a fully deployed, purpose-built agentic AI platform. In the months since, thousands of firms have embedded it into their daily workflows, and the results are measurable. The CoCounsel solutions include , and — tools that are helping firms transform the way they do tax research, tax preparation and strategic advisory. And users are reaping the benefits — with average time savings of 32% per task. Research that once consumed three to five hours now takes fifteen to thirty minutes. As , Tax Partner at Copeland Buhl, one of the top 20 accounting and advisory firms in the Midwest, puts it: “It’s a super easy way to ask very complicated tax questions from a reliable source… Everybody has said they can’t live without this anymore.”

What sets CoCounsel apart is the fiduciary-grade AI it’s built on: drawing from trusted sources including more than 12 million �������� Checkpoint expert-authored pieces, plus primary sources including IRS, FASB, GASB, AICPA, and IFRS. Every answer is cited, and every output is defensible. That matters in a profession where accuracy is non-negotiable.

, Principal at Virginia-based firm Harris, Hardy & Johnstone, captures what time savings means in practice: “Time is worth more than anything else. Our industry is so choked for time that any minute I get back could mean an extra evening with my wife or a vacation without stress.”

Built for the work — not retrofitted to it

What I hear most often from firm leaders evaluating AI tools is a version of the same concern: how do I know I can trust it? It’s the right question. General-purpose AI can generate plausible-sounding answers. But the high-stakes work tax and audit professionals do day-to-day means they need answers they can stand behind.

, Senior Tax Managing Director at Arizona-based firm Jansen & Company CPAs, tried several AI tools before landing on CoCounsel. His verdict: “It saves us time, but not just time — there’s an accuracy and a confidence element there… CoCounsel shines for deep research. Nobody can touch it.”

AI is no longer a future consideration for tax and audit firms. It’s reshaping the profession now, across firms of every size. At ��������, we have moved beyond promise to delivery — in CoCounsel Tax & Audit, providing AI technology that is already transforming how high-stakes work gets done.

Elizabeth Beastrom is President, Tax, Audit & Accounting Professionals at ��������

By explicitly calling out Audit, we’re recognizing and serving customers whose needs go well beyond tax compliance. We’re reinforcing our commitment to building audit-specific products, workflows, and expertise that help firms modernize.

Audit isn’t “extra”—it’s essential

Most firms don’t experience tax, audit, and accounting as separate lanes. They’re connected, year-round workflows that require speed, clarity, and confidence. And in audit, “moving faster” can’t come at the expense of quality. It has to come from better systems: more structured workflows, less manual effort and greater automation.

That’s why audit deserves to be named. Not as a trend—but as a clear, long-term commitment to the customers doing this work every day.

How we’re helping audit teams work smarter and faster

�������� is investing in audit workflow tools and expanding our partner ecosystem so firms can modernize their audit practice with industry-leading AI-powered cloud-based solutions backed by trusted methodology, including:

• : Supports day-to-day audit work by helping teams analyze and review documents, draft workpapers, and keep materials organized in a shared workspace—aimed at making workflows more consistent and reducing time spent on repetitive tasks.

• : Uses automation and AI to speed up transaction analysis, identify items for review, assist with sample selection, and direct attention toward higher-risk areas—so auditors can spend more time on judgment-heavy work.

• : Helps teams complete testing with less manual work by automating the matching of selected samples to supporting evidence and validating whether the expected amounts were collected, while keeping documentation in the workflow.

• Open ecosystem: Integrations that enhance Guided Assurance (Cloud Audit Suite) with —plus a partnership with .

What’s changing—and what isn’t

This is a naming update, not an organizational change. There are no changes to roles or structure tied to this announcement. What is changing is the clarity: audit is an intentional focus. You’ll continue to see that reflected in the products, partnerships, and workflows we bring to market.

The bottom line

Audit deserves to be named—because firms deserve tools that help them modernize with confidence. By adding Audit to our name, we’re making a clear commitment to supporting the profession through rapid change. We’re delivering AI-enabled efficiency, grounded in trusted methodology, backed by an ecosystem built for real audit work.

Elizabeth Beastrom is President of Tax, Audit & Accounting Professionals at ��������

Tax, Audit and Accounting has always been a profession built on rigor and responsibility. But the reality of running a modern practice is complexity keeps rising, timelines keep tightening, and client expectations keep evolving. Firms are being asked to do more, faster—without compromising quality.

Why this matters for firms

This recognition is not just about a new solution being introduced—it’s about what firms are prioritizing right now. Across the industry, leaders are focused on creating repeatable capacity—not just surviving busy season. They’re prioritizing workflows that are reliable year-round. That means reducing friction in the return process, improving consistency across teams, and ensuring professionals have the time to apply judgment where it matters most.

That’s the lens I bring to . It’s designed to support the parts of the tax return process that can slow teams down, so professionals can stay focused on the work of humans: review, judgment, accountability, and advising clients with confidence.

Restoring time for professional judgment

There’s a lot of discussion about automation and the future of work. What I see in firms today is more practical: talented professionals spending too much time on repetitive steps, and not enough time on review, coaching, and client conversations.

The opportunity here is to shift time back to the professional—so firms can:

• Strengthen quality and consistency
• Improve responsiveness to clients
• And make the work more sustainable for teams

Honorable Mention: Ready to Advise

Accounting Today also gave an Honorable Mention to , which supports tax planning and advisory services.

That matters because once firms create more capacity, the next question is how to use it. Many firms are looking to grow advisory in a way that’s scalable and consistent – grounded in strong workflows and clear client outcomes.

Recognition like this is meaningful for us at ��������. But it’s even more meaningful because it reflects progress our customers can feel. When firms can rely on their technology to create more capacity and consistency in the work, they can serve clients with greater confidence. They can support their teams through peak demand, and make the practice more sustainable. That’s the kind of win we’re focused on: one that strengthens firms and the professionals who power them.

Elizabeth Beastrom is President, Tax, Audit & Accounting Professionals at ��������

��

Ready to Review is our new cloud-based, agentic AI tax workflow solution built on CoCounsel. For tax year 2025, it modernizes 1040 tax return preparation. It’s designed to take on the heavy, repetitive work of gathering client documents and preparing returns—so tax professionals can focus on what drew many of us to this profession in the first place: problem solving, critical thinking, and delivering great counsel to clients.��

For too long, firms have been stuck in a pattern that everyone recognizes as unsustainable—ever more complex returns, tighter deadlines, and mounting pressure on teams already stretched thin. Busy season has become synonymous with burnout and staffing strain. AI alone won’t fix that. But AI put to work in the right way—through agentic AI deeply embedded into tax workflows—can fundamentally change the equation.��

A Better Way Through Busy Season

The goal is not to replace professional judgment, but to clear away the manual, time-consuming tasks that prevent professionals from using that judgment to its fullest. Ready to Review gives firms a single, cloud-based, scalable platform that automates the gather and tax prep stages of the��workflow—helping firms manage more individual returns with existing staff while��maintaining��quality and control.��

We’re��already seeing the impact. Indiana-based CLH CPAs & Consultants��participated��in our early adopter program and saw��the potential for��transformative time savings. As Bob Lange, Partner at CLH, told us:��“Reducing return preparation time by��approximately an��hour on each simple 1040 is significant in terms of efficiency gains. For firms like ours, these time savings will be a game changer.”��

I’ve��said before that I expect firms will��ultimately pair��each CPA with at least one virtual agent. is a tangible step in that direction. It brings that 1:1 vision closer to reality by embedding Gather and Tax Preparer AI agents directly into the 1040 workflow in a way��that’s��responsible, auditable, and grounded in trusted �������� tax content and compliance��expertise.��

The Next Step for 1040 Prep

As solutions like Ready to Review become part of the day-to-day fabric of tax work,��we’ll��see fewer 80-hour��weeks��and more time spent on the nuanced, client-focused work that truly differentiates firms.��We’ll��make room for new talent who are excited about a career that leans into analysis and advisory rather than pure grind.����

Ready to Review is now generally available in the United States for 1040 use cases, and its launch marks an important milestone in our broader journey with agentic AI on the�� platform.��It’s��one more way��we’re��helping firms modernize in a way that is practical, grounded, and built for the realities of tax season.��

Elizabeth Beastrom is President of Tax, Audit & Accounting Professionals at ��������

We know that AI is a gamechanger. But in the past year, agentic AI has further accelerated��what’s��possible. Agents can handle the routine tasks that used to take��professionals��hours, days or even weeks to complete, freeing time for teams to focus on higher-value work.  ��

At ��������,��we’re��investing in this future – your future. Our focus is on solutions that automate routine tasks, empower teams to focus on strategic advisory, and help firms thrive amid the challenges the industry is facing. ��

At��SYNERGY��2025,��we’re��proud to unveil our latest AI innovations: ��

Ready to Review is leading the way in transforming tax preparation. This cloud-based, agentic AI workflow streamlines the entire process—automating data extraction and verification so professionals can focus on review and advisory, not manual prep. Firms anticipate seeing significant time savings, especially during peak season, with accuracy and quality at the forefront. ��

Audit Intelligence Test��is redefining how audit teams approach��evidence��matching and documentation. By automating the most tedious steps, this AI-powered Excel add-in enables auditors to quickly��validate��transactions and tackle complex scenarios, freeing up valuable hours and strengthening audit trails. ��

CoCounsel��Document Analysis,��audit��and accounting professionals gain a powerful new tool for document review. Integrated with��CoCounsel��Audit, this solution combines agentic AI with a��dynamic, spreadsheet-native grid, making it easier than ever to extract key data, perform substantive testing, and generate workpapers with embedded citations. Early adopters report up to 70% reductions in setup and review time. ��

These innovations��aren’t��just about technology.��They’re��about enabling professionals to do more with what they have while delivering smarter insights for clients.  ��

At ��������,��we’re��committed to helping you lead through change. The next era of tax and accounting is being written today—let’s��shape it together. ��

Read more about �������� Synergy 2025 Tax, Audit and Accounting announcements.

�������� President and CEO Steve Hasker shared a state of the industry outlook, noting generative AI is as disruptive and transformative as previous technology shifts yet is happening even faster. He emphasized what differentiates ��������, including investments the company is making in generative AI to enable professionals to accelerate and streamline entire workflows and deliver more value for clients. ����

Hasker said �������� has invested more than $200M in AI in the last year. He discussed the company’s vision to provide each professional it serves with an AI assistant; the launch of CoCounsel 2.0, which generates answers three times faster than the previous version; and new work with Microsoft on autonomous agents to increase revenue, reduce costs, and scale impact for customers. ����

Tax, Audit & Accounting����

“AI is not just changing the landscape of accounting, it’s reshaping it.” That was the message from Elizabeth Beastrom, president of Tax & Accounting at ��������. ��

While the profession sees AI as a game-changer to help them work differently, tax and accounting professionals also continue to wrestle with the perennial challenge of a talent shortage. This, combined with escalating complexity and more tax regulations, as well as changing client expectations, leaves tax professionals in need of a critical solution.��

�������� sees the potential of AI to help alleviate these challenges by augmenting human capabilities. Automating mundane, time-consuming tasks will enhance efficiency for tax professionals, helping them reclaim time to channel into higher value tasks. �������� is working to bring the power of generative AI, machine learning and automation into its solutions in the following ways:

1. Saving time in tax preparation:

Coming in beta during the upcoming busy season, �������� will launch an AI-assisted tax preparation experience to increase firm efficiency. The solution combines the power of CoCounsel, �������� professional-grade generative AI assistant, with workflow automation and software integrations. It supports the delegation of data gathering to simplify mundane tasks and automate tax preparation. �������� research shows that customers using this solution will save at least two hours per 1040 tax return on average.��

2. Supporting firms’ growth with advisory: ��

As client expectations continue to evolve, they’re increasingly looking to their accountants as trusted advisors. Firms of all sizes are focusing on growing their advisory practices to help bring their clients additional value, as well as supporting their growth. In 2025, the �������� Advisory Solution will combine the power of CoCounsel and Checkpoint content to identify advisory opportunities. Advisory services are integrated directly into a firm’s practice, with technology empowering junior staff to take on higher-value advisory work and seasoned professionals to move beyond technical expertise to value-added synthesis. ��

“It helps firms build their advisory practice with confidence to deliver unprecedented value to meet clients’ evolving needs,” said Nancy Hawkins, vice president of Product Management, Research.��

3. Transforming audit efficiency:��

Halving sample sizes, boosting efficiency and sharpening the focus on high-risk areas are all at the heart of �������� Audit Intelligence Analyze solution, which launched in October. Further functionality will be coming in 2025 as it expands the Audit Intelligence suite capabilities. ‘Test’ will support with automating substantive testing with dynamic transaction tracing, while ‘Plan’ will harness full data populations with cutting-edge analytics for superior risk assessment. Both will launch with beta programs next year, along with the addition of CoCounsel to the Audit Intelligence suite.��

All three solutions – Review Ready, �������� Advisory Solution and the Audit Intelligence suite – will be further enhanced with �Ѳ��ٱ������’s generative and agentic AI capabilities.��

Corporates��

Laura Clayton McDonnell, president of the Corporates segment, shared how enterprise technology, including AI and generative AI, is revolutionizing the profession with innovative and emerging solutions. She emphasized that companies are taking a streamlined and proactive approach to addressing risk and compliance across the enterprise, while driving towards their business goals, will maintain their competitive advantage. Clayton McDonnell also shared how organizations are using solutions including ONESOURCE Pagero, CoCounsel Core, Legal Tracker, Checkpoint Edge with CoCounsel and CLEAR to solve challenges and realize value for their business.��

In addition, Ray Grove, head of Corporate Tax and Trade, ��������, highlighted the company’s efforts to build a seamless, integrated compliance network, and Kevin Appold, vice president of US Public Records, ��������, shared how the company’s risk and fraud solutions play a critical role in the convergence of compliance and commerce. Also, Valerie McConnell, senior director of CoCounsel Customer Success, discussed how CoCounsel is transforming the general counsel’s office.��

Legal��

A highlight from the Legal Professionals segment included an in-depth look at the �������� 2025 AI product roadmap from David Wong, chief product officer; Mike Dahn, head of Westlaw Product; and Valerie McConnell, senior director of CoCounsel Customer Success. They outlined upcoming generative AI features and innovations to support legal professionals, including deeper integration of CoCounsel 2.0 in Westlaw and Practical Law plus generative AI research features including Claims Explorer, Mischaracterization Identification in Quick Check and AI Jurisdictional Surveys.��

Legal SYNERGY attendees also participated in interactive sessions and CLE courses on advanced prompting techniques, the science behind large language models, and optimizing generative AI for tasks like drafting and legal research. Sessions offered attendees a comprehensive view of the future of AI in law. ��

SYNERGY 2024 also included several customer panels and executive briefing sessions. Watch the Innovation Blog for highlights from these sessions and for 2025 product and innovation highlights.��

They discussed the report’s findings around time-savings, noting that 77% of tax professionals believe generative AI is applicable to their industry, with potential productivity gains of up to five hours per week.

“There’s some pretty big implications of what this means for the tax and accounting space,” Wong said, noting generative AI tools could make tax season and other busy periods “way less painful” for accountants.

The report also found that 83% of tax professionals cited a lack of skilled labor.

“The talent shortage is real,” Beastrom said. “It’s been ongoing for the last few years and it’s definitely not going away. 300,000 people have left the industry between 2019 and 2022.”

She said the number of students getting bachelor’s degrees in accounting is down and cited Financial Times data on the number of people sitting for CPA exams, which hit its lowest level in 17 years.

“With less people going into the profession and more people retiring and leaving the profession, there’s a tremendous opportunity to leverage GenAI to support tax professionals to help solve that talent gap,” Beastrom said. “AI has the power to support increased efficiency, higher quality work, and greater value for our clients and our customers.”

She added: “If you’re a junior professional, AI is that springboard that can help accelerate your training and on the job learning, which is going to allow you to transition into higher value roles more rapidly. The work is more challenging and could significantly bolster your future progression within the firm.”

Wong noted AI may compress the time needed for accountants to advance in their careers, making the profession more appealing.

“I think there’s this exciting opportunity where the early stages in a career will get compressed,” Wong said. “Instead of having to wait five, six, seven years to become a senior, I foresee that with support from AI and the efficiencies you get, just the sheer amount of more work that you can do, you’ll get up to speed a lot faster. It might only take two, three or four years instead to be able to become a senior.”

Wong and Beastrom also discussed how the potential time savings from AI adoption could allow tax professionals to shift from transactional tasks to higher-value advisory roles, improving work-life balance and business growth. Overall, they expect the integration of AI will attract a broader range of talent with diverse skill sets to the accounting and tax industry, transforming it into a more dynamic and exciting field.

Watch the of the TechConnect series, which brings diverse and dynamic perspectives from all corners of the technology world with thought-provoking questions and conversation.