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AI Technology
5 min read

Top Accounting Firms' Ai Initiatives and Guidance

October 21, 2024
Photo of Ethan Kelemen
Ethan Kelemen

Top Accounting Firms' Ai Initiatives and Guidance

Top Accounting Firms' AI Initiatives and Guidance

Professional Services

Leading U.S. accounting firms are stepping boldly into the future by embracing AI as a cornerstone of their strategic initiatives. We’ve delved into the AI strategies employed by top firms, outlining not only their approaches but also the specific guidance they offer to ensure effective consideration and ultimately, implementation. We’ve listed out their initiatives, and some of the guidance they provide to prospective clients as they look to transform traditional practices with these solutions.

Firm AI Developments Further Reading

Deloitte has developed an AI institute to study the effects and uses of generative AI. Key findings include:

Workforce access to approved GenAI tools and applications remains low

Organizations reporting higher levels of Generative AI expertise tend to be more focused than others on innovation and developing new products and services

Deloitte’s AI considerations for the audit profession include:

How does an organization assess risk and impact of its AI applications

How does an organization design and implement an effective testing regime for its AI models?

How does an organization interpret the results of its testing regime and respond to findings or exceptions?

Deloitte AI Institute

An auditor’s mindset in an AI-driven world

PwC intends to invest $1 billion over three years

Intends to use AI’s data analysis capabilities to identify unusual transactions earlier in the audit

Further uses include reading of audit documents, retrieving and comparing to third-party sources (ex. Credit ratings)

PwC’s Tech Effect hosts a variety of content on AI including:

AI governance policies

Generative AI business myths

How do automation and AI help build trust in financial reporting?

Good governance for AI

EY has invested in AI developments including acquisition of Canadian firm Nuvalence generative AI (GenAI) platform-enabled services

EY’s approach to AI in audit:

Use of AI for advanced pattern recognition

Extraction of data from unstructured data sets, such as contracts, invoices, and images, to gain further audit evidence

EY Parthenon host’s resources on implementing and using AI including:

EY ASpace, an off-the-shelf AI platform for clients to implement

Identifying right talent to champion the initiative

Starting at the right level and scaling AI projects

Four steps to implement a large language model successfully

EY acquires Nuvalence

GenAI as part of your growth strategy - EY Parthenon

KPMG has entered into an AI partnership with Microsoft to deliver AI across professional services

KPMG has launched Ignite, an in-house AI initiative

Internally, KPMG’s assurance practice uses, Clara, powered by Microsoft Azure

Clara is intended to be an all-inclusive AI platform

Clara 2.0 will include AI initiatives including integration of MS Copilot

KPMG Microsoft Alliance

RSM hosts a webcast series specific to AI topics

RSM has studied AI’s adoption and uses in the middle market companies it serves.

Widespread use of AI in middle market, with more implementation difficulties than expected

Approximately half of middle market users who are abstaining from AI use cite data security as a main concern

RSM has committed to further study of AI’s use in auditing, with some initial use cases identified

Middle Market AI Insights

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Auditing

BDO’s AI playbook covers:

Data foundations, strategy and data’s relationship with AI

An in-depth data analytics maturity model

Where organizations go wrong

How AI will change the workforce

BDOAdvantage is BDO’s digital audit suite for audit innovation

AI use policies to mitigate risk has arisen as a top audit committee priority in FY24

Audit Committee Priorities

GT has partnered with Microsoft to develop CompliAI for IA, compliance and risk management teams for use in control design and assessment processes.

Control gap assessment

Test step preparation

GT UK has also created GTAssist for internal use

Used for querying internal firm policies and procedures

CLA has also developed an in-house GPT for internal use and is looking for ways to bring it to clients

AI being used as a firm “superuser” knowledgeable of firm guidelines and resources

CLA has expanded networks with overseas firms to better serve multinational clients, including through knowledge sharing on AI

Goal to bring CLAIntelligence Suite to clients in FY24

Exploring AI and Predictive Analytics

CLA makes plans for expansion abroad amid AI push

Forvis has listed specific AI considerations for PE firms:

Scalability - ability to handle larger volumes of data without significant increase in resources

Transparency - Biases and tendencies of selected models

Forvis also hosts a variety of webinars on AI topics including AI use in CRMs

Considerations for Private Equity Buy-Side Transactions

Getting Ahead With AI-Driven CRM Tools

Crowe has partnered with High Alpha Innovation to build advantaged startups and leverage AI. Goals include:

Build AI solutions to disrupt existing services

Delivering these offerings to Crowe’s existing client base

Crowe has compiled a comprehensive guide on preparing for AI, covering:

Background on AI revolution

Early adopters of AI best practices

Crowe-High Alpha Innovation Partnership

Get Ready for Artificial Intelligence

BakerTilly’s overview of the AI landscape is a useful starting point for differentiating AI solutions:

Covers intelligent process automation, AI, machine learning, and deep learning

Other resources include model assessment and use cases

BakerTilly AI Homepage

The AI technology landscape explained

Benefits of an artificial intelligence and machine learning model assessment

Business uses, risks and rewards

Marcum’s AI readiness assessment is a useful interactive tool for firm leaders

Marcum has launched AskMarcum.ai, an Azure based platform for internal use

Leverages OpenAI’s ChatGPT model through Azure OpenAI Service

Embedded within Microsoft Teams

Marcum Launches AskMarcum.ai

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn how Tellen’s AI Agent Workforce powers modern accounting firms.

What is Tellen’s AI Agent Workforce?

Tellen’s AI Agent Workforce is a suite of specialized AI-powered agents designed for accounting firms. These agents automate audit workflows, financial statement preparation, and footnote disclosures while ensuring security, compliance, and transparency.

How do Tellen’s AI agents help accounting firms scale?

By automating time-intensive tasks like attribute testing, financial reporting, and consistency checks, Tellen enables firms to handle more engagements without increasing headcount. This drives higher efficiency, capacity, and profitability.

Are Tellen’s AI agents secure?

Yes. Tellen deploys directly into your firm’s cloud environment (Azure, AWS, or GCP), ensuring that sensitive client data never leaves your control. The platform is also SOC 2 Type II certified, providing enterprise-grade security and compliance.

Can Tellen’s AI agents adapt to our firm’s unique workflows?

Absolutely. Tellen’s agents are dynamic learners. They are trained on your firm’s proprietary data, policies, and tech stack, creating a shared knowledge base that evolves with each engagement.

What accounting tasks can Tellen’s agents automate?

Tellen automates tasks across every audit stage, including:

  • Planning: Research and guidance from accounting standards.
  • Fieldwork: Attribute and control testing.
  • Reporting: Drafting financial statements and footnotes.
  • Review: Consistency checks and quality scans.

How does Tellen improve audit quality?

Tellen ensures accuracy and compliance by cross-referencing data, logging every AI decision, and providing 100% traceable outputs backed by verifiable sources—so your audit files are complete, consistent, and trustworthy.

What ROI can accounting firms expect with Tellen?

Firms using Tellen report significant time savings, revenue-per-employee growth, and improved engagement capacity. For example, one firm achieved 332% ROI and saved nearly 300 hours using AI agents.

How does Tellen's pricing work?

Tellen uses outcome-based pricing—we win when you win. Unlike typical SaaS subscriptions that charge regardless of results, our pricing model is tied to the actual value delivered to your firm. This ensures our incentives are aligned with your success, not just seat counts.

Does Tellen integrate with our existing software?

Yes. Tellen integrates with leading to scan your audit binder, detect quality issues, and help remediate them. We analyze workpapers and automate testing procedures through and our Microsoft Add-in — which brings these capabilities right into your existing workpapers. Our extensible integration framework supports connecting to additional systems.

How is Tellen different from generic AI tools?

Unlike generic AI or off-the-shelf automation software, Tellen is purpose-built for accounting. It is secure, compliance-focused, and continuously adapts to your firm’s unique processes, ensuring firm-specific intelligence.

How can we get started with Tellen?

You can schedule a demo or consultation via our Demo page. Our team will guide you through setup, deployment, and training so your firm can start scaling with AI-powered efficiency.