- AI is already boosting productivity. Multi-disciplinary practices such as Yarra Lane are leveraging automation tools such as bots to streamline tax processes, saving time, and improving client experiences.
- Human oversight is critical. Experts agree that aiming for around 80% automation, with humans guiding and refining the rest, strikes the right balance between efficiency and governance.
- They key to leveraging AI capability is to start small, scale smart and begin with the pain points in your business. Document processes, partner with trusted providers, and focus on automating repetitive tasks to free up your team.
Artificial intelligence is opening new opportunities for accountants to improve productivity and strengthen client engagement.
At the Class Ignite conference, Nick Perrett, CEO of Yarra Lane, remarked that the workload in the industry is so extensive that year-end work could easily stretch into May of the following year, assuming everything is completed on time.
To address this challenge, his business has adopted Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to streamline processes, enhance the client experience, and increase efficiency.
Automation and agents make an impact
Yarra Lane works with a robot named ‘Henry’ which supports the business in preparing tax returns. It automates client meetings four weeks in advance, matching appointments with client details to create jobs, pre-populating forms and prompting clients to enter their deductions.
“The repeatable and mundane can get skipped,” said Perrett. “An adviser can now see a client and talk about finishing the form rather than asking the client a lot of questions. We are close to finishing returns on the spot.”
From a broader industry perspective, Dr Evan Morrison, Head of Innovation at HUB24, explained that over the past three to four years technology has evolved rapidly, moving beyond large conceptual models that merely summarise information, to solutions that can explore and interrogate data sets. Software agents are now being developed with specific goals, working through tasks to deliver targeted outcomes.
Human-in-the-loop is critical
HUB24’s Director Strategic Development Jason Entwistle, emphasised that technology is fallible, and stressed the importance of human-in-the-loop design to ensure proper governance.
Perrett echoed this sentiment, noting that the goal is not to achieve 100% automation, but rather to reach 80%. This allows the bulk of the work to be completed efficiently, leaving time for refinement and final checks.
Yarra Lane is now two years into its AI journey. The firm has identified between 50 and 100 processes that can be automated. These efforts are expected to yield cost savings, reduce the opportunity cost of tying up resources with repetitive tasks, deliver a consistent client experience, and free up employees from work they find unfulfilling.
Pain points guide technology adoption
According to Dr Morrison, the best place to start is to identify the pain points within your business. He advised that companies do not need to navigate this journey alone and that collaborating with existing partners is a smart way to get started.
Entwistle added that HUB24 aims to make technology more accessible to advisers and licensees by partnering with businesses like Yarra Lane. He posed a key question for the industry: how can practices operate more efficiently while ensuring that humans remain involved in oversight?
The process of assessing technology for automation should begin with documenting existing workflows. Entwistle advised businesses to conduct thorough due diligence. When uploading information to tools such as co-pilot, it is essential to understand where that data is going. He recommended partnering with trusted, aligned, and regulated providers within the industry.
Looking ahead, Perrett expressed excitement about the future, stating that they are only just getting started. Entwistle concluded by noting that the industry has significant opportunities for transformative change, and firms must find ways to optimise their existing resources to serve a growing client base. For many practices, the real power of AI will lie in freeing people to spend more time with clients and less time on repetitive tasks.
“There is a high opportunity for step change,” said Entwistle. “This is because the industry needs to be able to do more with what it has to service more clients.”