Accounting Firms · Readiness Checklist
AI readiness checklist for accounting firms.
Sixteen checks we run before scoping an eight-week pilot in a multi-office accounting firm. Honest answers here shorten the path from first conversation to measured results.
Workflow and ownership
- Client intake requirements per service line are written down, including what “complete” means.
- The follow-up loop for missing client documents has a named owner, not a shared assumption.
- Someone can state how many professional hours a typical engagement loses to locating and preparing evidence.
- Workpaper review responsibilities and sign-off levels are documented across offices.
Documents and data
- Engagement files are accessible across offices without local drives or personal folders.
- Prior-year files can be retrieved with their provenance intact.
- Folder structures, naming, and template conventions exist, even where adoption varies.
- Client confidentiality boundaries are explicit: which documents may be processed where.
Controls and accountability
- The review points where a qualified professional must exercise judgment are identified.
- Professional standards and retention requirements for AI-assisted workpapers are understood.
- There is an agreed position on which models and vendors may process client data.
- Partners have decided who answers for an AI-prepared workpaper in a quality review.
Pilot readiness
- One engagement type with real volume can be named as the first candidate.
- Named reviewers from the affected teams can participate during an eight-week window.
- Current-state metrics—intake completeness, preparation time, rework—can be captured for a baseline.
- Success and stop conditions can be agreed before any build begins.
What the Score Tells You
Mostly yes: pilot now. Mostly partly: two weeks of groundwork first.
A firm that answers yes to most workflow and control items can move straight to a bounded pilot. Gaps in documents and data usually mean a short standardization pass first—it is cheaper to fix filing conventions before automation than during it. Either way, the checklist turns a vague AI ambition into a scoped, measurable first move.
Put the Checklist to Work
Score the checklist with us in a working session.
Bring your honest answers. We will identify the strongest first workflow, the gaps that matter, and what an eight-week pilot could measure.
A senior engineer replies within one business day.