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”鈥攊t’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鈥攂ut as a clear, long-term commitment to the customers doing this work every day.

How we’re helping audit teams work smarter and faster

成人VR视频 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鈥攁imed 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鈥攕o 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 鈥攑lus a partnership with .

What’s changing鈥攁nd 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鈥攂ecause 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.

This post was authored by Elizabeth Beastrom, President of Tax, Audit & Accounting Professionals at 成人VR视频.

Tax, Audit and Accounting has always been a profession built on rigor and responsibility. But the reality of running a modern tax practice is that complexity keeps rising, timelines keep tightening, and client expectations keep evolving. Firms are being asked to do more, faster鈥攚ithout compromising quality.

Why this matters for firms

This recognition is not just about a new solution being introduced鈥攊t’s about what firms are prioritizing right now. Across the industry, leaders are focused on creating repeatable capacity鈥攏ot just surviving busy season, but building 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鈥攕o 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 is aimed at supporting 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 鈥� grounded in strong workflows and clear client outcomes.

Recognition like this is meaningful for us at 成人VR视频鈥攂ut 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, 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.

This post was authored by Elizabeth Beastrom, President of Tax, Audit & Accounting Professionals at 成人VR视频.

Ready to Review听is our new cloud-based, agentic AI tax workflow solution built on听CoCounsel.听For tax year 2025, it听modernizes 1040听tax听return听preparation听and is designed to take on the heavy, repetitive work of gathering client documents and preparing returns鈥攕o 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.听

For too long, firms have been stuck in a pattern that everyone recognizes as unsustainable鈥攅ver 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听won鈥檛听fix that, but AI put to work in the right way鈥攖hrough agentic AI that is deeply embedded into tax workflows鈥攃an fundamentally change the equation.听

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听workflow鈥攈elping firms manage more individual returns with existing staff while听maintaining听quality and control.听

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

I鈥檝e听said before that I expect firms will听ultimately pair听each CPA with at least one virtual agent. Ready to Review 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听that鈥檚听responsible, auditable, and grounded in trusted 成人VR视频 tax content and compliance听expertise.听

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

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听 platform.听It鈥檚听one more way听we鈥檙e听helping firms modernize in a way that is practical, grounded, and built for the realities of tax season.听

This post was authored by听Elizabeth Beastrom,听President of Tax and Accounting Professionals at听成人VR视频.听

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

At 成人VR视频,听we鈥檙e听investing in this future 鈥� 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.鈥�听

At听SYNERGY听2025,听we鈥檙e听proud to unveil our latest AI innovations:鈥�听

Ready to Review is leading the way in transforming tax preparation. This cloud-based, agentic AI workflow streamlines the entire process鈥攁utomating 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.鈥�听

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

CoCounsel听Document Analysis,听audit听and accounting professionals gain a powerful new tool for document review. Integrated with听CoCounsel听Audit, this solution combines agentic AI with a听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.鈥�听

These innovations听aren鈥檛听just about technology.听They鈥檙e听about enabling professionals to do more with what they have while delivering smarter insights for clients.鈥�鈥�听

At 成人VR视频,听we鈥檙e听committed to helping you lead through change. The next era of tax and accounting is being written today鈥攍et鈥檚听shape it together.鈥�听

Read more about 成人VR视频 Synergy 2025 Tax, Audit and Accounting announcements.

成人VR视频 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 成人VR视频, including investments the company is making in generative AI to enable professionals to accelerate and streamline entire workflows and deliver more value for clients. 听听

Hasker said 成人VR视频 has invested more than $200M in AI in the last year. He discussed the company鈥檚 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.鈥�听

Tax, Audit & Accounting听听

鈥淎I is not just changing the landscape of accounting, it’s reshaping it.鈥� That was the message from Elizabeth Beastrom, president of Tax & Accounting at 成人VR视频. 听

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.听

成人VR视频 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. 成人VR视频 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, 成人VR视频 will launch an AI-assisted tax preparation experience to increase firm efficiency. The solution combines the power of CoCounsel, 成人VR视频 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. 成人VR视频 research shows that customers using this solution will save at least two hours per 1040 tax return on average.听

2. Supporting firms鈥� growth with advisory: 听

As client expectations continue to evolve, they鈥檙e 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 成人VR视频 Advisory Solution will combine the power of CoCounsel and Checkpoint content to identify advisory opportunities. Advisory services are integrated directly into a firm鈥檚 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. 听

鈥淚t helps firms build their advisory practice with confidence to deliver unprecedented value to meet clients鈥� evolving needs,鈥� said Nancy Hawkins, vice president of Product Management, Research.听

3. Transforming audit efficiency:听

Halving sample sizes, boosting efficiency and sharpening the focus on high-risk areas are all at the heart of 成人VR视频 Audit Intelligence Analyze solution, which launched in October. Further functionality will be coming in 2025 as it expands the Audit Intelligence suite capabilities. 鈥楾est鈥� will support with automating substantive testing with dynamic transaction tracing, while 鈥楶lan鈥� 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.听

All three solutions 鈥� Review Ready, 成人VR视频 Advisory Solution and the Audit Intelligence suite 鈥� will be further enhanced with 惭补迟别谤颈补鈥檚 generative and agentic AI capabilities.听

Corporates听

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.听

In addition, Ray Grove, head of Corporate Tax and Trade, 成人VR视频, highlighted the company鈥檚 efforts to build a seamless, integrated compliance network, and Kevin Appold, vice president of US Public Records, 成人VR视频, shared how the company鈥檚 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鈥檚 office.听

Legal听

A highlight from the Legal Professionals segment included an in-depth look at the 成人VR视频 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.听

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.鈥�听

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.听

They discussed the report鈥檚 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.

鈥淭here鈥檚 some pretty big implications of what this means for the tax and accounting space,鈥� Wong said, noting generative AI tools could make tax season and other busy periods 鈥渨ay less painful鈥� for accountants.

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

鈥淭he talent shortage is real,鈥� Beastrom said. 鈥淚t’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.鈥�

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.

鈥淲ith 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,鈥� Beastrom said. 鈥淎I has the power to support increased efficiency, higher quality work, and greater value for our clients and our customers.鈥�

She added: 鈥淚f 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.鈥�

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

鈥淚 think there’s this exciting opportunity where the early stages in a career will get compressed,鈥� Wong said. 鈥淚nstead 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.鈥�

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.