Tax and accounting professionals today are reshaping what it means to deliver value. They’re evolving their strategies, embracing AI and automation, and deepening client relationships to drive sustainable success. This year’s Future Ready Accountant report is your trusted resource for understanding how firms are adapting to rising client expectations, regulatory complexity, and the accelerating pace of technological change.
Why this report matters
Firms worldwide are making bold moves to stay ahead. This report reveals how forward-thinking leaders are transforming their operations, expanding advisory services, and embedding AI into everyday workflows to meet rising expectations.
Inside the Future Ready Accountant report: Combining global benchmarks with regional depth to help Canadian firms build smarter, more resilient operations.
- AI as a core capability: How firms are embedding AI into daily workflows to improve efficiency and insight delivery
- Growth with purpose: Why strategic resilience is replacing scale as the growth model
- Advisory becomes mainstream: Why AI is now central to client value and how firms are scaling it effectively
- Private equity and M&A: How investment strategies are evolving, with infrastructure maturity driving investor interest.
- Cloud adoption acceleration in Canada: How firms are driving agility, integration, and profitability with cloud technology.
- Client engagement in Canada: How firms are moving from compliance to connection.
Immediate PDF ∙ Global benchmarks + Canadian analysis
AI is now essential for firm operations: 72% of firms globally use AI at least weekly (62% of Canadian firms); 77% plan to increase investment to enhance performance and decision-making (43% of Canadian firms)
Advisory services are now central to modern client engagement: 90% of Canadian firms offer advisory or consulting services, and 56% call it a key service.
Digital maturity is a growth accelerator: Globally, high-growth firms are 53% more likely to have highly integrated systems and 38% more likely to be fully cloud-based.
Cloud adoption is redefining performance
Growth follows cloud + integration. Canadian firms that move their tech stacks to the cloud aren’t just modernizing; they’re unlocking agility, scalability, and a foundation for smarter growthAI-powered tech is becoming the backbone of daily work.
From document intake through review, what started as pilot projects is now powering real efficiency for Canadian firms, freeing teams to focus on higher-value client work.Advisory becomes a client expectation.
Clients expect proactive,data-driven guidance, and Canadian firms are reshaping their services to deliver insight rather than just compliance.Innovation is creating a new competitive divide.
Tech-forward firms are pulling ahead, using integrated systems and advanced tools to deepen relationships and accelerate growth-
Client-tech tension
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Transformative mindset
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Agentic Intelligence
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Accelerate adoption
Clients expect things quicker and cheaper with new technologies… But clients are also less patient with the complexities around tax and accounting. Most don’t appreciate how complexities of the business world, tax legislation, and the geo-political climate directly affect their advisors.
Firms cannot afford to miss the potential of technology; – innovation, market shifts, competitive advantage, and even higher quality and new market opportunities. However, these benefits will not happen without a mindset shift to embrace curiosity, strategic risks, change leadership, agility, and business transformation versus thinking of technology as a project.
When implemented thoughtfully, Agentic AI can offload routine admin and operational tasks — giving teams more time to focus on high-touch, personalized client service. In tax planning and advisory, this means deeper relationships, faster turnaround, and more strategic value delivered consistently. The agents need to work for your team, not your clients.
AI-adverse firms – and those slow to adopt – will be at a competitive disadvantage to firms progressively implementing AI. I would advise firms to start slow, but start now. Once they realize how much AI helps, they will fully embrace it.
More insights from the Future Ready Accountant report
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Press releaseTax & AccountingOctober 08, 2025
Wolters Kluwer releases its 2025 Future Ready Accountant report, highlighting key trends in the global tax & accounting industry
Report reveals surge in artificial intelligence adoption with four in five tax and accounting firms globally planning to increase AI investment and a third of them using AI daily
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What does it mean to be a future-ready accounting firm?A future-ready Canadian accounting firm operates as a connected platform: cloud as the backbone, integration eliminating silos and rework, and responsible AI is embedded where work happens. The goal is delivering faster, more accurate compliance while creating capacity for higher-value advisory. It’s about moving beyond efficiency to intelligence, using reliable data to anticipate client needs, strengthen trust, and make decisions with confidence. Firms that embrace this model are better positioned to thrive in a rapidly changing market.
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What are the key skills for accountants in 2025?In 2025, Canadian firms need professionals who combine technical fluency with strategic advisory services. Data literacy, AI fluency, and workflow integration are now as critical as traditional accounting expertise. At the same time, soft skills like communication, adaptability, and problem framing remain essential for building client relationships. As firms increasingly shift to advisory-first models, the ability to interpret data, deliver insights, and guide clients through complex decisions will define success. Upskilling in these areas is no longer optional; it’s a competitive imperative.
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How are Canadian firms using AI in 2025?AI has moved from pilot to practice for Canadian accounting firms. In 2025, 62% of Canadian firms use AI at least weekly for tax research, document summarization, and workflow automation. These tools are helping firms reduce manual work, improve accuracy, and free up time for client-facing activities. As trust in AI grows, firms are embedding it into strategic planning and client engagement, making it a key driver of operational efficiency and competitive advantage.
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How can you prepare your firm for digital transformation?
Successful Canadian firms are starting the foundation: moving core workflows to the cloud, connecting systems for seamless data flow, and embedding AI where it saves time every day. But technology alone isn’t enough; training and governance are critical to ensure successful adoption and the necessary security.
Key steps include assessing current infrastructure, training staff in digital tools, and streamlining workflows through automation. Firms that prioritize integration and upskilling are better equipped to meet client expectations and regulatory demands. Digital transformation isn’t a one-time project; it’s an ongoing strategy that combines tools, processes, and people to create a resilient, future-ready practice.
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Who is the Future Ready Accountant report for?The Future Ready Accountant Report is designed for Canadian firm leaders shaping the future of the profession. It’s ideal for anyone looking for evidence-backed strategies to scale performance: practice managers and directors; tax, audit, and accounting firm partners; advisory and client service leaders; and technology and operations executives. The Report combines global benchmarks, and deep analysis of Canadian-specific data, from over 2,700 professionals across 14 countries, helping firms to benchmark performance, identify growth opportunities, and build resilient, future-ready strategies.
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How is private equity reshaping the accounting industry?Canadian firms are exploring private equity and strategic partnerships as paths to growth, but adoption is measured compared to global peers. For firms that pursue PE, tech maturity – cloud, integration, data readiness – is a key factor in attracting investment, because it speeds scale, standardizes workflows, and boosts margins. While PE offers access to capital and scale, firms must balance growth with cultural alignment and governance.
The Future Ready Accountant Survey included quantitative interviews of 2,768 tax and accounting professionals from firms of all sizes located across 14 countries in the Asia Pacific region (Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore), Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) and North America (Canada and the United States). The survey was conducted in Q2 of 2025.
The Future Ready Accountant report examines global trends in tax and accounting and takes an in-depth look at the regional trends impacting accounting firms in Canada. You are currently viewing Future Ready Accountant: Canada edition.
The Future Ready Accountant report examines global trends in tax and accounting and takes an in-depth look at the regional trends impacting accounting firms in Canada. You are currently viewing Future Ready Accountant: Canada edition.