Beyond the return: How AI and automation are reshaping tax preparation

Tax and accounting professionals pride themselves on being trusted advisors to their clients, helping optimize their taxes and plan for the future.

But too many tax professionals — especially those in small and midsize firms — are stuck in the workflows of the past. Sure, it would be great to spend more time thinking beyond tax returns, but the primary goal is to survive tax season. Long-term strategy becomes a can to kick down the road.

But what if you could get time and energy back to focus on expanding your practice and differentiating yourself from competitors? 

You can, by implementing artificial intelligence into your workflows. Wolters Kluwer’s 2025 Future Ready Accountant Report found that 40% of North American firms already use AI-driven tax research and nearly 80 percent plan to increase their investment.

Agentic AI: Empowering tax professionals to do their best work

Most firms are already familiar with large language models (or text generators) such as ChatGPT, which helps increase research and writing speed and accuracy. But agentic AI has the power to revolutionize firm operations.

Agentic AI refers to autonomous systems that can act as researchers, compliance experts, analysts, and project managers while still being governed by a human expert – the ultimate source of truth – ensuring the highest standards of accuracy and reliability.

Agentic AI can help accounting firms of any size:

• Reduce manual data entry on tax returns, and identify data insights faster by seamlessly integrating various documents and data systems
• Banish document chasing and streamlining client communication through automated notifications and tailored, user-specific content
• Improve return accuracy and increase research efficiency with trusted sources and contextual tools – delivering the right answers, faster. AI doesn’t replace staff; it augments your existing staff’s capabilities

AI doesn’t replace staff; it augments your existing staff’s capabilities. Think of AI and agentic AI as intelligent tools that help alleviate much of the busywork, allowing your staff to focus on the big-picture work. And when it’s time to strategize, firms can even turn to AI for help scaling and personalizing their advisory offerings for different clients.

Overcoming the biggest obstacles to AI adoption

First, let's look at the current usage rate of AI among American firms as a point of reference:

When it comes to implementing AI, Wolters Kluwer’s research has identified five roadblocks that tend to paralyze decision makers.

During a recent "Beyond the return" webinar, Wolters Kluwer experts offered best practices for addressing potential stumbling blocks like:

1. Skill gaps: Many teams have members with varying levels of AI awareness and understanding; determining how to train them can be difficult.
2. Data security: firms can’t afford to be blasé about data security anymore, and leaders need to identify which AI systems can be trusted with sensitive client data, and how to control which team members have access.
3. Bolt-on vs. start fresh: It can be tempting to tack new tech onto old workflows without rethinking the way your staff works, but it’s essential to understand the costs and benefits of bolt-on vs. built-in AI tools.
4. Organizational transformation: Thinking of AI as simply a tech initiative is a mistake; firms with the highest AI ROI know that the entire team needs to rethink how work is done.

No matter how familiar you are with AI, it’s worth tuning in for our free, on-demand CCH Innovations virtual conference session, "Beyond the Return: Turning tax workflows into strategic engines."

Find out how you can:

• Plan for and overcome the five most common obstacles to AI implementation
• Learn how AI can help your firm solve bottlenecks and workflow challenges
• Understand what to look for in a software and technology partner