The tax and accounting professional’s guide to everything AI

At a high level, artificial intelligence refers to a wide range of technologies that simulate human intelligence and are programmed to think and learn like humans. These technologies include the following:

• Generative AI (GenAI). Generating new and original content, GenAI often mimics human-like capabilities. Unlike traditional AI models that rely on pre-programmed responses or patterns learned from data, GenAI can create novel outputs independently.
• Predictive AI. Analyzing historical data enables informed decision-making and the creation of forecasts. By identifying patterns and trends, predictive AI harnesses analytics to predict future outcomes based on past performance.
• Agentic AI. Going beyond pre-defined tasks, agentic AI can dynamically adapt to changing circumstances, proactively seek information, and refine its outputs without constant human intervention. By operating autonomously, it can make decisions and take actions based on goals, constraints, and real-world feedback.

From a tax and accounting perspective, there is no question that the benefits of AI are significant, especially when it comes to automating routine tasks, enhancing data analysis, and improving accuracy and compliance. However, as AI-enabled platforms gain momentum, concerns arise about accuracy, security, and privacy.

To mitigate these concerns, forward-looking firms are opting for AI-driven tax workflow solutions built by trusted experts and reliable sources. Firms want to steer clear of public options that draw information from the vast expanse of the internet. A professional-grade, industry-specific, AI-powered platform enables firms to use AI responsibly, addressing concerns about accuracy, ethical use, and data security.

Enter CoCounsel from Thomson Reuters, an AI-driven platform that transforms how tax, audit, and accounting professionals conduct research, manage knowledge, and automate complex workflows. CoCounsel does this by:

• Accelerating research. Eliminate time-consuming searches with instant access to trusted knowledge sources, including Checkpoint content, client data, and proprietary firm insights.
• Enhancing document analysis. Process and analyze large volumes of data with AI-powered precision to ensure consistency, compliance, and efficiency across teams.
• Enabling a smarter workflow. Leverage agentic AI capabilities to interpret financial documents, automate compliance reporting, and streamline decision-making.

While GenAI can accomplish a great deal for the tax and accounting industry, there are some things it cannot do. Rather than replacing human professionals, GenAI unlocks capabilities and shifts time away from mundane tasks. This shift enables a focus on higher-value activities such as providing clients with data-driven insight, offering strategic advisory services, and strengthening the all-important human connection.

With advanced tax technology and automation now commonplace for most accounting firms, the introduction of agentic AI is redefining what is classified as a mundane task. For years, automation has eliminated the need for tax professionals to spend their days steeped in manual data entry, searching for blank fields or numbers that don’t add up. With agentic AI, accountants can automate the entire tax return process. This shift transforms the value proposition of accounting firms. What was once the centerpiece of a firm’s offering is now a byproduct of a deeper client-focused relationship built on strategic planning and personalized advisory services.

While this level of change may be disconcerting, the reality is that agentic AI presents an opportunity to significantly elevate the role of accountants from once-a-year tax preparers to year-round tax consultants.

Yes. Traditionally, tax professionals have relied on a combination of manual processes, siloed tools, and scattered research methods to manage their end-to-end workflow. But as client demands intensify and compliance becomes more complex, this approach is no longer sustainable.

With the introduction of agentic AI technologies like CoCounsel, accounting professionals have an opportunity to transform every stage of the tax workflow with a smarter, more structured, and deeply integrated approach.

Let’s break down the complete tax workflow and explore where and how AI is delivering measurable impact.

1. Assessment: Gather and analyze

Typical workflow pain points include:

• Manual data entry from client documents
• Delays in gathering the required information
• Difficulty identifying compliance obligations early

At the assessment stage, tax and accounting professionals must gather and analyze client information to understand the scope, requirements, and potential risks. CoCounsel acts as an intelligent assistant, reading and analyzing intake forms, prior-year returns, and supporting documents in seconds. It can flag missing information and categorize data, saving your firm hours of manual review.

2. Tax research

Typical workflow pain points:

• Navigating ever-changing regulations
• Upskilling junior staff on proper research technique
• Interpreting IRS guidance in specific client contexts

Tax research has long been one of the most time-consuming parts of an accountant’s day. While search-based tools can surface content, they often leave professionals on their own to interpret and apply results. CoCounsel takes it a step further by using agentic AI to understand the question, analyze source materials, and deliver a tailored, context-aware answer.

It can also cite directly from authoritative sources and provide reasoning behind conclusions — building confidence and saving hours typically spent reading IRS memos or combing through tax court rulings. With this support, even junior staff members can quickly pivot from research to action, delivering faster and more accurate advice to clients.

3. Document analysis and preparation

Typical workflow pain points:

• Manually reviewing complex supporting documents
• Extracting data from unstructured formats such as PDFs, emails, and scanned docs
• Time lost formatting work papers or preparing memos

Agentic AI tools like CoCounsel can read and analyze large volumes of tax documents —including legal memos, K-1s, 1099s, and correspondence. It identifies and extracts key data points, flags inconsistencies, and generates formatted summaries or drafts from PDFs, emails, scanned documents, and more. This capability drastically reduces the time spent on routine review and documentation tasks, allowing your staff to focus on more strategic work.

4. Compliance

Typical workflow pain points:

• Managing multi-jurisdictional compliance
• High risk of error in manual processes
• Time-consuming reconciliation and review

AI can assist in validating inputs and ensuring that all relevant regulations and rules are followed across jurisdictions. With CoCounsel, users can ask complex compliance questions — like whether a client qualifies for a Section 199A deduction — and receive detailed, regulation-backed answers.

CoCounsel also supports compliance workflows and speeds up tax preparation by generating documentation that aligns with filing requirements, performing cross-checks, and ensuring no critical steps are missed.

5. Reporting and deliverables

Typical workflow pain points:

• Drafting memos and summaries from scratch
• Ensuring consistent formatting and language
• Communicating complex issues in simple terms

CoCounsel can pre-populate reports and client-ready deliverables with validated information, support the narrative for positions taken, and ensure that each figure is backed by citations or source documents. These functions cut down on time and risk. CoCounsel uses natural-language generation to write clearly and accurately, producing well-organized, professional-grade documents. This efficiency reduces the burden on staff and minimizes editing cycles.

6. Client communication and advisory

Typical workflow pain points:

• Keeping up with client questions and follow-ups
• Translating technical insights into client-friendly language
• Scaling advisory services without additional staff

Whether it’s preparing talking points for client meetings, responding to email inquiries, or proactively identifying tax-saving opportunities, CoCounsel supports tax professionals with actionable insights and drafts. It can take a technical question, like whether a client can deduct home office expenses if they are an S corporation shareholder, then research it and draft a concise explanation ready for client delivery.

By automating and enhancing these communications, AI not only improves client satisfaction but also allows firms to scale their advisory services more.

The best time to integrate AI into your firm is sooner rather than later. Staying ahead of technological advancements is crucial in today's rapidly evolving business environment. The early implementation of AI-powered tools can significantly enhance your firm's efficiency, accuracy, and competitive edge. These tools not only streamline complex processes but also provide deeper insights into data, enabling better decision-making. By adopting AI technology now, your firm can adapt to the changing landscape, optimize operations, and ultimately deliver superior service to clients.

However, as tax and accounting professionals, we've come to dread installing and implementing new software as it often means losing the ability to access your work, weeks of tutorials, and seemingly endless troubleshooting. Implementing an AI-enabled solution is no different, given its enormous capabilities, right? Wrong.

CoCounsel is designed to seamlessly integrate into a firm's existing workflow by offering customizable features that align with your specific needs. By combining public documents, third-party integrations, Checkpoint expert knowledge, regulatory sources, and your firm’s proprietary data, CoCounsel automates complex tasks, accelerates document analysis, and standardizes processes. Plus, integration with tools like Microsoft Excel and Teams further streamlines workflow, making it easy for your firm to quickly adapt and benefit from the platform.

As you begin your journey toward implementing an AI-driven solution, consider these three tips.

• Identify your biggest pain points. Before beginning the search for an AI-enabled platform, ask your firm, "What are we hoping AI will do for us?" Identifying your needs will help determine what features you should be looking for in a solution and whether AI is the right answer.

Instead of looking for a solution that has AI, ask yourself if AI can solve your pain points. When considering the integration of AI into your operations, it's crucial to identify the specific challenges it can address. For instance, AI can help upskill junior staff quickly by streamlining their access to fast, accurate answers. This capability not only speeds up the research process but also ensures that they are working with the correct data right from the start. By leveraging AI in this way, less experienced staff members can quickly become proficient in their roles, effectively using technology to boost their skills and confidence in handling client inquiries and firm resources.

• Assess the vendor. What is the history of the vendor? What are their capabilities? What are other firms saying in their reviews of this vendor? Doing the work upfront to answer these questions will serve your firm in the long run — and having a good working relationship with your software vendor makes all the difference.

Make sure your vendor is trustworthy, responsive, and accessible. You also need to consider how new the competitor is to the market. New AI products, while shiny on the surface, are often not as sophisticated as ones that have had time to collect data and fine-tune their algorithms.

Thomson Reuters stands at the forefront of leveraging GenAI thanks to our extensive, purpose-built, and meticulously curated proprietary content databases. These resources have been refined over decades, ensuring we are exceptionally equipped to harness the full potential of GenAI technologies. This deep foundation enables our company to provide a powerful, AI-driven solution. CoCounsel enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of tax and accounting workflow and research for professionals focused on delivering the best outcomes for their clients.

“Anytime I run into a question that I either don't know off the top of my head or I just really want to double-check and make sure that I'm understanding the GAAP correctly.”

Assurance manager of a Top 20 U.S. firm

"This morning I gained access to CoCounsel and I got a summary of everything I needed to know (that I had learned last night in my two hours of research) in about a minute. I am astonished!” 

Owner, mid-market firm

• Get to know the solution. In addition to researching the vendor, it's worth your time to do the homework on the solution itself. This point may seem obvious, but we mention it because it relates to assessing your firm's needs. After identifying the needs of your firm — and verifying AI is the proper solution — look for the features that can solve them. Live demos, a free trial, or asking for a walkthrough are all great ways to gain some familiarity and decide whether the solution is right for you.

However, be critical of the features you come across. Don’t be swayed by a solution’s long feature lists. Focus on whether the features are usable and valuable for your firm, ultimately making your researchers more effective. If a product doesn’t enhance your research capabilities, it’s not a worthwhile investment. But if it does solve a pain point, make a note. Understanding software thoroughly before purchasing allows for informed decisions based on practical value.

Get to know Thomson Reuters CoCounsel

AI isn’t just another efficiency tool — it represents a shift toward a more intelligent, autonomous, and strategic approach to tax and accounting.

By harnessing the power of agentic AI, CoCounsel can help your firm:

• Automate workflows, make decisions, and complete tasks independently
• Accelerate research by integrating the Thomson Reuters Checkpoint knowledge base, one of the most comprehensive in the industry — eliminating the need for manual searches
• Conduct large-scale document analysis, allowing users to process and assess high volumes of information
• Standardize work processes across teams, promoting consistency and accuracy in deliverables
• Customize knowledge using your firm’s guidance, policies, and client documents
• Deliver precise, plain-language answers to accounting queries, making complex information more accessible
• Embed citations for all answers, allowing users to verify information and maintain compliance with industry standards
• Enhance collaboration by enabling the saving and sharing of analysis templates and workspaces

From a tax and accounting perspective, AI presents a transformative opportunity. Advanced analytics like predictive modeling and forecasting can help anticipate future trends and outcomes based on historical data. They enable tax and accounting professionals to identify potential risks, opportunities, and market trends for clients — an invaluable service in today’s competitive landscape.

Further, agentic AI can automate tax compliance and reporting by continuously monitoring tax law changes, analyzing financial data, and proactively identifying potential compliance risks. It can also autonomously gather and categorize transaction data, apply the correct tax treatments, and generate tax filings — alerting you only when anomalies or strategic decisions require experienced input.

But what does it all mean? Ultimately , AI is redefining the value proposition of accounting firms. It turns traditional compliance work into a natural outcome of a more strategic, client-focused relationship centered on personalized planning and advisory services.

With CoCounsel automating manual processes, reducing risk, and enhancing accuracy across your workflow, your firm can shift focus to high-value work that drives better outcomes, strengthens client connections, and ensures long-term growth.

The future of tax work isn't about humans versus AI — it’s about humans harnessing the technology to elevate every aspect of the workflow. For accounting firms seeking to stay competitive, there’s never been a better time to take the next step toward revolutionizing their processes and experiencing the powerful impact of agentic AI.

CoCounsel helps firms like yours integrate agentic AI and make the shift from reactive problem-solving to proactive advisory service. In doing so, you’ll solve existing pain points while unlocking your firm’s full potential.

If you’re ready to take the leap, schedule your free demo of CoCounsel today.