AI-Native Accounting

What if the biggest opportunity for AI in accounting isn't efficiency, but fundamentally reinventing how accounting firms operate and how accountants create value?In this episode of AI Native Accounting, I sit down with Paul Peterson, CEO of Wiss, a Top 100 accounting firm, to explore why AI transformation in accounting is unlike any technology shift the profession has experienced before.Through Wiss Labs, the firm's innovation arm, Paul and his team have evaluated hundreds of technology solutions, partnered with emerging AI companies, and rethought everything from internal operations to client advisory services. But the biggest challenges aren't necessarily technological. They're organizational, cultural, and deeply personal.Paul shares the lessons Wiss has learned navigating employee uncertainty, evaluating AI investments, and preparing clients for an AI-native future. We also challenge the industry's obsession with efficiency and explore why the true ROI of AI may come from better decision-making, greater competitiveness, and finally recognizing the value accountants bring to businesses.In this episode, we discuss:📍 Why AI in accounting is more disruptive than the cloud revolution📍 How Wiss Labs evaluates hundreds of AI solutions and identifies technologies worth investing in📍 Why employee fear, professional identity, and organizational culture are critical to AI adoption📍 How accounting firms should decide whether to build, buy, or partner for AI technology📍 Why data quality, process standardization, and organizational readiness matter more than access to AI models📍 The hidden costs of AI implementation and why ROI may take longer than expected📍 How accounting firms can help CFOs and business owners prepare for AI transformation📍 Why efficiency is just the consolation prize when it comes to AI's real potential📍 How AI could elevate the accounting profession and change how accountants are valuedWhether you're a CPA, accounting firm owner, managing partner, CFO, or finance leader navigating AI adoption, this conversation offers a candid look at what it takes to transform an established accounting firm and prepare for a future where AI changes far more than the way work gets done.Learn more:🔗 Wiss: https://wiss.com🔗 Wiss Labs: https://wiss.com/wisslabs/🔗 Paul Peterson's articles: https://wiss.com/wisslabs/the-intelligent-ledger/🔗 Digits: https://digits.com🔗 AI Native Accounting podcast: https://digits.com/ai-native-accounting/Connect with:🔗 Kacee Johnson — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kacee-johnson/🔗 Paul Peterson — CEO, Wiss — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ppeterson1🔗 AI Native Accounting Foundation — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ai-native-accounting-foundation/🔗 Wiss — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/wissllp/🔗 Digits — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digits-financial/Chapters:00:00 Introduction: Why AI in Accounting Is Different01:03 Meet Paul Peterson, CEO of Wiss02:40 Why AI Is More Disruptive Than the Cloud04:07 Managing Employee Fear and Organizational Change07:58 How AI Challenges Professional Identity09:17 Inside Wiss Labs: Building an Innovation Engine13:02 Partnering With AI Startups to Transform Accounting14:52 How Wiss Evaluates Hundreds of AI Technologies17:18 The Three Criteria for Evaluating AI Solutions21:03 Why AI in Accounting Goes Beyond ChatGPT23:58 Build, Buy, or Partner? Making the Right AI Investment26:11 The Hidden Risks of Building AI Tools Internally27:48 Why Efficiency Is the Consolation Prize28:23 Data Quality, Process Discipline, and AI Readiness30:12 Helping Clients Prepare for AI Adoption31:59 How CFOs and Business Owners Are Responding to AI35:41 Measuring the True ROI of AI in Accounting39:05 Leadership Lessons and the Need for an AI Visionary42:39 Why Accountants Are the Underdogs Worth Rooting For45:12 Final Thoughts: Redefining the Value of Accounting

What if the biggest impact of AI in accounting isn't replacing accountants, but making the profession more human?In this episode of AI Native Accounting, I sit down with Jen Leary, CEO of CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen), to explore how one of the nation's largest accounting firms is rethinking technology, client advisory services, and the future of professional accounting.CLA serves more than 200,000 clients and has built what Jen describes as the country's largest client advisory services (CAS) practice. Now, through a strategic collaboration with Digits, the firm is developing proprietary AI capabilities designed to eliminate repetitive data entry, accelerate financial reporting, and give advisors more time to deliver meaningful insights.But Jen is refreshingly candid about the journey. CLA didn't get everything right, especially when building its CAS practice. And she believes that human relationships, expertise, and judgment will become even more valuable as AI advances.In this episode, we discuss:Why CLA wants to eliminate repetitive data entry across the firmHow the CLA and Digits partnership could reshape AI in accountingThe mistakes CLA made while scaling its CAS practiceWhy proprietary AI models and industry-specific knowledge matterHow faster financial reporting could transform client advisory servicesWhy successful accounting firms must rethink their technology, staffing, and delivery modelsHow Jen's approach to leadership has evolvedWhy she believes the defining word for the next decade of accounting is "human"Whether you're a CPA, accounting firm owner, managing partner, or financial advisor navigating AI adoption, this conversation offers a practical look at what it takes to build an AI-enabled accounting firm without losing the human relationships that make advisory valuable.Learn more:CLA: https://www.claconnect.comDigits: https://digits.comAI Native Accounting podcast: https://digits.com/ai-native-accounting/Connect with:🔗 Kacee Johnson — LinkedIn:   / kacee-johnson  🔗 Jen Leary - CEO, CLA - Linkedin: /jen-leary🔗 AI Native Accounting Foundation — LinkedIn:   / ai-native-accounting-foundation   🔗 Digits-   / digits-financial    Chapters:00:00 Introduction: Why the Future of Accounting Is Human01:06 Meet Jen Leary, CEO of CLA02:11 How CLA Has Evolved Beyond Traditional Accounting03:38 What Business Owners Need From Advisors Today05:09 CLA's AI Partnership With Digits07:15 Build, Buy, Partner, or Orchestrate?10:40 Why CLA Wants to Eliminate Data Entry12:01 How AI Will Change the Client Experience14:13 Lessons From Building CLA's CAS Practice16:42 Why Human Relationships Matter More Than Ever19:21 CLA's 92% Client Retention Rate20:27 Jen's Biggest Leadership Lesson21:43 Advice to the Next Generation23:09 Why the Future of Accounting Is Human24:30 Final Thoughts

AI is dramatically changing how accounting and assurance work gets done. But if technology cuts the time required to deliver an engagement in half, should the client pay half as much?In this episode of the AI Native Accounting Podcast, Kacee Johnson sits down with Jin Chang, Co-Founder of FieldGuide, and Danny Manimbo, Managing Principal at Schellman, for a live conversation at FieldGuide’s Catalyst Conference about one of the most complicated pieces of AI transformation: the price of intelligence.As firms deploy AI and gain significant efficiencies, traditional pricing models built around human hours are beginning to collide with a new reality. FieldGuide research shows firms are experimenting with value-based and outcome-based pricing, but many are still operating across multiple pricing models as they search for the right approach.The conversation examines why pricing may be the “last mile” of AI transformation, why firms shouldn’t automatically translate AI-driven efficiency into lower fees, and how leaders can shift the conversation from hours worked to value delivered.Jin and Danny also explore a much larger opportunity. Rather than using AI simply to do the same work with fewer people, firms can use the capacity AI creates to deliver deeper insights, expand services, improve quality, and address entirely new client needs. In assurance, that could eventually mean moving beyond traditional sampling toward more comprehensive testing, continuous auditing, and higher levels of assurance.But speed alone isn’t the goal. As low-cost, AI-enabled providers enter the market, the pressure to deliver faster and cheaper raises important questions about quality, trust, and what clients are actually paying for.And as AI becomes more visible in the delivery of professional services, transparency may become a competitive advantage. Clients are already asking firms how they use AI. Rather than avoiding the conversation, firms have an opportunity to explain how AI enables better consistency, deeper insights, faster delivery, and greater value—while also clearly communicating how client data is protected.Additional topics include:Value-based and outcome-based pricingWhy AI efficiency doesn’t automatically justify lower feesContinuous auditing and the future of assuranceMoving beyond human-capacity constraintsAI costs and resource trackingSubscription and predictable pricing modelsCreating capacity for new advisory servicesHow firms can prioritize AI transformationThe danger of low-cost “SOC 2 mills”AI transparency and client trustPositioning AI as value rather than cost reductionWhy the firms that innovate early may create entirely new service opportunitiesFor accounting and assurance firm leaders, technology providers, partners, and professionals trying to rethink their business models for an AI-native future, this conversation offers a practical look at a fundamental shift already underway: clients aren’t paying for your time—they’re paying for the expertise, trust, and outcomes you deliver.Connect with:Kacee Johnson — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kacee-johnson/Jin Chang, Co-Founder & CEO of FieldGuide — LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jinwchang/Danny Manimbo, Managing Principal at Schellman — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danny-manimbo-2b199718/FieldGuide — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fieldguide/Schellman — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/schellman/AI Native Accounting Foundation — LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ai-native-accounting-foundation/ Digits-  https://linkedin.com/in/digits-financial  

AI in tax is advancing at a staggering pace, but are tax professionals moving too fast to understand the risks?In this episode of the AI Native Accounting podcast, Kacee Johnson sat down with Danny Werfel, former Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and current Executive in Residence at the Johns Hopkins University School of Government and Policy, to talk about what responsible AI adoption should look like across the tax profession.Werfel recently developed an AI risk framework for tax authorities and tax preparers to help organizations evaluate AI systems before deployment. The conversation examines why extraordinary productivity gains should not automatically mean removing people from the process; how firms can more rigorously evaluate AI vendors; and why accuracy, auditability, transparency, and governance must remain central to AI risk management.The discussion also considers a significant long-term risk: the erosion of human expertise. As AI agents begin performing work traditionally handled by junior accountants and tax professionals, the profession must determine how the next generation will build the knowledge and judgment required to supervise those systems effectively.Werfel makes the case that AI should sit beside the tax professional, not take their chair.Additional topics include: AI hallucinationshuman-in-the-loop systemsclient trustAI pricing and billingand the opportunity for the tax profession to become a model for responsible AI adoption.For accountants, tax professionals, firm leaders, technology providers, and anyone seeking to understand how AI will reshape the profession, this conversation offers an important counterweight to the race for maximum automation.Link to Danny’s AI Risk Framework: https://www.thetaxadviser.com/issues/2026/aug/a-risk-framework-for-ai-use-in-tax-administration-and-preparation/ Connect with us here: Danny WerfelKacee Johnson⁠⁠⁠DigitsAI Native Accounting Foundation

The biggest challenge facing accounting firms isn't learning AI.It's helping junior accountants build six years of business acumen in a fraction of the time.Former AICPA CEO Barry Melancon discusses the future of the profession, from AI-powered audits and changing business models to why providing assurance to clients will become even more valuable. Connect with us here: 1. Barry Melancon2. Kacee Johnson3. Digits