Listening to some commentators, you could be forgiven for thinking that the future of every accounting practice depends entirely on how quickly you adopt artificial intelligence (AI). Software vendors, consultants and AI advocates all seem keen to tell us what clients now expect from their accountant.
Much of it is speculation, with many simply repeating what they’ve heard elsewhere until opinion starts to sound like fact.
I’m not convinced.
Nor do I share the view of those who predict that accountancy will eventually become the domain of AI agents and large language models. I sit firmly in the camp of those who believe AI will change the role of accountants rather than replace them.
I have no doubt that AI, large language models and increasingly sophisticated automation will, in time, transform the way accounting firms operate. In time. Not tomorrow. Or even next month.
Many of the guests on my podcast are already embracing AI and integrating new tools into their practices, and it’s clear that the direction of travel is set.
Unsurprisingly to me is the fact that not one of them has suggested that increased use of technology and AI will reduce the importance of sustaining relationships with their clients.
Quite the opposite. They see AI as creating more time for the conversations clients actually value.
Forward-thinking firms are experimenting, learning and finding ways to improve efficiency and client service.
Many sole practitioners are moving more cautiously, which is understandable. Even so, I suspect that, over the next few years, every practice will find itself making greater use of AI in one form or another.
The question is whether AI will determine whether your clients remain loyal.
For most existing clients, I don’t believe it will.
Your clients care about different things
Here’s the truth as it applies for most existing clients of most established accountants.
Whatever new developments, new opportunities, new technology, new laws or other changes emerge over the next few years, very few of your current clients are going to leave you for another accountant.
Clients who have been with you for some time and who trust you don’t care how you do what you do for them. They don’t care whether you use the latest cloud software, a desktop package, AI or even quill and ink — although I think we’d all agree that’s looking a little outdated now 😉
Most people who insist that your practice will collapse unless you immediately embrace new technology are trying to sell you software, consultancy or both.
The good news is that few of your current clients will even notice the advertising from bookkeeping software providers or AI developers. They’re busy running their businesses. They trust you to get their accounts prepared, their tax returns filed and to keep them out of trouble.
That’s why I’ve long maintained — and been proven right so far — that there has rarely been any need to move existing clients onto new platforms the moment they appear.
Nor do I believe that your current clients are suddenly going to demand fee reductions simply because AI enables you to complete parts of your work more efficiently.
To be fair, if you still charge by the hour, you’ll need to decide whether those efficiency gains should benefit your clients, your practice or both. That’s a discussion for another day, but it does reinforce my long-held view that time-based fees can penalise accountants for becoming more efficient.
Most clients who have agreed a fixed fee simply don’t care how long it takes you to complete their work, provided you deliver it when promised.
That’s why I remain sceptical whenever someone claims that your existing clients are about to abandon you because another accountant is using a more advanced AI platform or newer bookkeeping software.
What most clients care about is peace of mind, confidence and convenience.
The clients who are at risk
My preamble there does not mean that you can be confident about every one of your client relationships.
Some accountants assume that if clients aren’t complaining, everything must be fine. Unfortunately, silence isn’t the same as satisfaction. Confusion isn’t confidence, and inertia isn’t loyalty.
Think about the last client you won from another accountant. At what point did they tell their previous adviser they were unhappy? Before they found you or, more likely, only afterwards?
Most clients who aren’t happy, for whatever reason, don’t complain. They simply move on.
While you’re busy looking after your client base, other accountants are actively looking to attract those same clients. The question isn’t whether your clients trust you today. It’s whether you’re continuing to deserve that trust.
AI has its limits
Already, large language models can draft emails, summarise meetings, analyse financial information and even explain tax legislation surprisingly well. Used properly, they can make accountants more productive and help firms deliver a better service.
Like every professional tool, AI works best when used well. Poor prompts produce poor outputs, just as poorly designed spreadsheets produce unreliable calculations.
Regardless of how brilliantly AI-led systems enhance your services, they can’t replace the reassurance that comes from speaking to someone who genuinely understands a client’s circumstances.
AI systems don’t notice the hesitation in someone’s voice before they ask an awkward question. They don’t recognise when someone is worried but trying not to show it. They don’t build trust simply by being consistently dependable over many years.
AI won’t shake hands. And that still matters.
Keeping clients loyal
What really influences your ability to retain clients?
It’s easy to assume it’s about avoiding fee increases or delivering flawless technical work. Both matter, but neither is usually the deciding factor.
Some accountants make occasional mistakes and retain loyal clients for decades. Others produce technically excellent work yet still lose clients.
The real key is demonstrating that you care as when clients know you care, they’re far less likely to leave.
Demonstrating that you care isn’t sentimental; it’s a collection of practical business skills.
I find it helpful to think of them as CARE.
C – Credibility
Clients trust you when they believe you know what you’re doing. Avoid empty boasts and unrealistic promises. Explain your thinking, support your advice and never be afraid to say, “I’ll check that and come back to you.” You can be credible and confident even when you don’t know the answer.
A – Appearance
First impressions matter, but ongoing impressions matter even more. Your emails, reports, proposals and marketing material should all reinforce professionalism. AI may help you communicate more effectively, but clients still judge the professionalism behind every communication.
R – Reliability
Clients rely on you to meet deadlines, anticipate issues and keep your promises. Reliability creates confidence. AI-led technology can certainly help firms become more reliable, but only if you (and your team, if you have one) use it consistently.
E – Empathy
This remains the biggest differentiator.
Clients need to feel that you genuinely care. That means understanding their business, their concerns, their ambitions and the pressures they’re under. It means making life easier for them rather than expecting them to adapt to you.
Every survey into why clients change accountants reaches a remarkably similar conclusion. It usually isn’t because of fees. It usually isn’t because of technical competence.
Clients leave because they don’t believe their accountant really cares.
This does not however mean that you need to agree to every unreasonable request from your clients. Its simply a question of how you explain your ground rules.
Demonstrating CARE in practice
Being client-focused means returning calls promptly, replying to emails without unnecessary delay and making yourself accessible when clients genuinely need you.
Clients can sense whether you care from the way you communicate. They hear it in your voice and they read it in your emails. Your communications should always be written with the client in mind. Avoid unnecessary jargon, explain your assumptions and make your advice easy to understand.
If something goes wrong, own it. Apologise. Ask what you can do to make amends, then follow through.
Another way to ensure your team gets all this is to think about something as simple as how you would offer refreshments if clients visited your office.
You wouldn’t automatically hand every visitor a black coffee with no milk or sugar. You ask what they’d like because you want them to feel comfortable. Some firms even remember returning clients’ favourite drinks. It’s a tiny gesture, but it says something important.
It says, “We know you and we care.”
The same principle applies throughout your practice. Every interaction should reinforce that clients are treated as individuals rather than as case files.
The bigger challenge is winning tomorrow’s clients
This is where AI really changes the conversation.
Many of your existing clients will remain loyal because they value the relationship you’ve already built. That’s encouraging.
Future clients are different. Some will be replacing an accountant who has let them down. Others will be appointing their first accountant. Increasingly, they’ll expect firms to make sensible use of AI-enabled systems and modern technology because they’ll assume that’s simply how efficient businesses operate.
Historically, most clients appointed accountants to deal with compliance. That work isn’t disappearing, but it is becoming easier to automate.
It seems inevitable that start-ups will increasingly expect accountants to help them manage their finances in ways that simply weren’t possible only a few years ago. Routine compliance work will continue to become more efficient, and that will inevitably place downward pressure on fees.
Within a few years, firms wanting to compete successfully for this work will need to embrace greater efficiency, streamline onboarding and become comfortable managing more client relationships than ever before.
The alternative is to develop higher-value advisory services that justify stronger fees while serving fewer clients more deeply. That’s another important discussion for another day.
Whichever route you choose, the challenge won’t simply be retaining today’s clients. It will be attracting tomorrow’s.
New competitors
There will be plenty of competition for this work, not only from better-trained and more forward-thinking accountants, but also from consultants, coaches and advisers who can offer many similar services at lower fees.
They’ll have access to the same technology, apps and AI-led systems as accountants. They may lack your financial training, but many already possess the marketing, communication and advisory skills that enable them to win work accountants have traditionally regarded as their own.
Get ready
Distinguishing your firm and clearly communicating why prospective clients should choose you will become increasingly important.
That means keeping up with AI-led developments, new technology and changing opportunities. More importantly, it means becoming better at winning work because of the value you bring, not simply because someone needs help complying with statutory filing obligations.
You’ll need to think carefully about where tomorrow’s clients will come from, why they’ll choose you and why they’ll happily pay your fees.
AI will help you produce work faster, large language models will help you communicate more effectively, and AI-led software and agents will remove many repetitive administrative tasks.
The opportunity isn’t simply to save time. It’s to invest that time where it has always mattered most: understanding clients better, asking better questions and becoming more valuable advisers.
Ironically, the more technology advances, the more important these very human skills become.
Clients won’t remain loyal because you use AI. They’ll remain loyal because AI gives you more time to demonstrate that you care.
AI will almost certainly help you win the race for efficiency.
It won’t win the race for trust.
Trust is still what keeps clients loyal.
If these ideas resonate with your partners, members or conference delegates, I’m currently developing a new talk that explores how AI is changing client expectations, why loyalty is becoming more, not less, dependent on human relationships, and what accounting firms can do now to prepare for the clients they’ll be trying to win over during the next few years.
Please let me know if that would be of interest for your group or association.
Because, in the end, AI won’t shake hands. But it might give you more time to.
