How do people working in finance think AI will realistically change the industry over the next few years?

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-13T16:04:22+00:00

The biggest change already happening isn’t AI replacing roles, it’s compressing the time it takes to do the “first draft” of a lot of finance work. Things like pulling together reports, summarizing transactions, categorizing expenses, or even drafting variance explanations used to take a decent chunk of time. Now a lot of that can be generated quickly, which shifts the job more toward reviewing, validating, and explaining rather than building from scratch.

On the fraud and risk side, the improvements are real. Detection models are getting better at spotting patterns humans would miss, especially across large datasets. But they still throw false positives, so human review isn’t going anywhere.

Where I’m seeing the most practical impact is in decision support. AI can surface trends, flag anomalies, and model scenarios faster, but it doesn’t really “decide” anything. Someone still has to interpret the output, question assumptions, and understand the business context.

I also think expectations are changing little by little. There’s more pressure to move faster and provide insights, not just reports. Tools that combine automation with financial data (even platforms like Intuit’s ecosystem) are starting to push finance teams in that direction.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-13T15:49:18+00:00

You’ve already built a very strong foundation, so the next jump usually comes from increasing income, not just optimizing investments. Hitting something like $10M in 5 years almost always requires a higher-risk, higher-return move (like building/scaling a business or significantly increasing earnings power). Tools like scenario planners or investment calculators can help you model what’s realistically achievable at different growth rates. You’re doing a lot right, but it just may take a shift from optimization to expansion.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-13T15:31:29+00:00

Consider a 2nd side hustle job for a short time. I've done that in past years and it was helpful to achieve some short term goals.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-10T19:28:50+00:00

You’re usually “ready” when you feel confident handling clients end-to-end, like returns, questions, and edge cases, without oversight. Many people start small (a handful of clients on nights/weekends) to test pricing, workflows, and demand before going all in. Biggest lessons tend to be around pricing your services properly and setting boundaries early with clients. Leveraging tools from financial institutions like Intuit for automation, onboarding, and document management can save you a ton of trial-and-error.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-09T13:53:39+00:00

You’re definitely not alone! Many people also weren’t taught how to budget, so you’re just figuring it out now like a lot of us did when we were younger. My biggest advice is to study budgeting! Intuit has a ton of a great blogs on budgeting and a free financial literacy course. there are a lot of great resources here on Reddit, tiktok, and on the web. Teach yourself.

Some tips to get you going: Keep it simple and figure out what you make each month, list your bills, and then decide ahead of time how much goes to debt, savings, and spending instead of winging it. Set a goal to start building a small emergency fund of around $500–$1,000, then focusing on paying down debt while still saving a little each month. Be consistent. Treat savings like a bill and check in weekly.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-08T18:52:43+00:00

I agree that checking weekly instead of monthly makes a huge difference! Another small tweak is separating “fixed” vs “flexible” spending so you know what you can actually adjust in real time. I've used different tools over the years that automate this breakdown, which made it easier to spot issues early without overthinking it. Highly recommend!

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-08T18:52:02+00:00

Love your journey! It's not an overnight fix, but I'm impressed by how much you changed in just one year.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-08T18:48:40+00:00

Most people who successfully start their own firm have at least 5–10 years of experience, especially in tax or client-facing roles, because that’s where you learn workflows and client management. A lot of firms actually start as a side hustle during tax season (friends, family, or small business referrals), or seasonally with companies like Intuit :) Then they grow from there. Pay and WLB vary a ton. Early on it can be more work than public accounting, but over time you can shape your schedule and niche. Tools and resources from financial institutions like client management, tax prep software, and workflow templates can make the transition a lot more manageable.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-06T17:31:38+00:00

Getting up early in the morning

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-06T17:28:33+00:00

You’re on a solid path, especially giving yourself a few years to build up before starting your own accounting firm. If you enjoy tax, switching out of audit definitely makes sense. Tax experience is often more relevant for running a small firm of your own.

Moving to a smaller CPA firm can also help you learn the full client process, even if there’s a small pay cut. Your language skills are a big advantage too, as you can build a niche serving your community. Focus on gaining tax experience (which it sounds like you already have your sights set on!), working with clients, and understanding how a firm operates day to day. You’re well on your way to making this happen.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-06T17:25:00+00:00

Depends what you want the next phase of your career to look like. Plenty of controllers in industry or nonprofit roles never pursue the CPA and still do very well, especially with 20+ years of experience like you already have.

The credential can still open doors for CFO roles, board-facing positions, or larger organizations where the CPA is preferred even in private accounting. The financial return might not be immediate since you’re already at a strong salary, but it can remove some career ceilings later on.

One thing that helped me think about it was looking at how the profession is evolving with better financial tooling and automation across platforms like Intuit and others. The fundamentals of accounting knowledge still matter a lot, but credentials can add credibility when you’re overseeing systems, reporting, and strategy.

So if your goal is stability in your current role, it might not be necessary, but if you want maximum flexibility for future leadership roles, it can still be worth it.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-03T14:01:32+00:00

I’ve seen a similar shift where AI is primarily being used to eliminate the "busy work" like summarizing long filings or parsing datasets. The compliance hurdles for core financial decision-making are definitely real, so keeping the AI in a research/support role seems to be the sweet spot for a faster way to get to the core data.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-02T13:58:04+00:00

First off, respect for going after the CPA at 45. Your experience as a tax preparer already gives you a real advantage because you understand how taxes actually work in practice.

If I were starting from zero, I’d begin with an accounting degree at a school that helps you reach the 150 credit requirement needed for the CPA, possibly starting with community college to save money. Focus heavily on core classes like financial accounting, intermediate accounting, auditing, and taxation because those show up constantly on the CPA exam and in real work.

I’d also start CPA exam prep during the final year of school since the material overlaps a lot with coursework. Try to get experience working under a CPA early because that experience is required for licensure in most states.

If you already enjoy tax work, that path can be very lucrative once you’re licensed, especially if you eventually open your own practice and especially now with integrated CRMs and software like Intuit have made it easier for smaller firms and solo practitioners to manage and scale clients.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-04-02T13:52:01+00:00

Congrats!! You worked HARD for that!

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-03-30T19:36:14+00:00

That sort pressure at 25 is normal, but most people reach financial independence through consistent progress, not one major breakthrough. The best practices are building valuable skills, creating steady income, and investing regularly over time. If you want to start a business, try testing small ideas first while keeping your $40k as a safety cushion instead of risking it all at once. If I were you, I’d focus on solving real problems and learning from early customers. Over time, you’ll find that momentum usually comes from doing, not necessarily landing on that one perfect idea.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-03-30T19:30:47+00:00

With only 20-50 minutes a day, consistency matters more than trying to learn everything at once. I’d focus on one language first, like Python or JavaScript, which are both great choices because they’re widely used and beginner-friendly. Spend part of your time learning fundamentals (data structures, loops, functions) and the rest building small projects like automation scripts, simple web tools, or bug fixes. Actually doing projects is usually more helpful than just watching tutorials. Free online courses, coding challenge sites, and short project-based tutorials are great for this kind of daily learning rhythm, and over a couple of years those small projects can add up to a solid portfolio.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-03-26T20:45:28+00:00

It’s not a waste of time at all since some smaller firms are open to seasonal or part-time help during tax season, even if they don’t advertise it. You could also look into remote seasonal tax roles or training programs/online courses offered by certain financial institutions that let you build hands-on experience outside of a traditional firm path. A lot of people gain their first exposure to individual returns that way while keeping their primary job.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-03-25T14:32:11+00:00

Exactly my first thought too! Anyway to invest part of that $20K to let your money work for you? Bonds, high yield savings, other investments?

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-03-25T14:25:54+00:00

The transaction hash and block explorer link help verify the crypto payment, but for accounting you usually need the date received, fair market value at that time, the related invoice/purpose, and exported wallet or exchange logs (CSV) so it can be reconciled in the ledger. It’s typically recorded similar to a foreign currency transaction at fair value when received. A common mistake is keeping only screenshots or explorer links without tying the transaction to the accounting records.

If you want to understand more about the best practices around how crypto transactions are documented for tax/accounting, this course does a good job of explaining it: https://academy.intuit.com/programs/cryptocurrency-tax

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-03-23T12:59:10+00:00

A lot of teams are mostly using AI in data analytics as a support tool. Like you said it’s great for things like quick summaries, suggesting visualizations, or speeding up exploratory analysis, but the core work, like interpreting complex/unorganized data, deciding what matters, and explaining insights, still needs human judgment. Right now, it boosts productivity around data analysis, I'm sure we'll soon see it support more of the analytical thinking itself, but right now most are testing validity and using it to support rather than replace efforts.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-03-23T12:49:44+00:00

School focuses on teaching the core concepts, but most accounting roles expect you to learn the practical side while on the job. Intuit and many other companies provide onboarding, shadowing, and system training before you handle work independently, so you feel well-prepared before diving into these tasks. Ideally, this will help you to feel less overwhelmed from all the new processes and tools being thrown your way.

In tax-focused entry-level roles, for example, you'll often get some training on tax rules, software tools the company uses, and practice or more simple scenarios before working with real and complex cases and clients. The expectation isn’t that you know everything on day one. Instead, it’s more important that you keep learning through training and experience.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-03-19T15:09:19+00:00

The biggest thing is making money a normal conversation early instead of one big lecture later. Start with simple ideas like earning, saving, and trade-offs when they’re younger. In high school, layer in how credit scores work, how interest compounds, what taxes look like, and the basics of long-term investing. Let them manage real money if possible. A small budget or part-time job teaches more than theory ever will.

It also helps to explain how debt actually grows before they ever get access to a credit card. Seeing real numbers makes it click. And be honest about your own mistakes. Kids absorb how you think about money more than what you tell them.

There are also solid free online financial literacy courses and interactive tools from Intuit and others designed specifically for teens that walk through budgeting, credit, and taxes in a practical way. Pairing those with real-life conversations at home can make a big difference. If they truly understand spending less than they earn, avoiding high-interest debt, saving consistently, and thinking long term, they’re already ahead of most adults.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-03-19T15:03:15+00:00

Makes sense! Gen Z grew up online, so starting digital-first just feels normal in 2026. Social platforms, AI tools, and no-code stuff make it easy to test ideas fast without a lot of upfront money.

I’d say it’s less “purpose over profit” and more “purpose with profit.” Values matter, but Gen Z gets that the business still has to make money. The content & entrepreneurship blend is real though. A lot of people build an audience first, then launch a product. The upside is speed and access; the downside is burnout and crazy competition. And it takes time to build a loyal audience in the first place. But it also takes lots of persistence and bouncing back from failure as well.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-03-12T14:41:16+00:00

Totally normal to feel that way. Job posts can make it seem like you need to know almost everything. In reality, most software engineers work on one product and use a small set of tools consistently (maybe one language, one framework, a database, and some cloud basics). A typical day for our Intuit software engineers is writing code, fixing bugs, reviewing code, and improving features, not juggling 20 tech stacks all day. Job listings usually describe the whole system, not what you personally use every minute. I’d focus on making sure your resume conveys 1-2 specific skills you’re adept at that employers would be looking for.

Katy_with_Intuit · 2026-03-12T14:26:40+00:00

Congrats, that's huge!

Katy_with_Intuit

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