Adding advisory work to your CPA firm’s practice is a smart move. Client advisory service practices have reported a 61% increase in median annual revenues since 2022, according to the 2024 CAS Benchmark Survey conducted by CPA.com and the AICPA. 

But doing so is easier said than done. To succeed, firms must free up time and talent to focus on this intensive, strategic work.

If your team is bogged down in compliance work and repetitive tasks, you can pair two game-changing technologies—dynamic workflows and AI agents—to transform your practice. Together, they help small CPA firms eliminate bottlenecks, automate repetitive tasks and shift resources toward high-value client advisory services.

The Future Firm in Practice

Imagine a tax planning AI agent that evaluates a client’s business context, recommends strategies and drafts a statement of work. A human advisor reviews, approves and discusses the plan with the client. The agent then generates pricing and manages the approval process—all before the advisor steps back in to oversee implementation. 

Or picture a project management agent monitoring every engagement across the firm, automatically checking task completion, escalating issues and sending updates. Instead of building plans and chasing down documents, your team spends their time on strategic discussions and client consultations.

Both examples illustrate how firms can automate repetitive, administrative tasks to free up your team’s time for strategic work. To achieve this vision at your firm, start by removing the bottlenecks that are slowing down work.

The Bottlenecks Holding Firms Back

First consider the hurdles that you must address with any AI-driven automation. The biggest hurdles I see are practice management systems, document collection and similar manual tasks.

Legacy Practice Management Systems Aren’t Built for Advisory 

One of the first hurdles is practice management systems. Most of these systems were designed for firms that do compliance work. To be sure, these are sophisticated workflow management systems. They ensure that the processes for compliance work are consistently executed. However, compliance workflows are templated, cookie cutter processes ideal for bookkeeping, accounting and tax work, where efficiency is key. 

Advisory work, on the other hand, is all about solving a client’s pain points or advising them on the best way to achieve their objective. No two clients have identical pain points or objectives. So advisors must offer solutions that are specific to their client. 

Now imagine that the advisor has to create a workflow or project plan for each advisory project. They could use project management systems or advisory oriented practice management systems to create the plan, but it will still be manually intensive. The additional time spent on administrative tasks will make the project very expensive and inefficient.

Document Collection and Other Manual Tasks Slow Down Projects from the Start

For many firms, the biggest time drain for advisory work is collecting documents and other important information from clients at the right time. A typical process may involve the firm creating a checklist of documents for the clients to submit, then periodically checking whether the documents have been submitted, following up if they have not been, and answering the client’s questions. 

Firms must also spend a lot of time building project plans based on the scope that was agreed to with the client, managing the plan and communicating status updates to the client.

Fortunately, firms can add AI-powered dynamic workflows to their practices to automate these bottlenecks and allow your teams to focus on advisory.  

Dynamic Workflows to Unlock Advisory

What exactly do these dynamic workflows look like? A modern AI-based dynamic workflow will eliminate the need for templates and drastically reduce the overhead required to manage projects (which are the mainstay of the legacy practice management systems). 

They allow for the majority of your team’s time to be spent on advising, rather than managing the advisory project. This guarantees the advisor spends more time with the client, thinking through and providing the best strategic support.

Here are just a few of the AI agentic dynamic workflows that can help you get there:

  • Build a workflow that creates and sends the client a document checklist to request required documents to kick off or execute the project. 
  • Create a workflow that automatically builds a project plan based on the agreed-upon scope of the advisory engagement.
  • Design an AI agent to monitor the receipt of documents from clients, then, once the documents are received, trigger the next tasks in the project plan.
  • Construct an AI project management agent that monitors conversations between the advisor and the client and creates a checklist of actions to be completed, then updates the project plan accordingly and sends updates to clients at appropriate milestones.

From Automation to AI Agents

Dynamic workflows are a critical first step, but they only scratch the surface. Automation makes firms more efficient, but to move beyond efficiency, firms need AI agents that not only execute tasks but also make contextual decisions and collaborate with human experts.

Unlike traditional automation, an AI agent is more like a virtual team member. It acts as a knowledge worker that can interpret context, collaborate with staff or other agents, and carry out complex processes. These agents don’t replace humans, they amplify them.

What AI Agents Can Do Today

While AI agents still require human supervision, they can handle much of the heavy lifting in areas where firms spend countless hours today:

  • Project management agents read statements of work, generate document checklists, track submissions, create tailored workflows and provide ongoing client updates.
  • Tax planning agents suggest tax minimization strategies, create roadmaps for implementation of the strategies, and find the right accountant or CPA firm who can implement those strategies.
  • Workflow agents monitor tasks across multiple engagements, escalate issues and ensure deliverables are on track.

Benefits for Firm Owners

AI agents aren’t just features in your software—they’re teammates. By rethinking firm structure and assigning roles to agents as well as people, firm owners can:

  • Free staff from repetitive, manual work
  • Increase client interaction and improve the perception of value
  • Scale capacity without adding headcount

Staff no longer bogged down in compliance or project administration can dedicate more time to advisory services, building deeper relationships with clients and positioning the firm as a trusted partner.

Your Future Firm

As firms look to add advisory services to grow their revenues, it will be crucial to find ways to automate routine tasks with dynamic workflows and amplify your team with AI agents. If you don’t, you’ll risk spending more time on administrative work than necessary, and you’ll give up the ability to more effectively track the progress of your advisory projects and optimize the client experience. 

The future of the small CPA firm isn’t about simply being more efficient. It’s about expanding your team without hiring, elevating the role of human experts and ensuring that advisory services are not only possible, but scalable. Dynamic workflows and AI agents are the foundation for making that future a reality.

About the Author

Saum Mathur has 29 years of experience in driving business growth by leveraging leading-edge business concepts, advanced analytics and technologies. He is a progressive and results-oriented executive who thrives on challenges and opportunities. As the Chief Operating Officer at Paro, a platform that connects businesses with freelance finance and accounting experts, he leads the marketing, sales, product management, technology and revenue operations for the company, with the mandate to grow the company efficiently and sustainably.