Separating Fact from Fiction: AI Lessons from Scaling New Heights

AI isn’t coming for your job, but it might just save your sanity.

That was the core message from Canopy’s VP of Product Hanna Bjornn and Accounting Lifeline CEO Liz Scott during their presentation at Scaling New Heights 2025. This session broke down what AI is really doing in firms now, compared to what people think it’s doing.

Here are the main takeaways from the session.

Fact #1: AI Doesn’t Replace Roles, It Replaces Tasks

We’ve all seen those fearmongering headlines. “AI will take all the jobs!” “Accountants are doomed!”

But remember, AI isn’t a robot accountant waiting to take over your job. It’s a tool that helps you do your job faster and better by handling repetitive, time-wasting tasks.

In most firms, the highest friction isn’t in advisory or technical tax work, it’s in the admin and back-and-forth. Think:

• Chasing down client documents
• Sending status updates
• Renaming uploaded files
• Nudging clients on missing checklist items

With AI, these tasks can be automated or assisted, which frees up your time to focus on high-value client work. And the control is still in your hands. AI might suggest next steps or how to do things, but you still approve the next move. 

Truth #2: Practical AI is Already Here

Liz and Hanna stressed that you don’t have to wait for the future where AI is perfect. Firms are already seeing results from AI built into everyday tools.

When AI is integrated well, it’s usually invisible, working behind the scenes to reduce clicks, surface insights, and keep things moving without disrupting your team’s flow.

Instead of learning a new system or becoming a “tech expert,” your staff works as usual and benefits from smart nudges, automated follow-ups, and faster information handling.

Here are exciting and practical use cases where AI can improve the way you operate:

• IRS Transcripts: Flags new transcript activity, drafts ready-to-send client emails, preps a pre-filled engagement letter, and recommends billing based on your firm’s pricing model and past work

• Email Summarization: Condenses lengthy email threads, highlights action items, and routes messages to the right team members

• AI-Enhanced Questionnaires: Pre-fills known information, detects missing uploads, triggers follow-up reminders, updates checklist progress

• Smart File Handling: Identifies document types, renames files based on firm conventions, and organizes into correct folders

• Proactive Workflow Support: Suggests next steps, identifies stuck clients or tasks, reroutes work to the right person

These are just a few examples of what AI is capable of right now, and they’re saving firms hours every week. The key is to look for tools that seamlessly integrate AI into your current workflow, rather than creating extra steps.

Truth #3: The Smartest AI Blends Structure with Smarts

Hanna broke down AI into two core types:

• Structured AI (RPA): Rule-based, predictable, and great for workflows that follow a clear set of rules. You can trust these automations 100% of the time because they're based on deterministic logic (if X, then Y).
  • Examples:
    • If a W-2 is uploaded, it’s automatically renamed to ClientName_2024_W2.pdf
    • If a checklist item is missing for 5 days, send a reminder to the client

• Unstructured AI (LLMs): Context-aware, flexible, and ideal for messy or incomplete data
  • Examples:
    • Interpreting a document when the layout is inconsistent or unlabeled
    • Identify a file as a 1099 form, even if the client saved it as “tax doc 2”
    • Summarizing a long email thread with mixed client questions and requests
      
      

The magic happens when you combine both. Use structured automation for reliability and LLMs for insight and adaptability. That’s how you build systems that are both safe and smart.

Truth #4: Agentic AI is Coming Fast

Agentic AI is the next frontier. Instead of completing single tasks when prompted, this type of AI acts on your behalf.

Let’s say you tell your AI:  “Find out which of my clients are affected by the new IRS 1099-K threshold, prepare outreach emails, and update our internal checklist for next year’s filings.”

A truly agentic AI would:

1. Access the latest IRS guidance and understand what changed

2. Cross-reference client income data to identify affected individuals

3. Draft personalized outreach emails, using your firm’s tone and branding

4. Update your internal workflow or prep checklist in your practice management system

5. Report back with what it did and flag anything needing human review

All in one flow. No jumping between apps, no redundant clicks.

We’re already seeing early signs of this shift, and when it happens, your firm will move from doing things faster to thinking and operating smarter.

Truth #5: AI Doesn’t Replace Relationships

People are the heart of the profession, not AI. Even the most powerful AI can’t replace human connection.

AI can draft messages and recommend follow-ups, but it will never hear the emotion in a panicked call or cheer a client on after their first hire.

What AI can do is give you more time. Time to listen, to guide, and to show up when it counts. 

That’s the edge great firms will keep.

What to do Now:

• Don’t wait for perfect AI. Start using it where it already works, like email summaries, task automations, and client follow-ups
• Use tools with AI built-in. You don’t need to learn how to use every AI tool. Start by partnering with tools like Canopy that integrate it into your existing workflows
• Focus on freeing time, not replacing people. The goal is more time for strategy, guidance, and high-value work

Want to see how Canopy bakes smart AI into your daily workflows?