Manual work everywhere. AI in strategy. Little in control.
Mid-tier firms have AI in their strategy and expect much more of it within three years, with manual work still the biggest frustration for staff.
of mid-tier firms include AI in their strategy (ICAEW, 2026)
of accountants report excessive manual tasks (Sage, 2024–25, vendor survey)
of firms can currently assess AI's impact on their workforce (ICAEW, 2026)
Accountability stays with a named person.
FRC guidance on generative and agentic AI in audit (March 2026): auditors remain accountable, and AI use sits inside the firm’s quality management system. Seven professional bodies including ICAEW, ACCA and CIOT have told tax practitioners that their ethical obligations are unchanged “regardless of whether AI has been used” (January 2026).
Regulator statements summarised from the published guidance; see the sources on the Problems page. This supports compliance; it is not legal advice.
- Bookkeeping, reconciliation and invoice processing
- Audit sampling and working papers
- Tax research and drafting
- Client reporting and management accounts
- Client financial data in consumer AI tools
- Working papers with unattributed AI content
- Duplicate tools across service lines
Gateway on managed accounts with client-data redaction. Skill Teams for invoice processing and reconciliation with a named reviewer. Library across service lines. Evidence Packs for quality review and the regulator.
Four agents, trained for this sector.
The rules, as controls.
- FRC AI in audit guidance (Mar 2026)
- ICAEW, ACCA and CIOT ethical guidance on AI (Jan 2026)
- Money Laundering Regulations 2017
- Client confidentiality
- UK GDPR and DUAA
Issues detected · needs attention first
| Issue | Rule | Severity | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payroll file uploaded to an external AI tool | R-15 | High | HR Director | Blocked · reviewed |
| 31 personal AI accounts found in Sales | R-02 | High | Head of Sales | Migrating · 27 done |
| Customer data in a prompt without redaction | R-01 | High | Ops lead | Redacted · 0 left |
| Premium model used for internal drafts · 412 requests | R-07 | Medium | Engineering lead | Rerouted |
| CRM "AI assist" running without a DPIA | Policy | Medium | Head of Sales | DPIA in progress |
| Agent attempted an external email | R-12 | Low | S. Reid | Held · approved |
| Job | Owner | RAG | Effort | Cost to date | Forecast | Actual | Variance | Return / yr | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Migrate personal accounts to managed | IT Director | 12 d | £4,200 | £6,000 · 20 d | £4,200 · 12 d | −£1,800 · −8 d | risk | Done | |
| Route everyday tasks to standard tier | FD | 3 d | £900 | £1,200 · 4 d | £900 · 3 d | −£300 · −1 d | £58,400 | Done | |
| Payroll upload block (R-15) | HR Director | 1 d | £300 | £300 · 1 d | £300 · 1 d | 0 | risk | Done | |
| Collections letters via Comms agent | Head of Collections | 18 d | £11,600 | £14,000 · 25 d | — | on track | £96,000 | In progress | |
| KYC document checks | Head of Onboarding | 9 d | £5,100 | £9,000 · 15 d | — | on track | £61,000 | In progress | |
| Contact-centre adviser assist | Head of CS | 26 d | £19,800 | £16,000 · 20 d | — | +£3,800 · +6 d | £142,000 | At risk · vendor delay |
Effort, cost and return are recorded against each job as it happens. Done means the job is solved in production with its owner’s sign-off, not that a licence was bought.
From this sector.
Can AI content in working papers be attributed?
Yes. The ledger records what was asked, which model answered and who accepted it. That record can be attached to the file.
Where does our data go?
Nowhere new. Everything runs inside your own cloud account. Nothing routes through GenWA's infrastructure. Sensitive data is removed before a request leaves your environment.
Find out where your AI stands. Then decide.
Under a minute, an upload, or a visit. Something for the board either way.