The Tax Season Diagnostic: What’s Broken (And Where AI Actually Helps)

Lee Reams:

Welcome to the Growth Minded Accountant podcast, where our experts share best practices for running your firm in the digital age. This podcast is brought to you by CountingWorks PRO.

Welcome back to another episode of the Growth Minded Accountant Podcast. My name is Lee Reams, and I'm your host today.

If you're listening to this in the middle of tax season, you're probably feeling it right now: long days, too many emails, chasing clients, chasing documents, and dealing with no-shows on calendar appointments. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you're probably thinking, "There has to be a better way to do this."

The good news is that you're right.

That's exactly what I want to talk about today.

Here's the shift: tax season isn't the time to overhaul everything. You're obviously not going to make major changes in March. Instead, it's the time to start seeing everything clearly.

I want you to start documenting what's happening. Journal if you need to. Write down where the bottlenecks are. Write down the recurring frustrations and the big problems that keep appearing.

Tax season is your highest-volume, highest-pressure, and most honest operating environment. Under pressure, your systems don't hide. Processes that seemed perfectly fine in October, December, or January suddenly start breaking in March and April.

When they break, they show you exactly where your opportunities for improvement exist.

Don't react. Redesign.

Every time you find yourself saying, "I wish I wasn't doing this manually," write it down. Make notes. After April 15, you'll have a roadmap showing you exactly where your firm needs improvement.

Let's talk about AI.

There's a lot of noise right now. Every time Claude releases a new feature, the headlines start predicting the end of the profession. You'll hear people claiming that everyone is going to be replaced and that massive unemployment is coming.

Then you'll hear the opposite side saying AI is useless because it makes too many mistakes.

The truth is somewhere in the middle.

We've been investing in AI technology for several years, and I'm a true believer in its potential. At the same time, I see where AI struggles.

Multi-step accounting logic, complex judgment calls, and consistency across financial data remain difficult challenges. That's why regulators and firms continue to be cautious about how AI is used in legal and tax-related work.

AI is powerful, but it's not something you hand the keys to.

It's excellent at execution. It's inconsistent at judgment.

And in this profession, judgment is your product. That's what clients pay you for.

So if AI isn't the magic solution, what is it?

Right now, I view AI as labor leverage.

We're operating in a profession with significant talent shortages. Firms are working longer hours than ever. AI has the potential to supplement that labor and make firms dramatically more capable.

A solo practitioner can operate like a three-person firm. A three-person firm can function more like a six- or seven-person firm.

Not because AI replaces people, but because it removes work people shouldn't be doing in the first place.

We're seeing this firsthand because we're building in this space.

We recently rolled out our first AI communication agent. It can automatically draft responses to client inquiries.

Imagine waking up to five or ten client questions that came in overnight through your client portal. The AI can perform the research, draft a response in your tone and voice, and incorporate context from prior tax returns, intake forms, and client notes.

You review it, make adjustments if needed, and send it.

Think about what that means.

You're more responsive to clients, which is important. But you're also saving a tremendous amount of time.

Future versions will assist with follow-up, scheduling, and additional administrative tasks.

The real difference here is context.

Generic AI tools without context are not enough.

AI without context is simply guessing.

You need systems that understand your firm, your clients, your history, your data, and your communication style. That's when AI becomes useful. That's when it starts feeling like part of your team instead of just another piece of software.

Between now and April 15, I want you paying attention to four specific areas.

First, onboarding. Where are you constantly chasing clients for information?

Second, data handling. Where are you manually entering data or reviewing information repeatedly?

Third, communication. How often are you answering the same questions over and over again?

Fourth, research. How much time are you spending finding answers to client questions?

If any of those areas are heavily manual, you've identified an opportunity.

Those opportunities can save hours every day and significantly increase your firm's capacity.

Remember: tax season isn't when you fix everything.

It's when you discover what's worth fixing.

The worst investment you can make after tax season is solving the wrong problem because you followed hype, acted emotionally, or bought into promises that don't address your actual bottlenecks.

I've often said that AI is a great intern but a dangerous decision-maker.

That's where your expertise still matters.

I wanted to record this episode now because I want you thinking about these things before tax season ends.

What areas can you improve?

Where can you create more efficiency?

Where can you increase capacity?

How can you serve clients better while reducing unnecessary workload?

Those are the questions worth answering.

That's a wrap for this session of the Growth Minded Accountant Podcast.

Let's get back to work. You're almost there.

Finish tax season strong.

And thank you for being a subscriber, listener, and member of our community.