Accounting expands agentic AI use as oversight concerns grow

Accounting firm advisor Stout acquired Flightline, an agentic AI company, to build out its AI-enabled workbench. Thomson Reuters also introduced a new version of CoCounsel for Tax, Audit and Accounting with agentic capabilities that allow it to write and run its own code to execute complex, multistep workflows.

Other technology developments target routine finance work. Tipalti is promoting an AI agent to manage the entire accounts payable process, while Empty Spaces launched with agents for month-end close, reconciliation and financial planning and analysis. Oracle NetSuite introduced NetSuite QuickStart, a free AI-driven finance solution for early-stage technology startups.

Oversight and professional judgment remain central concerns. A majority of accountants identified AI as the profession’s foremost ethical challenge. The AICPA released guidance explaining how audit standards apply when entities use AI for financial statements and practitioners use it during audits. Separate studies comparing AI models with human CPAs produced sharply different results but agreed that AI remained no substitute for human accountants.