Hartford Business Journal

18 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 9, 2026 FOCUS | Accounting Drew Andrews, managing partner and CEO of Whittlesey, says artificial intelligence tools are reducing manual work and reshaping how accounting firms analyze data and deliver insights to clients. Contributed Photo Digital Transformation AI reshapes how accounting firms operate cation, allowing accountants to shift their focus to higher-value work. The survey also found that compa- nies that used AI were reporting that the quality of their record keeping improved. Citrin Cooperman, which has a Connecticut office in Woodbridge and more than 30 locations overall, has fully deployed some tools, is piloting others and is working with specialists on emerging applications, Ronan said. "We are continuing to watch and engage with a number of other vendors and thought leaders within the industry about what is on the horizon," Ronan said. "It's very much a co-creation environment between accounting firms and the vendors." According to the Thomson Reuters survey, Big Four firms are using AI across a range of functions, including initial audit documentation reviews, tax preparation data entry, custom- ized software development, book- keeping automation and predictive insights for tax advisory services. That widespread use is backed by significant capital commitments. The Big Four have made multibil- lion-dollar commitments to artificial intelligence. Deloitte has earmarked about $3 billion for AI development and partnerships, and PwC in 2023 pledged roughly $1 billion over three years to expand and scale its AI capabilities. That level of spending is putting pressure on other large, midsize and small accounting firms to develop or adopt their own AI capabilities. Citrin Cooperman has brought in private-equity backing in recent years. The firm first sold a majority stake to New Mountain Capital in 2021 and last year took on an invest- ment from Blackstone, moves it said would help fund expanded service offerings and technology initiatives. However, Ronan said that while accounting offers a natural AI use case, the profession's high standards for trust and accuracy can limit adoption of off-the-shelf tools in some situations. He also sees AI as a more fundamental change than previous waves of technology, meaning the profession must be ready for a new mindset. "We're making significant invest- ments for the next several years against a pretty focused roadmap on how we're going to adopt AI across all of our service offerings," he said. Human intervention Having a roadmap is essential, according to Rick Krueger, managing principal of transformation at CliftonLarsonAllen, a major national firm with Connecticut offices in West Hartford and Shelton. Krueger warns against what he calls "shiny object syndrome." "I think we have to start with the vision first," he said. "If you start By Harriet Jones hjones@hartfordbusiness.com A lot has been written about the transformational potential of artificial intelligence in a range of professions, but none might seem so ripe for its adoption as the data-rich field of accounting. CPA firms are increasingly embed- ding generative AI into everyday workflows — from internal commu- nications to financial analysis — as the profession grapples with labor constraints, growing data complexity and client demand for faster insights. While adoption remains uneven, early movers say the technology is already changing how routine work is performed and how value is delivered. "I've been talking about AI for a long time, and how it's going to transform our business," said Drew Andrews, managing partner and CEO of Hartford-based Whittlesey, an independent regional accounting and consulting firm with about 170 employees and offices in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Andrews said basic generative AI tools, including Microsoft Copilot, have been rolled out firmwide to assist with business communications and internal operations. Whittlesey has also implemented tools that utilize AI in researching and delivering information for clients. "For instance, looking at some- one's year-end results, their income statement, their financial results and comparing it to peer data in their industry," he says, noting that the time spent on such tasks has been radically reduced. Andrews said that in a profession long reliant on manual entry of complex data, AI is also reducing the risk of errors. Whittlesey has a dedicated tech- nology team that works with clients on cybersecurity and AI imple- mentation and has also reviewed emerging industry tools, including those that could eventually handle highly sensitive tasks such as tax return preparation. Andrews said that in a profession sometimes resistant to change, the challenge is keeping up with the pace of technological development. "With AI I think if you close your eyes for a few months, you're outdated, you're obsolete, you're behind the eight ball," he said. Industry data show many firms are still in the early stages of adoption. The Thomson Reuters 2025 Gener- ative AI in Professional Services Report found that 21% of tax firms are using generative AI technology, while 53% either plan to use it or are considering it. A quarter of firms reported no current plans to adopt generative AI, but that share was down from 49% in 2024. Major investments Steve Ronan, the chief strategy officer at national accounting and advisory firm Citrin Cooperman, said manual data entry is among the areas where AI tools are advancing fastest and where firms can realize immediate gains. "Think about activities that happen across the firm: getting data from clients, processing that data, trans- forming it, normalizing that data," he said. "Those are things that all of our service offerings need to do, it's also something that AI is pretty good at and for which there are ready-made use cases." Those experiences align with a recent Stanford University study of 79 small- and midsize firms, which found AI is increasingly handling repetitive tasks such as transaction classifi- Steve Ronan

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