Episode 32

AI Reality in Firms: Panel - The Tech Perspective

This episode is a deliberate break from the format.

Before interviewing senior accounting firm leaders, Rob Brown brings together five companies working at the centre of AI adoption inside firms.

They are building the tools, working with leadership teams and seeing how AI is being applied in practice.

The goal is not to explain AI. It is to test assumptions.

Across the discussion, the panel explores:

▸ Where AI is genuinely reshaping firm direction versus simply improving efficiency

▸ What firms are still getting wrong about AI adoption

▸ Which leadership decisions will actually matter over the next two years

▸ Where the real internal tension is building inside firms

▸ What may separate leading firms from the rest by 2027

Each panellist will also appear in their own 12-minute interview in the series, where these same questions will be put directly.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/TuYjR-sO4Pk

Thank you to our Season Partners for making this series possible.

Fieldguide is the AI-native platform for audit and advisory enabling human and AI collaboration to scale capacity, improve quality and transform how firms operate. fieldguide.io

Instead is the first AI agent that owns end-to-end tax from research, planning, filing, and defense all in one system. It replaces CCH, GoSystems, UltraTax, Lacerte, ProConnect, Drake and many more. instead.com

Karbon is the global leader in AI-powered practice management software for accounting firms. Their research into how technology is reshaping firm performance is essential reading for anyone leading a firm in 2026. karbonhq.com

Digits is the world’s first AI-native accounting platform. It's accounting software that works for you to deliver real-time financials and automate the month-end close. digits.com

Filed is the intelligent tax workspace for preparation and review automation and the only AI for prep, review and planning that runs inside your tax software especially made for high-volume firms. filed.com

Accounting Voices is a senior sense-making platform for firm owners, managing partners and senior operators navigating the forces reshaping accounting firms. Host Rob Brown convenes structured conversations with leaders across the profession to interpret what AI, private equity, consolidation and leadership pressure mean in practice.

This season, AI Reality Inside Firms, brings together senior accounting firm leaders answering the same five structured questions about how AI is actually landing inside firms, separating execution from narrative.

Find all episodes on your preferred podcast platform or on the Accounting Voices YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/@accountingvoices

To find out more or to explore season partnership opportunities, connect with Rob on LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/therobbrown

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About the Podcast

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Accounting Voices
Accounting Voices is a senior conversation platform for accounting firm leaders navigating AI, private equity, consolidation, talent pressure and relevance.

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About your host

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Rob Brown

Rob Brown is the founder and host of the Accounting Voices Podcast, the flagship solo show of the Accounting Voices Network. Each episode offers sharp analysis and commentary on the trends, ideas and people shaping the global accounting profession.

Through this Accounting Voices Podcast, Rob helps accounting firm leaders, decision makers and professionals stay relevant and make sense of disruption in areas like AI, automation, M&A, private equity and soft skills beyond the tech. His perspective blends clarity, insight and curiosity, making complex issues relevant and practical for professionals and decision makers across accounting and finance.

He also leads two monthly panel shows, Accounting M&A and Accounting AI, which bring together senior voices to explore consolidation, strategy and the impact of technology on firms and people.

Rob is the author of the bestselling book Build Your Reputation (Wiley) and a TEDx speaker whose talk The Personal Brand of You has more than 400,000 views. Over his career he has hosted and moderated more than 1,000 conversations with accounting and fintech leaders worldwide.

Based in Nottingham UK, Rob is a stroke survivor living with epilepsy, a black belt in kickboxing, a decent chess player and an average player of four musical instruments.