At this point, it is clear that artificial intelligence (AI) and its sub-technology Generative AI (GenAI) will have a significant impact on businesses and companies in the future. In the recently published 2024 Thomson Reuters Report “Future of skilled workers”42% of the more than 2,000 professional service providers surveyed said they believe that AI and GenAI will have a transforming impact on their profession. Another 36% said they expect that high Impact. Legal, tax and accounting professionals are already planning for a future with GenAI.

At the same time, however, many do not really use AI and GenAI at the momentWhile technology experts urge caution when considering AI and GenAI as Starting point for professional work instead of completely automating the process, the Report “Future of skilled workers” notes that many legal, tax and accounting professionals have not yet taken this step and instead avoid AI as a starting point because they have concerns about accuracy or security or simply don’t know where else to start.

The legal, tax and accounting industry is known for being slow to adapt to new technologies, but in this particular case, that could be a problem because their end customers – corporate C-suites – are moving into the GenAI world anyway, potentially leaving the legal and tax industry behind.

Different starting points

Overall, the professional world has started to incorporate AI into the job creation process early on. But as the report shows, respondents at the top level of management approach AI very differently than their colleagues in legal, tax and accounting.

According to the report, a whopping 82% of C-suite respondents said they have used AI at least once to start work. Additionally, 60% have used AI multiple times to start work tasks, and 24% use AI to start their work product. regularly.

Comparing these figures with the responses from legal and tax experts, it becomes clear that the two sides view AI very differently. The proportion of experts who stated that they had used AI to any In both legal and tax, the proportion of those who regularly use AI to complete tasks is 60% – more than 20 percentage points lower than their senior management counterparts. At the same time, the proportion of those who say they regularly use AI to complete tasks is only 10% in legal and tax – less than half the proportion of senior management respondents.

Legal and tax professionals have different reasons for not regularly starting tasks using AI. For legal professionals, it is primarily a question of risk aversion. Almost half of legal respondents who said they do not use AI to start tasks expressed concerns about the accuracy of the tools. More than a third also cited data protection or concerns about the ethics of using AI.

Tax and accounting professionals who are not using AI as a starting point said they do not have the time or opportunity to even look into these tools. Many expressed similar concerns to their legal counterparts about accuracy and data security. However, the main reason for not using AI (36% of respondents) is simply tax professionals’ uncertainty about what kind of work the technology can be used for. And a third of respondents also said they want to use the technology at some point but have not had the opportunity to do so yet.

This could be a problem for many in the legal, tax and accounting industries, as it is clear that C-suites have had success with AI tools and want to continue using them in some form. According to the report, 74% of C-suite respondents who said they had used AI as a starting point at least once described it as at least a strong starting point, if not a better one. And 14% of C-suite respondents said AI produced “a result that was better than I could have produced myself.”

Time to change priorities?

This is not the first time that senior management have not been on the same page as legal and tax experts. Just last fall, a Thomson Reuters Institute survey of senior management found that company executives Thought Their internal legal and tax departments described their approach to AI development and the risks involved, but in reality they revealed completely different priorities.

According to this study, C-suites largely focused on Customers and talentsfollowed by Operations And Financial growthwith Securing the business The legal sector, on the other hand, focused much more on Backup and less on Customers and talentsTax & Accounting is now also focusing more on Operationswhile the focus is also less on Customers and talents.

These different values ​​are reflected here. While lawyers are primarily concerned about the risks arising from inaccuracies and security issues, corporate executives are more focused on how the results of the tools impact their customers and the business as a whole.

Likewise, tax professionals are focusing on their day-to-day operations rather than taking the time to experiment with AI. This is perhaps not a surprising development given the current skills shortage in tax and the fact that the industry is increasingly trying to do more with less. However, C-suites have a much broader view – they are less focused on day-to-day operations and more experimenting with how they use AI to potentially grow their businesses in the future.

While lawyers are primarily concerned about the risks posed by inaccuracies and security issues, corporate executives are more focused on the impact the tools’ results will have on their customers and the business as a whole.

The goal of legal and tax professionals – both in-house and at external firms – should be to represent the best interest of their client. The methods used to best serve the client will vary, of course, but the client’s priorities and end goals are more static and should ultimately serve as a guiding point. It is clear from recent research, public statements and total investment amounts that an increasing number of business leaders see artificial intelligence as successful and the way of the future.

Now it’s up to legal and tax professionals to find a way to use AI technologies in a way that’s compatible with their professional responsibilities. Of course, legal and tax professionals should continue to be aware of risks and focus on efficient operations. At the same time, as integration in the boardrooms of companies increases, it will be necessary for legal and tax professionals to learn to use these technologies rather than ignore them.