Last updated: 08 Jul 2024 10:00 Posted in:
UK tax professionals have been quick to recognise the efficiency benefits of generative AI, according to a new report by Tolley.
Its report, ‘How Generative AI is Transforming Tax Practice’, reveals that 66% of tax professionals are either already using or will soon use AI for work purposes. It surveyed 446 UK tax professionals in private and in-house practice for the study.
Not only will generative AI automate repetitive tasks, it can also add substantial value to more complex tasks, respondents said. Some 91% of the survey respondents said their top priority for generative AI was research, followed by drafting documents (87%) and preparing communications such as briefs and letters (80%).
Despite the interest in AI, 79% of UK tax professionals have some level of concern over the ethics and trustworthiness of public-access and free-to-use generative AI platforms. A lack of trust (29%) and concerns over fake content 27% were the main concerns.
However, if generative AI could be fine-tuned for the tax market and grounded in proven, authoritative tax research, 71% said they would be ‘somewhat’ or ‘completely comfortable’ using AI.
Tolley’s survey echoes the recent Thomson Reuters ‘2024 Generative AI in Professional Services’ report, which showed views on AI among tax professionals had shifted significantly in the past 12 months.
It found 60% of corporate tax professional think Gen AI should be used in their work. That’s up from 53% one year ago. Furthermore, 56% of those professionals think their external tax advisory firms should be using AI.
The report reveals that more than half of tax professionals say they are already using or intend to use open-source Gen AI tools such as ChatGPT for their own work, but industry-specific tools are predicted to shortly outpace such public tools to help minimize risk for businesses, says Ray Grove, Head of Corporate Tax and Trade at Thomson Reuters.
He said: “Information produced by off-the-shelf Gen AI tools could be dated or inaccurate, which could lead to the phenomenon of ‘hallucinations’ [fake information] in the large language model results. To realize the efficiency gains
Gen AI can deliver, tax leaders need tools that can provide reliable information that is drawn from trusted sources.”
Grove added: “Tools built specifically for industry use cases will support tasks such as spotting accounting irregularities and tax return preparation, and risk assessment and reporting. The use of such tools is not yet widespread, but tax leaders are increasingly recognizing the immense value the technology offers both to boost internal productivity and deliver a competitive edge.”
