Thomson Reuters, a global provider of financial information and news, announced on Tuesday that it will be adding artificial intelligence (AI) to its tax software. The new AI capabilities will be designed to help tax professionals automate tasks, identify potential risks, and provide more accurate advice to clients.
The AI additions will be made to Thomson Reuters’ ONESOURCE tax software suite. ONESOURCE is a cloud-based platform that provides tax professionals with access to a wide range of tax research, compliance, and planning tools. The new AI capabilities will be integrated into all of the modules in the ONESOURCE suite, including tax research, tax planning, and tax compliance.
The AI capabilities in ONESOURCE will be powered by Thomson Reuters’ Westlaw Edge platform. Westlaw Edge is a legal research platform that uses AI to provide users with more relevant and accurate results. The AI capabilities in ONESOURCE will use a similar approach to help tax professionals find the information they need more quickly and easily.
The AI capabilities in ONESOURCE will also be used to automate tasks. For example, AI can be used to automatically populate tax forms, identify potential risks, and generate reports. This will free up tax professionals to focus on more complex tasks and provide better advice to clients.
Thomson Reuters said that the new AI capabilities in ONESOURCE will be available in the second half of 2023. The company said that it expects the new AI capabilities to be a “game-changer” for tax professionals.
How AI Will Change Tax Software
The addition of AI to tax software is a significant development that has the potential to change the way tax professionals work. AI can automate tasks, identify risks, and provide more accurate advice. This will free up tax professionals to focus on more complex tasks and provide better advice to clients.
Here are some of the specific ways that AI will change tax software:
- Automating tasks:ย AI can automate many of the tasks that tax professionals currently do manually. This includes tasks such as research, data entry, and form preparation. AI can also be used to identify potential risks and generate reports.
- Identifying risks:ย AI can be used to identify potential risks in a tax return. This includes risks such as errors, omissions, and non-compliance. AI can also be used to identify potential audit triggers.
- Providing more accurate advice:ย AI can be used to provide more accurate advice to clients. This is because AI can access and analyze a wider range of data than a human tax professional. AI can also be used to generate reports that show the impact of different tax strategies.
The Benefits of AI in Tax Software
There are many benefits to using AI in tax software. Some of the benefits include:
- Increased efficiency:ย AI can automate tasks, which can free up tax professionals to focus on more complex tasks. This can lead to increased efficiency and productivity.
- Improved accuracy:ย AI can help to identify potential risks and errors. This can help to improve the accuracy of tax returns and avoid costly audits.
- Better advice:ย AI can provide more accurate and personalized advice to clients. This can help clients to make better financial decisions.
The Challenges of AI in Tax Software
There are also some challenges to using AI in tax software. Some of the challenges include:
- Data quality:ย The accuracy of AI depends on the quality of the data that it is trained on. If the data is not accurate, the AI will not be able to provide accurate results.
- Interpreting results:ย AI can generate complex results that can be difficult for humans to interpret. This can make it difficult for tax professionals to understand the results and provide advice to clients.
- Bias:ย AI can be biased, which means that it can produce results that are not fair or accurate. This is a challenge that needs to be addressed before AI can be widely used in tax software.
Conclusion
The addition of AI to tax software is a significant development that has the potential to change the way tax professionals work. AI can automate tasks, identify risks, and provide more accurate advice. This will free up tax professionals to focus on more complex tasks and provide better advice to clients.
There are some challenges to using AI in tax software, such as data quality and interpreting results. However, these challenges can be addressed, and AI has the potential to revolutionize the way tax software is used.