Sample deliverable · Chapter 02 / 03
Fourteen workflows documented across tax, audit, and client accounting services. Roughly 55% of staff time goes to work AI can draft, triage, or reconcile.
Firm-wide staff hours across fourteen documented workflows, rolled up by category.
| Category | Share of staff hours |
|---|---|
| Client document chasing & intake | 14% |
| Data entry & rekeying between systems | 12% |
| Drafting (engagement letters, tax notices, routine client emails) | 16% |
| Status updates & internal coordination | 13% |
| Review & quality control | 17% |
| Advisory & strategic client work | 11% |
| Admin, billing, everything else | 17% |
The first four rows — chasing, rekeying, drafting, and status updates — add up to ~55% of staff time: work AI can draft, triage, or reconcile, with a person still signing off.
| Workflow | As documented | As it actually runs |
|---|---|---|
| New client onboarding | 5 steps | 12 steps, 4 handoffs, 3 systems |
| 1040 return intake | 4 steps | 11 steps; avg 6 follow-up emails per client for missing documents |
| Monthly close (CAS clients) | 8 steps | 15 steps; 2 spreadsheet trackers maintained outside Karbon |
| Engagement letter issuance | 3 steps | 9 steps; 2 approval loops living in email |
| Tax notice response | 4 steps | 10 steps; ~12 days average turnaround |
| # | Opportunity | Hrs/wk | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Client document collection & chasing Automated request lists + follow-up agent across Karbon and SmartVault; staff stop hand-writing reminder emails |
18 | Low |
| 2 | Engagement letter & proposal drafting AI first drafts from the Karbon work item; partner reviews and signs |
12 | Low |
| 3 | Tax notice response drafting First-draft responses generated from the scanned notice + return data; preparer edits |
10 | Medium |
| 4 | Client email triage & routing Shared-inbox triage that files, tags, and routes into Karbon work items |
9 | Medium |
| 5 | Meeting notes → tasks & workpapers Call notes captured and turned into Karbon tasks and workpaper stubs automatically |
8 | Low |
| 6 | QBO → CCH Axcess rekeying Maintained trial-balance import mapping kills the manual re-key |
8 | Medium |
| 7 | Monthly close status reporting Auto-generated close status digests for CAS clients; kills the side spreadsheets |
7 | Low |
| 8 | Bookkeeping exception handling AI-suggested categorization queue for uncategorized transactions; human approves |
7 | Medium |
| 9 | Internal knowledge search Retrieval assistant over prior-year workpapers and firm policies |
6 | High |
| Total | 85 hrs/week | ||
Every recommendation above fits the stack Calder & Finch already runs — Karbon, QBO, CCH Axcess, SmartVault — no new platform to buy, no rip-and-replace.
Final review and sign-off · judgment calls on tax positions · sensitive client conversations · anything touching client PII until data handling is reviewed.
Data handling is its own review — see the AI Compliance & Privacy Review.