Throughout the UK, accountants say extra purchasers now arrive with solutions copied from ChatGPT fashion instruments. These solutions usually seem polished and assured, which supplies enterprise homeowners consolation after they face tax guidelines or bookkeeping duties late at night time or throughout busy weeks.
Analysis revealed by Dext exhibits that this behaviour has grown shortly throughout 2025. 77% of accountants and bookkeepers say purchasers now flip to public AI instruments for monetary, tax or bookkeeping assist. Many say purchasers use these instruments earlier than talking to knowledgeable, not after.
That change has altered conversations inside accounting corporations. 72% of accountants report extra purchasers utilizing AI generated textual content to query skilled recommendation. 68% say purchasers have gone additional and instructed that AI may exchange accountants altogether. Practitioners say these discussions usually occur earlier than any numbers are checked.
Accountants say the tone of AI solutions makes the wording sounds assured even when the recommendation is incorrect. That confidence can persuade enterprise homeowners to behave shortly with out checking the small print.
The place Do The Monetary Losses Come From?
The identical analysis exhibits that there positively is monetary injury. Dext discovered that fifty% of UK accountants and bookkeepers know companies which have misplaced cash after following incorrect AI recommendation. These losses cowl penalties, fines, missed allowances and incorrect funds.
Errors seem throughout on a regular basis duties as 46% of accountants say they commonly see errors linked to enterprise bills. VAT issues are a detailed second at 41%. Private tax planning errors seem in 35% of circumstances. Payroll and enterprise tax planning errors each sit at 34%.
31% of the accountants say they now see AI associated errors each week. 7% cope with them every day. Solely 5% say they’ve by no means come throughout these errors. Errors usually look affordable at first look, which delays correction.
Accountants say companies usually realise one thing has gone incorrect solely after HMRC letters arrive or funds don’t match expectations. At that time, correcting the issue prices extra money and time.
“The injury is not hypothetical,” mentioned Paul Lodder, VP accounting product technique at Dext. “Companies are already dropping cash, and accountants are spending invaluable time correcting avoidable errors, from VAT and payroll errors to misinterpretation of bills.
“AI has a strong position to play in finance however there’s a elementary distinction between specialist instruments constructed for accounting and bookkeeping, and general-purpose chatbots that don’t know a enterprise’s true monetary context.”
How A lot Work Is Created Behind The Scenes?
Outdoors of misplaced cash, the analysis exhibits that there’s extra of a drain on time. In accordance with Dext, 93% of accountants who encounter AI pushed errors spend as much as 10 hours every month fixing them.
Time spent fixing errors varies with 44% saying they spend as much as 3 hours every month correcting AI errors. 39% spend between 4 and 10 hours. This work usually entails rebuilding data, checking calculations and rewriting filings.
Accountants say this work often sits outdoors deliberate schedules. Companies then face further payments for corrective work they didn’t anticipate. Practitioners say these conversations can pressure belief, regardless that the unique challenge got here from public AI recommendation.
Many say the time spent correcting errors additionally delays different purchasers’ work. This creates strain throughout corporations throughout busy tax durations.
What Worries Accountants About 2026?
For the subsequent 12 months to come back, accountants anticipate sharper penalties if companies preserve counting on public AI with out checks. A 3rd of these surveyed say this behaviour may set off enterprise failure in 2026.
Different dangers stand out within the knowledge…
43% of the specialists anticipate extra misuse of AI textual content to justify improper or fraudulent claims. 38% anticipate extra fines and penalties. 37% anticipate nearer HMRC consideration after incorrect or late filings.
Additionally, 92% of accountants consider public AI instruments ought to face regulation or restrictions when coping with tax or monetary steering. 70% help formal regulation.
Accountants say the difficulty is just not expertise itself. Its extra so the matter of trusting generic AI outputs for selections that carry authorized and monetary penalties, with out duty hooked up to the recommendation.
Lodder added: “If we head into 2026 with extra companies treating AI outputs as trusted tax and monetary recommendation, with out skilled oversight, the results may very well be extreme. The main focus now must be on accountable guardrails, clearer restrictions round monetary recommendation, and higher schooling for companies on what these instruments can and can’t safely be used for.”
