Using AI for Research
Let's be honest—around the office, CPAs are often seen as walking encyclopedias. Whether it's tax laws or the latest coffee trends, everyone expects us to know it all. But keeping up with the avalanche of information in our industry and beyond? That’s practically a full-time job on its own! And just when you think you're on top of everything, a client comes along with a curveball question, sending you tumbling down the research rabbit hole.
As a lone wolf, this can be a real challenge. Supporting my clients with accurate and current information is one key element of maintaining a solid, lasting relationship with them. I want them to trust me, and for that to happen, I have to be right. But let's face it, it takes a lot of time and work to stay up to date with everything we're expected to know, and all the things we want to know.
My habit is to do a lot of research and reading in my "off" hours. 😉 That's because during my "work" hours I was answering those questions and doing all the other things I do to support my clients. (I suspect most of you understand my use of quotes in the previous statements. If you don't, well then, bless your heart.) Needless to say, that gets old.
I often wish I had a trustworthy assistant I could offload some things to; but by design, I have chosen to remain a lone wolf and so I have steadfastly avoided bringing one on.
But my world has changed...dramatically...since November 2022, when OpenAI announced the launch of the tool, ChatGPT. I won't lie to you and say I immediately hopped on it and figured it all out. I didn't. I'm an accountant. I'm skeptical. Cautious. Instead, I followed the progress of it. I watched webinars and experimented here and there. I learned. And, ultimately, I understood the power of it, and the risks, and began using it in earnest in my day-to-day work.
AI is not just your average research assistant but an amazing tool that works faster than you can brew your morning cup of Joe. Embracing AI for your research tasks isn’t just about staying updated—it’s about revolutionizing how quickly you can become the expert everyone thinks you already are. Let’s dive into how this digital wizard can save you time and make you look like the smartest person in the room—effortlessly.
Before you dive headfirst into the AI pool, a word of caution: AI isn’t infallible. You should treat the information you get from AI the same way you would treat advice from your greenest associate—always with a grain of salt. Here’s what you should keep an eye on:
🕶️ Check how recent their training data is. You wouldn’t want to make decisions based on outdated information, would you?
🕶️ Differentiate between the AI’s ‘opinion’ and the hard data it retrieves. Yes, sometimes AI likes to think it knows best.
🕶️ Ask for citations. AI should always show its work, giving you the ability to double-check the facts just as you would in traditional research.
Now, let’s talk tools. Generative AI Chatbots like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, and Perplexity make the vast stores of information from the internet, books, and vast datasets accessible in an instant. How is this different from your good old friend Google? Well, instead of sifting through pages of results to find what you need, you get a tailored answer to your specific question. Often, you don’t need to sign up or pay a fee to access basic versions. These AI tools review all the data and respond directly to your queries, allowing for a dynamic, back-and-forth dialogue to refine the results.
For example, in preparing a plan for development of CPE materials I am writing, I asked Gemini to tell me how many, if any, accounting and auditing hours are required for CPAs in each state. I asked it to prepare a table by state, with links for where this information was found. It prepared a concise table for me, in SECONDS, that I could quickly verify. That would have taken me much more time using Google. Perhaps hours. AI turned this into seconds, or with verification, minutes.
Another way I’ve used these tools is to upload a 10-K and ask how many references there were to a term like debt, or anything related to debt or interest. I further asked for citations of where those references were, and what the general discussion was around those terms. That is significantly faster than producing a keyword list and searching each word to find those references. I have engaged in a back and forth “conversation” with a chatbot about the 10-K, just as I might with a staff assistant that I had assigned the responsibility of reading and analyzing it.
Beyond the tools mentioned above, which you could consider “generalists,” there are also “specialists.” These tools often are built based on one of the main models mentioned above, but not always. However, they are trained more narrowly on specific topics, and more deeply as to content around those topics.in order to provide better answers in those areas, with a lower likelihood of hallucination or misinterpretation.
The products I list below (I am not compensated for this, btw), are just meant to whet your appetite. The first one, for example, can help do client research, or investment research. It is particularly focused on financial research. In most cases, these tools allow you to upload files, or source data from the SEC or other sites, to perform deep dives.
AlphaSense: This paid service allows you to easily track and surface insights from millions of documents, including earnings reports, broker research, expert calls, company documents, and even your proprietary content—all from one platform. Find out more about AlphaSense
Marketing (a ChatGPT Add-On): “Think of it as your expert mentor in advertising, guiding media professionals working at the Big 6 agencies.”
Checkpoint Edge by Thomson Reuters: Per the Reuters site, this tool is “an accounting and tax research tool powered by AI and machine learning that delivers targeted search results in less time.” Explore Checkpoint Edge
AI is transforming the way we, as CPAs, handle information, making us more efficient and let’s admit, a bit more like the know-it-all gurus everyone already thinks we are.
Interested in exploring how AI can enhance your work? If you're curious but unsure where to start, I'm here to help. Reach out for a chat, and let's navigate the possibilities together—ensuring a smooth and secure journey into the world of AI.
*** By the way, AI did assist me in writing this post, and created the picture I used.****