AI for accountancy and advisory firms: what your clients will ask you
Your firm already uses artificial intelligence, and your clients are about to ask whether they must train their own staff. This guide covers how to put your own house in order and what to tell them. It is general information, not legal advice. In Spain, many small firms of this kind are called asesorías or gestorías: advisory offices that handle clients' tax, payroll, contracts and paperwork. The same logic applies to any accountancy or advisory practice working under EU rules.
What accountancy and advisory firms use AI for
The most common uses are drafting and reviewing communications, summarising regulations and rulings, classifying and reading client documents, preparing draft contracts or letters, and answering repetitive queries. In every one of them the AI proposes and a person in the firm decides and signs.
What Article 4 asks of your firm
Article 4 of the EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) asks a company to put measures in place so that the people who use AI at work know how to use it. For a firm, that comes down to three simple things:
- Inventory: which tools each person uses and what for.
- Rules of use: which client data is never entered into a tool, and who reviews the output.
- Record: who has been trained, when, and on what content.
The question your clients are going to ask
Clients already consult you about tax, payroll and contracts. The next question will be: "Do I have to train my employees in AI?" It helps to have an orderly answer:
- The obligation belongs to each company, not to its advisers.
- It applies to whoever uses AI, even if that is only ChatGPT or an automatic translator.
- The sensible course is to take stock, train the people who use it and put it in writing.
- The calendar and dates are in our article on the EU AI Act for SMEs.
If you wish, you can refer that client to external training. It takes no work off your plate and adds no liability, and it positions you as the firm that got ahead of the question.
If you would like to see how a business can bring its information together in one place, look at our AI command centre and agents for businesses.
What to watch with your clients' data
Before pasting anything into an AI tool, check what it does with what you give it, where it processes it and whether a data processing agreement exists. If you do not know, do not enter personal or confidential data. That decision is also worth recording in writing.
Frequently asked questions
Does an accountancy or advisory firm need AI training?
If the firm uses AI in its work (drafting, summarising, classifying documents), Article 4 of the EU AI Act applies to it like any other company. It asks you to provide the means for users to know what they are doing, and it is wise to be able to show that in writing.
Is the firm obliged to train its clients?
No. Each company's obligation is its own. What the firm can do is guide the client and, if it wishes, point them to where they can train.
Can I put client data into an AI tool?
It depends on the tool and its terms: what it does with the data, where it is processed and whether there is a data processing agreement. Without that review, the prudent course is not to enter personal data or confidential information.
What about the AI Act timetable?
The high-risk part was postponed to 2027 and 2028; training (Article 4), the prohibitions and transparency follow their own calendar. We set out the dates in our article on the EU AI Act for SMEs.
Does training help to show anything to an inspector?
It helps you record that the team was trained: who, when and on what content. The legal assessment of each case rests with the company and its advisers.
Source: the consolidated text of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689.
The next step
We run a diagnosis of the AI your team uses, the course and the training record, in writing and remotely from anywhere in Spain. See our AI training for companies, read about AI regulation and compliance preparation, or get in touch and tell us about your firm.