By Michael Meltzer, CPA

When social media was a new thing, a lot of articles came out that said you needed to be on social media. They universally said you will need it to communicate with clients, you will need it to recruit, and social media is how people will want to communicate with you. Some of us jumped in and did join and use social media. Admittedly, I see in Facebook groups – when people are requesting a recommendation for a good accountant – my name being thrown around, but we didn’t need it. Established CPAs already had success in their firms or careers without it. One CPA friend who personally posts on Facebook a lot has had a good career without its assistance in his work life.

Today, you may see similar types of articles on artificial intelligence (AI), and you’re probably thinking, “My firm will be fine without it.” In this case, you may be wrong. ChatGPT by OpenAI and a few of its competitors are work tools – like a calculator or Excel – that we all may be using sooner than you think. However, most of the get-on-the-AI-train articles don’t share with people how to incorporate these tools. They go on for pages broadly and generically claiming how it improves efficiency, problem-solving, and decision-making. Well, let me share with you a few paragraphs on how I’ve actually been using ChatGPT in my public accounting practice and how you should be using it.

The first step for me – and you if you choose to try this out – is to go to the ChatGPT website, create an account, and bookmark it. This is only one option. ChatGPT has competitors, so feel free to explore those options as you become aware of them. Once you’re in, type in questions and see what you get back. No tutorial is needed.

I first learned about ChatGPT in an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer that discussed it generating a story about the Flyers’ mascot Gritty meeting tourists in the streets. It was hilarious, specific to the Philadelphia region, and well-written. How can you not give it a whirl after that? Since then – almost a year now – I’ve been referring to ChatGPT as often as I can to see what it can do. The most common task ended up being the creation of bedtime stories for my 9-year-old daughter. I asked her for a theme, an animal, a place, or purpose. I would plug these cues into the website, then ChatGPT would draft a one-page bedtime story that was custom made for her. Priceless!

Expanding its use to my practice was a little trickier.

As is the case with most CPAs, I get emailed questions from clients on a daily basis. I know I speak faster than I type, so I understand people who prefer to resolve these questions verbally on the phone. But for me, I like to answer questions at night when I’m too tired to work on anything else. This is where I started to apply ChatGPT. I would copy each email entirely into ChatGPT to see what it came up with. Without knowing the history of my client or the context of the question, it came up with a well-written and correct answer nearly every time. Where I might write a one-sentence answer, it came up with a two-sentence answer and brief description of why. I tell you without fear that I did copy some of these answers in reply to client questions. Full disclosure: I did modify each response because the unabridged copy included things that did not belong. Also, I must tell you that I did find an error in one of the answers.

The question that generated an erroneous response was the following: can an individual file separately on the state level even if they file jointly on the federal return? In most states the answer is yes, but in some situations the answer is no because the state goes by federal return rules. That is the cautionary note with the use of AI. Because most of the articles and resources on the web say “yes,” it followed suit. So, you still need to be a purveyor of knowledge to utilize the tool.

I’m sure you know about the new beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting that we must do in accordance with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Basically, any company registered with their state needs to fill out a specific form. It’s new and unpleasant, even if it is a fairly simple task. In my firm, we decided to attach a letter to some of the tax returns with a statement that they may be obligated to fill out the required form and that we could help them figure it out over the summer. Guess what ChatGPT did in 10 seconds?

Yes, it wrote a professional statement with bullet points and indentations that looked better than I was hoping for. I did have to modify it to incorporate some nuance to the BOI reporting that I want people to know about. I imagine if 20 firms made the same request we would see 20 different statements as individuals reshape the results using their own voice. I imagine if 100 firms attempt to produce a letter this way someone is going to forget to take out that last line that says you should consult a tax adviser before making any decisions.

There are many forms of AI that accountants should be ready to incorporate. I discussed ChatGPT because that is what I’m familiar with and which you can easily access online. However, we often do not incorporate a new thing unless it is part of a developed product package. Human nature or a natural caution within the profession, I guess. But there are growing examples of AI at work in the world, so expect ChatGPT-type software to be a tool that we will turn to with less suspicion once someone puts it into a program or device.

Accountants get paid to know the nuances of tax rules and the difference between debits and credits. ChatGPT is a tool that every accountant needs to do the other stuff. The writing, drafting, research, administrative, or other tasks beyond what we do with tax software or accounting software can be outsourced to AI.

Michael Meltzer, CPA, is with Meltzer & Associates in Huntingdon Valley, Pa. He can be reached at michael@meltzercpa.com.

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^{Statements of fact and opinion are the authors’ responsibility alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of the PICPA's officers or members. The information contained herein does not constitute accounting, legal, or professional advice. For actionable advice, you must engage or consult with a qualified professional.}