Is genAI part of your 2025 planning?

Is Your Tax Department Ready for AI in 2025?

As we enter budgeting season, tax leaders are likely reflecting on how to enhance efficiency and keep pace with increasing demands. With Canada ranking 7th globally for the most overworked countries—averaging 1,865 hours annually—it’s clear that we all face heavy workloads. At the same time, the ongoing shortage of CPAs is only adding more strain on already stretched teams.

I’ve written before about the challenges tax departments ubiquitously face—increasing volume and complexities and more— and how genAI can offer some relief to the volume problem. Tax departments all grapple with:

• growing workloads (and increased hours worked - see graphic below),
• unfathomable complexity
• static or reduced budget
• understaffing and much more...

It’s abundantly clear that relying on traditional methods is not sustainable and automation and AI tools will provide some relief. But this begs the question: Is your tax department prepared to adopt these tools?

Few Finance Departments use AI.

While AI offers enormous potential, most organizations lack the skills or know-how to implement and use these technologies effectively. KPMG's recent survey found that ~14% of Canadian companies are using AI in their financial reporting compared to 33% globally, with 59% of respondents citing a lack of skills and talent in using the technology. This is a concerning statistic; and risk-averse tax departments always lag behind the rest of finance for this kind of investment and experimentation.

This is where upskilling comes into play. Does your tax department have the knowledge base and training necessary to leverage AI, or would upskilling be a key part of your 2025 strategy? Whether it's automating workbooks, accelerating data analysis, improving documentation or enhancing decision-making processes, 2025 should be the year to integrate AI into your tax operations.

Is your team ready to take the leap? If you’re looking for insight on how to evaluate your readiness or effectively implement AI in your tax department, I’m here to help you navigate this transformation and make 2025 a year of efficiency and innovation. Let’s talk about how we can make your tax department future-ready.