Author

Jo Malvern, ACCA editor-in-chief

About half of all professionals in tax, accounting and audit, corporate risk and fraud, legal and government use generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in some fashion, according to a survey by the Thomson Reuters Institute.

The report, 2025 Generative AI in Professional Services, highlights that not only are professionals using ChatGPT or other free tools for limited tasks, they are also increasingly using paid tools (such as Microsoft’s Copilot) for business purposes or industry-specific GenAI.

A vast majority expect GenAI to be a central part of their daily workflow within five years

Specialised GenAI tools are being baked into professional workflows, and a vast majority of respondents expect it to be a central part of their daily workflow within the next five years. The report points out that there is still some hesitation about technical limitations, but most professionals remain positive about its applications. Many even anticipate major shifts in budgets and job roles due to AI’s rise.

Having said this, the report says that organisations aren’t necessarily capitalising on GenAI’s potential value, and more than half of respondents said that their organisations are not measuring return on investment for GenAI tools. Only one-third reported having a GenAI policy or receiving any kind of GenAI training.

As the report concludes, organisations now need to determine why GenAI matters and where it fits into broader future organisational planning.

Advertisement