There is no shortage of AI products that can summarize a document or answer a question about a PDF. Preparing a tax return is a fundamentally different problem. This article explains how Accrual is architected specifically for accounting firms, and why the design decisions behind it preserve the trust, transparency, and judgment the profession depends on.
Most enterprise AI pilots fail to reach production — not because the technology doesn't work, but because teams lack clear evaluation criteria and execution structure. This guide lays out a structured four-week framework for evaluating AI tax preparation with confidence.
How leading accounting firms convert successful AI pilots into operational deployments — scoping the rollout, redesigning workflows, training at scale, and managing the organizational change.
Accrual CEO Cosmin Nicolaescu joins Randy Crabtree on The Unique CPA to discuss what drew him to the accounting profession, how watching finance teams operate strategically at Stripe and Brex shaped his thinking, and what it looks like when a firm cuts a 100-hour tax return down to 15.
Armanino will deploy Accrual's AI-native platform across its tax and business management practices, beginning with individual tax returns and expanding into audit, advisory, and firm operations.
Accrual, backed by General Catalyst, launched with $75 million in funding to bring AI-native automation to accounting firms, starting with complex tax preparation and review workflows.
Accrual supports every federal and state tax form, as well as unstructured data like emails, spreadsheets, and handwritten notes — relying on AI models rather than OCR-based extraction to interpret and apply information across the tax process.
Accounting is the operating system of the economy. It establishes trust, informs major financial decisions, and underpins long-term growth for businesses and individuals alike. Yet despite its importance, much of the profession still relies on manual, fragmented workflows.