Using ChatGPT in your practice
This month, Tax Practice News is excited to host a new webinar focusing on how to utilize AI tools like ChatGPT in your practice. The session will include a live Q&A section where participants will be able to directly ask all their questions about popular new apps like ChatGPT.
But is the app worth all the hype to actually help you run your tax practice?
The answer depends on how you use it.
The hottest new AI app might be helpful in running your tax practice, but it isn’t going to replace you and your staff just yet. Accounting Today recently released an article stating ChatGPT failed its accounting exam. The app only scored a 47% on its accounting test compared to its human counterparts who averaged passing grades. Interestingly, the app provided explanations for its responses even when the answers were wrong.
In other words, AI isn’t going to be taking our accounting jobs just yet. But the app is helpful for various projects provided you prompt it well with your questions. For example, if you’re specific enough, you can ask which IRS tax code allows an individual to take a credit for installing solar panels in their home. The app will correctly return the code section. I followed it up by asking what form an individual would file to claim the credit, which it also returned correctly and then asked what the instructions were for completing the form. It not only provided a brief summary of the form instructions but also a link to the IRS website where the instructions could be found.
Provided you know how to prompt the app for responses within clearly defined parameters, it can be a fast research tool for you and your team.
The app also can be prompted for more creative assistance. Something an accountant has been assumed to struggle with. For example, setting a social media marketing campaign schedule and helping to develop content. I asked the app to provide me with an Instagram caption post for my accounting business and it provided five examples complete with emojis. Something that I would have easily agonized over for fear of social media writer’s block.
The overall conclusion? AI is not to be feared that it’s replacing us all. Like most technology, it can be leveraged as a powerful tool to help improve efficiency in your business. The key is making sure the app is used properly and isn’t taken at face value for every response.
Want to learn more about how to leverage ChatGPT effectively? Join us May 18 for a live Q&A about best practices and implementing this tool in your business.
CLICK HERE to register.
Christine Gervais
Christine Gervais is a licensed CPA, using her skills to help businesses grow and achieve their fullest potential. Christine has a Master’s degree in accounting from Southern New Hampshire University in addition to holding her CPA license for over a decade. Notably, Christine is a nationally recognized speaker providing education to other CPAs on how to best serve clients as well as instruction on a wide variety of topics for business owners on how to maximize success. Christine prides herself on the value she can bring to clients with her extensive tax knowledge and providing strategic, forward-thinking financial strategies to help clients grow. When not behind her desk, you can find Christine spending quality time with her daughter and stepson or tending to the family’s excessively loved farm animals.