In audit and advisory, we tend to describe change as a future state. AI is coming. Regulation is evolving. Capacity will be a challenge.
But if you’re on the ground running engagements, navigating PCAOB inspections, or trying to recruit and retain your team, you know that the operating model has already changed. This isn’t a preview. It’s the new normal.
At Fieldguide, we’ve spent the last few years listening to firms at every stage of that transition, and the message has been consistent: You can’t solve today’s problems with yesterday’s methods.
This Shift Started Before AI
Long before generative and agentic AI dominated the conversation, the pressure to do more with less was already building. Audit quality standards rose, risk became more complex, and clients expected more visibility and faster results. Meanwhile, firms faced tighter hiring markets and increasingly distributed teams. The result was a widening gap between modern expectations and legacy execution models.
Now we’ve reached the boiling point. Legacy tools can’t keep up. Bolt-on AI doesn’t close the gap. Traditional execution under modern expectations just isn’t sustainable.
What’s replacing it is something deeper than automation: a collaborative model where human experts and AI agents operate side by side. Firms are moving from task-based tooling to end-to-end platforms. From manual effort to augmented teams.
What It Looks Like in Practice
This evolved model isn’t abstract. It’s visible in how practitioners are already working. At leading firms we partner with, AI agents are assessing risks, drafting procedures, testing controls, analyzing exceptions, and supporting reviews inside live engagements.
We’ve seen firms reduce testing hours by 70%+ and slash total engagement time by more than half while delivering higher quality work in-line with industry standards and regulations. We are already seeing tangible, structural shifts in how the work gets done.
Why the Mindset Shift Matters
The firms that are thriving right now aren’t just investing in technology. They’ve adopted a new mindset: that AI is a collaborator, not an afterthought. That human judgment is more important than ever, but only if you have the time and clarity to use it.
Ambitious firms aren’t waiting to be told what the future looks like. They’re already operating in it.
Moving Forward, Not Catching Up
If you’re still evaluating whether the profession will change with AI, you’re not alone–but you’re not early, either. The leading firms have already crossed that line. Every day, more follow.
The winning operating model of the future is sure to be different. The question is how firms will respond, and whether they’ll build for the next decade or continue trying to extend the last one.
At Fieldguide, we’re committed to helping audit and advisory firms move forward not just with technology, but with the clarity, capacity, and confidence to lead in this new environment. Because the future isn’t ahead of us anymore. It’s here.
February 4, 2026
