The audit profession has been at an “inflection point” for over a decade. But for many firm leaders, the pressure today feels less like a turning point, and more like a breaking point. Shrinking talent pipelines, rising demands, and faster-moving standards are straining a system that’s already stretched thin. The result? Burnout, attrition, and an industry-wide search for next-generation technology.
There is no silver bullet for this moment. There is, however, a clear lever that can move the industry forward: Domain-specific, deeply integrated technology that’s built for audit and advisory, not just retrofitted to it.
The Profession Has Changed. Unfortunately, The Work Hasn’t.
I started at the Big Four in 2012. Back then, auditing involved hours of manual, checklist-based work that made talented people feel like their judgment wasn’t valued. More than a decade later, much of the story hasn’t changed. While the industry is making some progress to the cloud, auditors still spend too much time on repetitive, error-prone tasks that agentic AI could automate in seconds with a higher quality result.
Meanwhile, the world around us has sped up. New standards are arriving faster, client expectations are rising, and risk environments have only grown more complex. Most firms are caught in the middle, forced to deliver higher-value insights while navigating outdated workflows and patchwork tools.
And just when firms need to lean on talent the most, that talent is harder to find. CPA exam participation is down 37% since 2016. Mid-career professionals are burning out and leaving the industry. New grads are increasingly opting out of the CPA career entirely. The work hasn’t evolved to match the promise of the profession, and the talent pool is rapidly washing away.
Technology is the Key to a Better Future for Audit
This disconnect between the expectation and reality of the audit profession is the pain point that led to Fieldguide. We can’t pause regulatory change or manufacture talent overnight. But we can, and must, deliver real technology leverage. That starts with purpose-built AI that’s deeply embedded into firm workflows to deliver measurable efficiency and quality gains, not bolted on as an afterthought.
Firms don’t need more point solutions–this creates even more practitioner pains. They need end-to-end platforms that understand audit lifecycles, remove friction, and give practitioners back the time to think critically and serve clients more effectively with a higher quality audit. We’re proud to build software that works the way firms do, not the way vendors imagine they should.
AI Can’t Replace Judgment. It Can Empower It.
No one became an auditor for the checklists. The profession attracts people who aspire to be CFOs and care about precision, insight, and integrity. AI doesn’t replace that — it enables it. When firms automate repetitive, time-consuming work, they create space for deeper thinking, better analysis, and more meaningful engagement, both with the work and with the team.
Of course, selecting the right technology partners isn’t easy. The noise in the market is deafening. But the risks of inaction are greater than the risks of moving forward. In an industry built on trust, staying static is no longer safe. That’s why we’re proud to be the trusted AI partner to 50 of the top 100 audit firms.
Transformation Is No Longer Optional
If you’re evaluating your firm’s next move, look for technology partners who build technology for the entire audit lifecycle, and know where processes break down. The right partner isn’t selling disruption. They’re delivering alignment with your workflows, your quality standards, and your goals for the future.
The firms that win over the next decade won’t be the ones waiting for a magic wand (and they most certainly won’t be the firms who settle for last-gen software). They’ll be the ones acting with urgency, choosing partners who understand the stakes, and committing to real transformation. Let this be the year we stop talking about change, and start building it.
June 25, 2025
