If you had to summarize 2025 in one word, most accountants would land somewhere between “relentless” and “transformative.” This was the year that pushed firms beyond familiar routines and into a very different reality. And it wasn’t steered by temporary trends, but by long-term shifts that are reshaping how accounting work gets done.
AI matured from shiny promise to everyday tool. Staffing challenges hit a new peak. Client expectations leaped ahead of the workflows firms had in place to support them. And somewhere in that chaos, the most forward-thinking firms started making changes that set them up for the kind of stability and growth they hadn’t seen in years.
While the path to get here was rarely straightforward, hindsight lends more clarity. Let’s look at the lessons 2025 left us and concrete ways top firms are turning these fundamental shifts into fuel for growth.
Nearly every major pressure point hit at once in 2025: the acceleration of AI use in accounting firms, hiring challenges, and higher client expectations than ever.
After years of hearing the hype, firms finally stopped waiting for “perfect” AI use cases and started applying AI tools to real, time-consuming tasks. The 2026 AI in Accounting Report highlighted the most common ways firms are already using AI (including tools like ChatGPT or embedded AI in platforms like QuickBooks Online):
If you haven’t read the full report, it breaks down where accountants are finding wins with AI, where it’s falling short, and which changes we’ll see taking shape in 2026. You can download the full report now and get a high-level summary of these insights on our blog.
Hiring was still difficult in 2025, but the work didn’t slow down. Firms that stayed afloat with less staff did it by redistributing workload more strategically and using workflow tools to keep team capacity clearly visible.
Clients demanded more transparency, faster responses, easier collaboration, and clearer digital communication. What used to feel like exceptional service became the baseline expectation, and as a result, firms started relying more on technology to deliver.
Between AI, hiring shifts, and growing client expectations, 2025 was a year of one operational wake-up call after another. It also created a noticeable gap in profitability, efficiency, and capacity that separated the firms that pivoted quickly from those still trying to catch up.
If 2024 was the year firms talked about AI, 2025 was the year they finally put it to work. The shift found even small firms eliminating the everyday repetitive tasks that were eating hours no one could afford to lose.
The 2026 AI in Accounting Report showed clear patterns in where firms saw the biggest returns and time savings:
These are the real AI use cases accounting professionals named most often in the report. Across the board, firms found that they were saving time and reclaiming hours for higher-value work by “delegating” these tasks to AI.
The firms that benefited most were the ones that paired AI with strong internal processes and an AI use policy. They chose to automate the most repetitive or error-prone steps in their workflows to reduce turnaround times, boost productivity, and lighten workloads during the busiest months of the year.
Once firms saw how much time they could save, this year’s staffing challenges felt less impactful, profitability grew stronger, and efficiency naturally improved.
Client expectations rose sharply in 2025. They were clear about their wants: faster responses, clearer communication, and secure collaboration without the endless email chains.
Firms had to step up fast to meet these expectations, often with new client collaboration tools (like client portals and online payment processing). The ones who did quickly discovered that better client experience was a competitive advantage.
High-growth firms responded by tightening the way they communicated and collaborated:
Clients felt informed, supported, and connected throughout the engagement, not frustrated or inconvenienced. That made all the difference, and it’s a lesson to carry forward into 2026. High-growth firms built the client experience into their operations in a way that saved time for both sides.
If 2025 proved anything, it’s that firms can’t rely on instinct or “busy season muscle memory” to manage workload anymore. The volume was too high, the deadlines too tight, and the staffing challenges too real.
The firms that stayed profitable and calm weren’t the ones working longer hours, but the ones who finally got serious about knowing their capacity and planning work around it. It’s how small teams were able to keep up with a heavier workload without getting overwhelmed.
The shift showed up in a few clear ways:
Capacity planning gave firms control in a year that felt unpredictable. And the ones who embraced it ended 2025 with healthier workloads, happier staff, and fewer late-season emergencies.
For years, firms tried to solve operational problems with single-purpose apps: one tool for time tracking, another for communication, another for document management, another for eSignatures, another for task lists. By 2025, that patchwork approach finally hit a breaking point.
Firms realized the issue wasn’t a lack of software, but standalone software that didn’t communicate with other tools.
Firms started to embrace all-in-one accounting tools this year because they saw real limitations single-purpose apps put on their productivity and visibility.
Constant context switching stole hundreds of hours of time from firms. Staff bounced between multiple platforms just to move one task forward, adding minutes (and frustration) to work that should’ve taken seconds.
Scattered data meant important information lived everywhere. Accountants had to check inboxes, portals, shared drives, and spreadsheets to get the complete picture, making it nearly impossible to get an honest look at the firm’s performance.
Inconsistent processes made teams less cohesive. When every tool had its own workflow, staff couldn’t see what others were working on, clear next steps, or how one tool’s data fit with reports from another. The team never truly operated as one unit.
High-performing firms in 2025 moved toward integrated systems that brought workflows, communication, documents, time tracking, and AI-driven automation under one roof. With everything connected, teams gained visibility, accuracy, and speed without the administrative drag of managing 7 different tools.
As compliance work became more automated and clients demanded deeper partnership, advisory services continued to rise in 2025. But the real story was the shift in who had the capacity to deliver it. The firms that successfully expanded advisory weren’t the ones with the most staff. They were the ones who had:
Firms didn't force advisory on clients. It grew because firms finally had time for it. And in an increasingly relationship-driven landscape, that extra time turned into a competitive differentiator that will only become more valuable in 2026.
These shifts set a new baseline for how firms will operate in 2026 and beyond. The firms that grow this year will be the ones who turn these changes into everyday practice, not temporary experiments.
AI will become standard, not optional. Client experience will set the pace. Capacity planning will drive operational decisions. Integrated systems will become the norm. And advisory will be the growth engine.
Firms who prepare to incorporate these lessons now will see rewards in 2026: clarity, visibility, and integrated operations that benefit them all year long.
Sponsored Content: This article is generously brought to you by one of our valued sponsors. Their support enables us to continue delivering expert insights and the latest industry trends to our dedicated community of accounting professionals.