What Intuit’s 2024 Investor Day Means for ProAdvisors in an AI-Driven World

At Intuit’s 2024 Investor Day, the company unveiled its latest strategic direction—a bold shift toward an AI-driven platform, blending automation with human expertise. This transformation represents the next step in a journey that began decades ago with Scott Cook’s founding vision: to simplify financial management for individuals and businesses.

As a QuickBooks ProAdvisor since 1997, I have seen firsthand how Intuit has evolved, and this shift is a direct continuation of Cook’s philosophy of solving real-world problems through deep customer understanding and cutting-edge technology.

Under the leadership of Brad Smith and now Sasan Goodarzi, Intuit has grown from a desktop-based software company into an AI-driven platform that continues to innovate while serving the needs of accountants and bookkeepers. This article reflects on my journey with Intuit as a ProAdvisor, the lessons I’ve learned from studying innovation at Northeastern University, and how Intuit’s strategy, laid out at Investor Day, will shape the future of Intuit’s relationship with its customers and accountant partners.

The New AI-Driven Landscape for Accountants and Bookkeepers

As presented at Investor Day, Intuit’s five strategic bets are designed to reshape the future of financial management, with AI playing a central role. These bets include:

1. Revolutionizing Speed to Benefit: Automating end-to-end financial processes to deliver faster, more efficient outcomes for clients.
2. Connecting People to Experts: Intuit’s virtual expert platform offers a blend of AI and human advice, introducing additional competition for ProAdvisors.
3. Unlocking Smart Money Decisions: Integrating platforms like TurboTax and Credit Karma to offer continuous financial management for consumers, potentially reducing the need for outsourced advisory services.
4. Being the Center of Small Business Growth: Tools like QuickBooks and Mailchimp are central to this strategy, though the rise of human experts within Intuit poses a competitive challenge.
5. Disrupting the Mid-Market: The introduction of the Intuit Enterprise Suite (IES) opens up opportunities for ProAdvisors to work with larger clients. However, competition from Intuit’s own experts remains a concern.

Brad Smith’s Leadership During the Crowdsourcing Era

Brad Smith, Intuit’s CEO from 2008 to 2019, was instrumental in fostering a culture of open innovation and crowdsourcing within Intuit. Under his leadership, the company adopted the “Design for Delight” framework and expanded its Intuit Developer Program, allowing third-party developers to build apps on Intuit’s platform. This crowdsourcing approach was key to Intuit’s success during this period, strengthening its relationship with accountants and ProAdvisors like myself. Smith’s leadership was vital in transitioning Intuit to a cloud-based services company while maintaining a customer-focused approach.

Sasan Goodarzi’s Impact on Intuit’s Growth and the Accountant Relationship

Since taking over as CEO in 2019, Sasan Goodarzi has aggressively advanced Intuit’s shift toward becoming an AI-driven expert platform. While Intuit has seen significant growth in AI-powered services—such as a 17% increase in TurboTax Live revenue and a 28% rise in QuickBooks Online Advanced subscribers—this shift has also raised concerns within the accounting community. Although Goodarzi emphasizes the importance of maintaining strong relationships with ProAdvisors, the introduction of Intuit’s own human experts, combined with AI, has created new dynamics that accountants must navigate to stay competitive(Intuit Inc.)(Intuit®: Complete Financial Confidence).

How ProAdvisors Can Adapt and Stay Competitive

With the introduction of AI-powered solutions and human experts, ProAdvisors, accountants, and bookkeepers must adapt to stay relevant. Here are a few strategies that I believe are critical for maintaining our edge in this evolving landscape:

Leverage Relationships: Our relationships with clients are irreplaceable. While Intuit’s experts may provide AI-driven solutions, they lack the personal connection and deep understanding that we have cultivated over years of working closely with small businesses.
Embrace AI Tools: Rather than view AI as a threat, we can incorporate it into our practices to enhance efficiency. Tools like Intuit Assist can help us automate routine tasks, freeing up more time to offer strategic advisory services that go beyond what AI alone can provide (Intuit Inc.).
Expand Advisory Services: As AI takes over more routine tasks, ProAdvisors have the opportunity to focus on higher-value advisory services, helping clients with long-term financial planning, tax strategy, and business growth.

Embracing Intuit’s Innovation While Staying True to Our Values

As someone who has been part of the QuickBooks ProAdvisor community since its inception, I’ve seen Intuit evolve from a personal finance software company into an AI-driven platform that serves millions of businesses worldwide. Scott Cook’s founding vision of simplifying financial management remains as relevant today as it was in 1983, and his customer-centric approach continues to guide Intuit’s innovations.

The future for ProAdvisors, accountants, and bookkeepers requires embracing these innovations while staying true to the value we bring as trusted advisors. By leveraging AI, deepening client relationships, and expanding our advisory services, we can continue to thrive in a landscape that’s shifting toward automation. Intuit’s 2024 Investor Day has made it clear that the company is committed to innovation, and as long as we are, too, we will continue to be an essential part of the financial ecosystem—helping businesses navigate the complexities of their finances, powered by both cutting-edge technology and human insight.

The accounting profession is shifting, but our ability to deliver personalized, strategic value remains our greatest asset.

_Sources:

_{Intuit’s CEO on Building a Design-Driven Company: HBR.org}

_{The Innovation Catalysts: HBR.org}

_{Scott Cook and Intuit: HBS.edu}

_{Scaling Intuit’s Revenue Platform: DZone.com}

_{How Intuit Innovates by Challenging Itself: HBR.org}

_{Intuit’s Investor Day and Strategy Overview: Intuit Investor Day(Intuit Inc.)(Intuit®: Complete Financial Confidence)}