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Just talked to a tax guy who said half his firm will be gone in 2 years
I was at a backyard BBQ last weekend in Detroit and a buddy who works at H&R Block told me their firm is already testing AI that handles basic returns. He said they expect to cut 40% of their junior staff by next tax season, not a maybe but a done deal. It hit different because his job isn't factory work or trucking, it's white collar desk stuff that everyone said was safe. We always think AI will take the blue collar things like grooming dogs or building stuff, but it's coming for the number crunchers first. Has anyone else heard concrete numbers from friends in accounting or law firms about this kind of timeline?
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kaigibson1mo ago
Tbh my cousin works at a mid-sized accounting firm in Toledo and they already laid off 15 junior accountants last month. He said the software they're piloting can prep a basic 1040 in under 3 minutes with zero errors, a job that used to take a new hire two hours. It's wild how fast this is happening, my buddy at TurboTax said they're rolling out a full AI tier for next year too.
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paulw531mo ago
Wondering what @kaigibson thinks about all those clients who actually prefer talking to a real person over a computer.
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You nailed it man. My cousin works at a midsize law firm in Ann Arbor and they already let go of 8 paralegals last quarter. They replaced them with some document review AI that can process discovery in like 20 minutes vs what took people weeks. He said the partners are loving it because it saves them big money on salaries but the younger staff are panicking. I heard the same thing from a neighbor who works at one of the Big Four accounting places in Chicago. He told me their audit division is going to be 60% AI run within 3 years and they're already not backfilling when people quit. It's scary how fast this is hitting the white collar world.
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