A business operating system reset: Aaron Patrick on AI, advisory and the future of accounting

The accountancy profession is under pressure. Rising costs, shrinking margins and the demands of compliance are forcing firms to rethink how they work. At the same time, clients expect faster responses, smoother journeys and more advisory support.

Technology is often presented as the answer, but the reality has been messy: disjointed apps, failed integrations and hours lost to admin. That’s why the arrival of Intuit’s AI agents and a unified platform is such a pivotal moment. 

Agentic AI experiences will automate repetitive tasks and complex workflows, empowering you with time savings and actionable insights. A reimagined interface will make finding what you need faster so you can stay on-task. And deeper functionalities will work together seamlessly so you can do more on a single all-in-one platform. 

To understand what this means in practice, we spoke to Dr Kamran Shaikh (Morgan Reach), Ros Hodgson (BCAMS Accounting & Training), Aaron Patrick (Boffix) and Chloe Britnell, (PJCO Chartered Certified Accountants). 

For them, they see AI not as a threat, but as an opportunity to reclaim time, scale client relationships and reshape their roles.  Across this series, they share how:

• AI agents can act as silent team members, handling the repetitive work.

• A single “place of truth” transforms client journeys.

• Efficiency becomes the foundation for deeper advisory conversations.

• The profession can attract and train a new generation of talent.

This is Humans + AI — a series of practitioner perspectives on what comes next.

Resetting the stack

“I am really excited about the Intuit platform,” Patrick says. “It is still the QuickBooks we know and love, but now with CRM, partner apps and new capabilities built in so we can do much more for clients.”

That reset matters, Aaron argues, because the future isn’t about juggling multiple disconnected tools. It’s about one ecosystem that ties campaigns, payroll, apps, and compliance together and gives accountants the confidence to scale.

Agents as team members

The headline feature for Aaron is AI agents — and he’s quick to stress they’re not just a novelty. “AI in the platform is not here to replace us. It is here to enhance what we already do. It gives clients real time information they can trust, and it gives us tools to work with data more quickly and confidently.”

Accuracy, he insists, still comes from professionals. “The model learns from the changes accountants and bookkeepers make, and we keep the final say before anything is posted. That balance between AI and human intelligence is what gives us confidence.”

“I like that we are calling them agents, and that we are hiring our agents as part of the team. They are specialised, so if I ask agent A to do a task, I can be confident it will finish that task. That is very different from generic AI. Agents can also take on the tasks accountants hate, like chasing for missing data, checking it, and giving feedback automatically to both us and the client. That cuts down the backwards and forwards that waste so much time.”

Efficiency that leads to advisory

For Aaron, efficiency is not the endgame. It’s the door opener. A feature that stands out: instant client feedback. “When we request information from clients, the AI can check what they provide straight away. The client gets instant confirmation and we get confidence the job is done properly. Even as an early adopter of AI, I have been blown away by what is possible.”

That efficiency, he argues, is what finally unlocks advisory at scale. “This is how we become the business advisors we have always wanted to be. The platform gives a holistic view. We can see the why behind the numbers, link campaigns to outcomes, and put the whole jigsaw together. It lowers the barrier to entry for taking on more clients, helps with big compliance changes like Making Tax Digital, and frees the team from manual, time-consuming tasks so they can help more clients. We will get the opportunity to start really thinking about how we can help our clients.”

Confidence for clients, opportunity for firms

For clients, Aaron stresses, the value is clear: “They can market in the same place they see their numbers, manage payroll and work without multiple logins. It makes their businesses more efficient and gives us the data to help them.”

For firms, the opportunity goes beyond efficiency.  “If one client goes from X to Y because we used the platform to help them, the effort is worth it. I have never been as excited as I am now, because I can see building blocks that let us realise the dream we have always wanted — a solution that helps our practice and our clients.”

Now available to QuickBooks customers, a powerful, proactive team of AI agents and trusted human experts work together across the Intuit platform to handle repetitive tasks, surface insights, and support collaboration between business owners and their accounting professionals.

Disclaimer: Functionality will vary depending on plans. AI Agents (excl. VAT AI Agent): While available in all QuickBooks supported languages, the AI agent's output are currently in English-only. We recommend you review all outputs carefully. Finance Agent: Not available to customers with multi-currency enabled.

This information is intended to outline our general product direction, but represents no obligation and should not be relied on in making a purchasing decision. Additional terms, conditions and fees may apply with certain features and functionality. Eligibility criteria may apply. Product offers, features, and functionality are subject to change without notice.