During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the turbulence felt unprecedented. Fast forward to 2025, and turbulence is now the norm rather than the exception.

Whether it’s the impact of economic policies on global stock markets, disruption from emerging technologies or environmental events, barely a month goes by without a new headline event.

From entrepreneurs building a growing business to enterprise leaders charting a path forward, this constant turbulence does not offer ideal business conditions.

In this era of uncertainty, leaders can focus instead on building resilience in the one area they can control: internal operations.

Let’s explore why automated accounting controls are the unsung heroes of business resilience.

Business continuity is a must in 2025

Despite the ongoing wave of external challenges, the unfortunate reality for business leaders is that there is no pause button.

Whatever headline-grabbing turn occurs, companies must continue paying suppliers and employees, upgrading infrastructure and serving customers.

While this is true across all areas of operations, accounting controls stand out as an often-overlooked domain—straightforward to implement and highly impactful for improving business resilience and continuity.

For instance, the rise of gen AI has sparked excitement about saving time and money on marketing campaigns and revolutionizing reach on social media. However, this area is full of external variables, making true automation complex to achieve. Moreover, results rely heavily on continuous human input to ensure alignment with organizational priorities.

In contrast, accounting systems and processes are far more formulaic, making them ideal candidates for automation. A company can project critical dates years in advance—such as tax deadlines, supplier payment schedules, and invoice due dates.

These tasks also fall into the quadrant of being both urgent and important. Failing to submit a tax return or file an invoice can have serious negative consequences. That’s why automating this area of operations is a strategic move for business resilience.

Why manual accounting puts resilience at risk

In this era of uncertainty, agility and capital preservation are critical. Digital solutions are helping businesses manage accounting controls more efficiently, enabling stable and reliable access to capital while keeping the business solvent.

Yet data shows that accounting teams still rely on manual processes. To illustrate, 56% of accountants use legacy systems and more than half of accounting and finance processes are still being fulfilled manually, with high dependence on traditional Excel spreadsheets.

From a resilience standpoint, this introduces significant risk. Excel files can become corrupted or may store vital financial data on an individual employee’s desktop, making it difficult to track progress or ensure financial solvency.

It also increases the risk of missed tasks, such as sending invoices to suppliers—potentially delaying income. Automated accounting should form the backbone of a resilient business in 2025.

The contractual nature of B2B agreements may reduce the urgency for real-time settlements, but digitization is accelerating. Many suppliers may welcome faster settlement if it guarantees quicker access to capital.

Applying automation software reduces risk, ensures reliable access to capital, and allows companies to manage year-end reporting more efficiently. Modern accounting automation systems offer tools for repetitive tasks such as invoicing, bank reconciliation, data entry and tax calculations. These features save time, reduce human error, and increase the speed and accuracy of financial processes.

Put simply, automating your accounting controls yields an outsized impact on business resilience—making this area of operations one of the best in terms of ROI.

The strategic role of accounting and finance

Today’s finance leaders are more than number crunchers—they are strategic partners guiding the company through turbulent times. With uncertainty narrowing margins and challenging growth, the CFO holds critical oversight of the company’s financial health.

From this vantage point, CFOs can anticipate risks that may threaten undercapitalized businesses or those in vulnerable stages of growth. Strong accounting controls and digital tools ensure CFOs have access to accurate, real-time insights.

By embracing modern solutions, optimizing the office of the CFO, and investing in secure, trustworthy partnerships, businesses can better navigate the challenges of today’s economy.

A recent report from CPA.com says that semi-autonomous AI bots are already completing bookkeeping workflows start to finish, fully automating the entire process, and tax compliance is not far behind. 

This was one of the findings of CPA.com‘s 2025 AI in Accounting report, which looked at trends and patterns in the profession’s ongoing relationship with the technology. It said that, at this point, all bookkeeping can theoretically be completely automated through AI agents, which the report confidently said can now complete workflows end to end: bookkeeping agents can categorize transactions, flag anomalies, generate monthly reports, and even draft client messages. 

What’s more, the report said that simple tax compliance tasks will likely be next, as new solutions can, theoretically, reduce preparation time from hours to minutes— extracting, analyzing and completing returns with high accuracy, requiring minimal human intervention except for final review. Some firms, said the report, are reporting over 80% automation of individual return preparation. 

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This development has had several second effects, such as an increasing shift in focus from tax compliance to tax strategy for firms. With machines taking over more and more of tax prep and return processing, humans increasingly are concentrating on broader strategic consulting for tax clients. 

“As automation is able to absorb increasingly more prep and review tasks, CPAs are reallocating time toward strategic tax planning, scenario modeling and client coaching. Firms are upskilling staff to interpret AI output and provide deeper guidance,” said the report. 

The rising automation of tax return prep has also shifted hiring priorities. The report noted that “AI fluency” is now commonly required for even entry-level positions, and that firms are developing “AIready associate” programs that combine technical accounting training with AI tools mastery. They’re also partnering with schools to create specialized pre-employment certifications that validate both domain knowledge and technological competency. 

Once they are hired, early career professionals are also focusing less on the execution of routine tasks as their predecessors were. Whereas before a firm might have a small army of entry-level associates to fill out 1099s assembly line style, today’s early career professionals focus more on developing “AI oversight” capabilities. Similarly, they’re increasingly being evaluated not on task completion to value-added analysis, client communication and effective AI collaboration. 

This, in turn, will be part of a broader anticipated shift in a firm’s strategic priorities. The focus today on automating tasks, the report said, will lead to  comprehensive systems that coordinate across the entire accounting workflow, with the emphasis being not on task execution (that’s what the machine is for) but “ecosystem orchestration.” The idea is that the solutions within the firm’s ecosystem will manage the interplay between client data, regulatory requirements and team capabilities, optimizing resource allocation and process design in real time. 

Under such conditions, annual, quarterly and monthly cadences the profession is accustomed to will give way to a world of continuous operations that adjust instantly to new information. Workflows will reconfigure themselves based on changing priorities, emerging risks and resource availability, ideally creating responsive practices that scale efficiency without sacrificing quality. 

Audit and advisory a little slower 

While bookkeeping tasks can now be completely automated, and tax compliance not far behind, the report said progress was a little slower on automating audit and risk analysis tasks, describing its status as “slow but strategic adoption.” New tools are making inroads, helping firms focus on higher conceptual matters that require their professional judgment, but due to regulatory and liability complexity, innovation in this area is more methodical. 

Meanwhile, AI in advisory is considered “the next frontier.” The report noted the emergence of things like AI-driven forecasting, budgeting and KPI modeling tools, and that firms are blending human intuition with AI-generated what-if scenarios to deepen value-based client conversations. The blending of machine insight with human expertise will likely continue, with the binary choice between automation and human judgment eventually dissolving into fluid partnerships where AI handles routine analysis while elevating professionals’ capacity for strategic thinking. 

Our recent story about AI in advisory, though, finds that not all advisory services are equal when it comes to the potential for AI disruption. For certain, more transactional type advisory engagements, like simple FP&A, AI is already eating away at their foundations. 

ROI still elusive

The report said that, as of the first quarter of 2025, it is still too early for most firms to quantify the full return on investment (ROI) from their AI initiatives. While firms are reporting clear productivity gains, the specific financial impact is still developing. Regardless of whether or not the gains can be quantified in revenue terms, the report said that firms that have embraced AI are beginning to see meaningful operational gains, including up to 70% reduction in time spent on manual tasks, five times faster review cycles for tax prep and audits, and a two to three times increase in client capacity without additional headcount. 

Top 50 Firm Elliott Davis announced today it is taking a private equity investment from Flexpoint Ford to accelerate the firm’s growth and expand its service offerings and geographic reach.

The firm also announced it selected John Otten as its next CEO, effective July 1. Otten succeeds Rick Davis, who held the role for over 18 years and will stay at the firm in an advisory role. 

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“The future is bright with John at the helm,” Davis said in a statement. “He has long been a trusted advisor to our clients and a respected leader within our firm. John lives our values, embraces our mission, and is fully prepared to guide Elliott Davis into its next chapter.”

Elliott Davis is based in Greenville, South Carolina, with over 800 employees, 60 partners and eight offices.

As is common among many accounting firms taking PE capital, Elliott Davis will operate in an alternative practice structure. Elliott Davis, a licensed CPA firm, will continue to provide attest services. Elliott Davis Advisory, will operate as a separate entity and provide business advisory and non-attest services. 

(Read more: “Private equity in accounting: The end of the beginning”)

“This marks an important milestone for Elliott Davis,” Otten said in a statement. “We are making significant investments in people, technology and services to meet the evolving needs of our clients and ensure we remain a destination employer. Our partnership with Flexpoint Ford positions us well for continued expansion through both organic growth as well as through strategic acquisitions.”

Flexpoint Ford, with $8.2 billion in assets under management, specializes in middle-market investments in financial services and complementary industries. It was founded in 2005 and has offices in Chicago and New York. 

“Elliott Davis stands out for its client-first approach and one firm culture — hallmarks of an exceptional professional services platform,” Flexpoint Ford’s managing director Dominic Hood said in a statement. “We are excited to partner with John and the broader leadership team as they build on the firm’s legacy and drive its next phase of growth.”

Flexpoint Ford principal Jennifer Kim added, “We look forward to supporting Elliott Davis’s expansion through the continued recruitment and development of exceptional talent, alongside a disciplined and strategic M&A strategy designed to enhance capabilities and extend market reach.”

Guggenheim Securities, LLC and Koltin Consulting Group advised Elliott Davis, and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP and Vedder Price P.C. served as its legal counsel. William Blair & Company, LLC advised Flexpoint Ford, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP served as its legal counsel.