Tax season looked different in 2026, and it's not just volume. In this episode, Damien Greathead and Penny Breslin unpack the real AI story inside accounting firms: a live test of Juno saved 25% of prep time, clients are submitting documents faster than ever, and AI meeting assistants are replacing manual notetaking.

But the bigger conversation is about critical thinking. As AI handles more routine work, who's making sure your team can still spot the anomaly? Identify the conflict? Give a client a real perspective? Damien shares how Moneypenny is gamifying judgment, hiring non-accountants, and rebuilding firm roles around advisory rather than compliance.

This is a practitioner episode — real tools, real results, real friction. If you're building or scaling a CAS practice, this one is essential listening.

Thank you to our sponsors MoneyPenny, LLC. From bookkeeping and tax preparation to back-office support, MoneyPenny helps accounting firms increase capacity, improve efficiency, and grow with confidence.

In This Episode

• Why accounting firms are seeing earlier tax document submissions in 2025
• Live AI tax prep test: Juno delivers ~25% time savings, but still requires human review
• The difference between OCR tools (Grunt Works, Shore Prep, 1040 Scan) and AI-layer tools
• How AI can find conflicting information across reports, workflows, and client communications
• The 'trust but verify' mindset, and why anomaly-hunting beats confirmation-seeking
• Gamifying critical thinking to keep accounting teams sharp in an AI-assisted environment
• The 80/20 rule: who will rise to the top as AI takes over routine tasks
• Building distinct firm roles: traffic cop, trusted advisor, tax expert
• Why MoneyPenny is hiring data scientists instead of more accountants

Connect with the hosts on LinkedIn

Damien Greathead

Penny Breslin