AI is reshaping how finance and tax teams operate, and what it takes to stay compliant, accurate, and relevant in a digital-first, global economy. According to PwC’s latest AI Jobs Barometer, 66% of AI-exposed jobs are seeing rapid skill changes, and those with the right skills are earning a 56% wage premium.
Rather than replacing people, AI tools are here to support and amplify them; and the businesses that will lead in this new era are the ones building teams that are ready to fully embrace these tools. They will be the ones that choose the right technology, train employees and ensure buy-in across all levels.
Senior Tax Officer at Vertex.
Finance is the proving ground for AI
Finance is fast becoming one of the most high-impact areas for AI adoption. From anomaly detection to predictive compliance, today’s AI-powered tools help turn complexity into easily digestible data and insight. This is particularly true in tax and accounting functions where precision and pace are vital.
The shift to digital-first, cross-border business models has added new layers of complexity to tax and financial operations, as have the responses of tax jurisdictions in the form of digital reporting requirements.
Gone are the days of country-specific reporting and siloed ERP systems. Modern tax teams are dealing with real-time reporting requirements, e-invoicing mandates, and destination-based rules across multiple jurisdictions.
Yet despite the promise, the transformation is far from complete. Vertex research shows that 51% of European organizations have yet to automate their finance operations.
And when it comes to indirect tax, only 47% have centralized controls in place, with over a third saying changes to ERP and finance systems are what’s now driving tax strategy.
Finance teams should recognize the benefits of technology, especially as applied to tax – aspiring to become a ‘tax technologist’ rather than a pure finance expert.
Enter the tax technologist
A new hybrid position, the tax technologist, has emerged as a critical link between finance, tax, and IT. These professionals speak both the language of compliance and the language of technology and AI.
Whether they come from the tax team and upskill in tech, or from IT or elsewhere and learn tax, their purpose is the same: to align strategy with system capability to drive superior outcomes.
Tax technologists help ensure compliance while improving the efficiency of processes through automation. They’re often central to major transformation efforts, including ERP integration, cloud migrations, and scaling operations in new markets.
Tax professionals should see this shift as a positive one where they can focus on higher level thinking and larger issues and strategic planning, and not getting bogged down in the minutia of tax laws and regulations.
Keeping humans in the loop
As GenAI and automation tools become more sophisticated, finance leaders must remember success depends on how tools are implemented, which points to the value of human-led AI.
AI should support professionals to do more, and with better insights and less friction. But to achieve that, the people using the tools must be involved from the start.
That means regularly reviewing work content to identify automation opportunities and investing in digital skills to put finance and tax teams at the center of the AI adoption journey.
Being curious and experimenting with the latest tools (as Bill Gates encourages) is key. Tax teams should also actively solicit best practices from external advisors and industry peers to stay ahead of the curve.
Culture is the real differentiator
You can have the best AI tools on the market, but if your people don’t trust them, or don’t know how to use them effectively, it won’t move the dial. That’s why culture is quickly becoming the biggest marker of whether AI adoption is a success.
In these functions, where accuracy and control are everything, there’s little room for ambiguity. If teams feel unsure about the reliability of AI-generated outputs, or unclear on who’s ultimately accountable, they’ll likely fall back on old habits.
So, adoption must be built in partnership with the people doing the work. That starts with creating space for honest conversations: What are teams worried about? What’s unclear? Where could AI make their lives easier?
Organizations that get this right tend to do three things well:
• They listen early. Before tools are rolled out, they involve users in shaping how and where AI gets applied.
• They make experimentation safe. Teams are encouraged to test new tools without fear of failure, with support available if things go wrong.
• They don’t rush training. Instead of throwing people into one-size-fits-all upskilling sessions, they tailor development to job roles and build digital confidence over time.
That engagement matters. Vertex research found that 44% of tax and finance professionals are concerned about the level of new skills required in today’s digital environment, and 43% worry specifically about their lack of technical or data expertise.
This concern needs to change, and creating a human-first AI culture and encouraging the move to tax technologist will help alleviate this.
Ultimately, it’s not enough to have the right tech in place. You need the people who trust it, know how to use it, and feel empowered to shape how it fits into their everyday work.
We list the best Making Tax Digital (MTD) software.
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