Accounting, Audit & Tax Data

Which systems hold accounting and audit data?

The general ledger and the ERP hold the entries. Close and reconciliation tools hold the exceptions and who cleared them. Audit software holds workpapers, sampling and review notes. Tax software and research files hold positions and memos.

The valuable part is the link between these. An exception, the adjusting entry, the reviewer's challenge and the sign-off together form one worked example.

• Reconciliation exceptions with the reason and the fix
• Adjusting entries with the accountant's rationale
• Audit workpapers with review notes and clearance
• Tax position memos with the conclusion reached

What do AI teams build with accounting data?

Teams train close assistants that suggest the right adjustment for an exception. They train anomaly detection on samples an auditor flagged. They build evaluation sets from tax memos, where a qualified person has already reached a conclusion.

Records with a reviewer's sign-off show what a correct answer looks like. That is hard to find anywhere else.

Close timings are useful too. Records of which tasks ran late, and why, help teams build tools that plan the month-end.

What about client confidentiality and audit independence?

Accountants owe their clients confidentiality. Professional codes, such as the AICPA's confidential client information rule in the US, bar disclosure without client consent. Tax preparers face an extra rule: Section 7216 of the US tax code bars using or sharing tax return information without the taxpayer's consent. So each client must authorize in writing, and client identities and account details are removed.

Audit firms have one more check. A licensing deal must not create a business relationship that impairs independence, for example if the AI company is an audit client. Your independence team should confirm this before work starts. This is not legal or ethics advice; your own advisers decide.

How does a firm prepare a first description?

A short description is enough for a first review. No client files are needed.

• Service lines covered: bookkeeping, audit, tax or advisory
• Which systems hold the records and over which years
• Whether engagement letters already address data reuse
• Any independence constraints you already know about