April 15 marks the completion of my 53rd spring tax season as a professional. Things have changed considerably since I began my career.  

Back in the early 1970s, most tax returns were prepared by hand and were much simpler although not necessarily simpler to prepare. Technology has increased tax practitioners’ capabilities and efficiency, but it also has facilitated unfathomable tax law complexity. 

Today, I am semi-retired and my practice consists of serving a few high-wealth families having complex tax situations. 

This year marked the first year that artificial intelligence (AI) impacted my practice in both a positive and negative manner.  

Most of my workpapers are contained in Microsoft Excel workbooks, which analyze and reformat data so that it can be exported into tax return preparation software. I found that I was able to automate several steps using AI to perform routine procedures that consumed my time in previous years. 

This year’s tax return preparation process became more efficient and accurate. 

I also began to use AI as my “staff associate” to perform research projects for me. I instructed AI in the research needed to........

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