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According to industry research, nearly 40% of accountants spend up to half of their working day on manual tasks (Bdaily). This is not due to a lack of automation - over 90% of accountants already use some form of it. Yet, despite these tools, there is still significant untapped potential. Reducing manual work does not only improve efficiency but also creates meaningful benefits for both professionals and their clients. There is a real opportunity to fundamentally rethink how compliance work is structured and delivered, according to Johann Rozario, co-founder and CEO of Supplied, the AI-driven platform for client onboarding, verification, and compliance.
Time-consuming, complex, risk and error-prone
Many accounting processes, ranging from data collection to reporting, remain highly time-consuming due to fragmented data. Critical information is often spread across multiple systems, formats, and sources, while client data is frequently incomplete or inconsistent. This makes even straightforward compliance tasks unnecessarily complex, explains Rozario.
When data is scattered across systems, accountants spend more time gathering and correcting information than actually analysing it, Rozario continues. Research shows that data collection often takes up to 75% of financial teams’ time (Pigment), which also continuously shows in benchmark data by Gartner and FP&A, and a significant portion of their time - up to 120 hours - is spent correcting errors (BKCProhub). Manual processes are not only inefficient, but also up to 90% more error-prone than automated ones, various automation platform providers show. Every manual touchpoint increases risk, as even a small mistake, such as a missing field or an incorrect Tax Identification Number (TIN), can lead to penalties for clients and liability for firms.
At the same time, the regulatory landscape continues to expand. Requirements such as DSA, DAC7, DAC8/CARF, 1099-K, and UK DPR each introduce their own formats and nuances, requiring accountants to stay continuously up to date across multiple jurisdictions. Compliance has effectively become a full-time responsibility in itself, says Rozario, making it increasingly difficult to operate efficiently.
Keeping accountants from reaching their full potential
This complexity directly limits the ability of accounting firms to grow. Many professionals aim to move beyond operational work and take on a more strategic advisory role, yet remain tied to repetitive, low-value tasks. A large number of firms want to move up the value chain, but in reality are still consumed by operational work, Rozario explains.
As a result, scaling often appears to require additional hiring or significant investment in custom systems, both of which increase costs and operational burden. This is not a sustainable way to grow, Rozario emphasizes, as it prevents firms from focusing on higher-value services and fully supporting clients with strategic insights.
How technology simplifies and transforms accounting
Technology offers a fundamentally different approach by turning manual compliance work into a scalable and repeatable process. Platforms such as Supplied show how workflows across onboarding, governance, reporting, and audits can be consolidated into a single system, creating a consistent way of working regardless of scale.
The first step is moving to one system with a repeatable, technology-driven workflow, Rozario explains. Whether a firm manages five clients or five hundred, the process should remain the same.
A key element in this transformation is the creation of a single, unified dataset. By integrating data from sources such as CRM systems, ERP platforms, payment service providers, and internal tools, fragmented information is replaced with a structured and reliable foundation.
Once all data is brought together, firms can truly start automating and improving quality, Rozario notes. AI-driven validation enriches this data and identifies inconsistencies or missing fields before they become compliance risks. Built-in checks, including KYC, KYB, and TIN validation, ensure data accuracy from the outset.
This structured dataset can be reused across the entire compliance lifecycle, from customer onboarding and verification to reporting and audits, while remaining aligned with regulatory frameworks such as DAC7, DAC8/CARF, 1099-K, and UK DPR. Based on this foundation, automation enables the generation of reports with minimal manual intervention. AI automatically maps the correct data points to the relevant reporting requirements, after which validated XML files are generated and made ready for submission to tax authorities, Rozario explains. This removes the need for manual formatting or interpretation, as reports are produced in the exact format required by each jurisdiction.
In addition, compliance communication can be automated. DAC7-compliant statements, for example, can be distributed to sellers in their local language, ensuring both clarity and regulatory alignment, Rozario adds.
Efficiency, scale, and high value
By eliminating manual handling and enabling zero-touch data processing, firms can build a scalable compliance infrastructure that significantly reduces errors and associated risks. The impact of this transformation is substantial, Rozario states. Conversations between Supplied and international accounting firms reflected that firms are able to increase their client capacity by up to ten times without hiring additional staff, while reducing the cost per client by as much as 80%.
Most importantly, this shift fundamentally changes how accountants spend their time, Rozario tells, as up to 70% of billable hours can be redirected away from low-value administrative work toward high-margin advisory services. This allows professionals to take on a more strategic role, strengthen client relationships, and deliver greater long-term value. The accounting industry is at a turning point. As regulatory complexity continues to grow, so does the need for a more efficient and scalable way of working - one that fully leverages the potential of new technologies.
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