CPAs : The $2B AI Arms Race: Why internal tools won’t set your firm apart

In the span of just four months, two accounting giants made headlines with a combined $2 billion in AI investment announcements. Grant Thornton and RSM each committed $1 billion over three years to arm their workforces with AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot, CompliAI™, and various automation platforms.

The press releases were impressive. The numbers were staggering. The strategic vision was clear.

And for any firm outside the top 10, it should be a wake-up call—but not for the reasons you might think.

Remember 1994? Forward-thinking accounting firms were issuing press releases about their "revolutionary investment in email technology" and "cutting-edge internet connectivity." They spent millions on servers, hired IT specialists, and touted their technological sophistication.

Twenty years later, no one talks about their email infrastructure. It's invisible, ubiquitous, and completely commoditized.

Today's $1 billion AI investment announcements have the same feeling. Grant Thornton's rollout of Microsoft 365 Copilot to 13,500 professionals across 60 offices? That's infrastructure. RSM's implementation of AI flows and automation platforms? That's operational efficiency.

Both are necessary. Both are smart. Both will become table stakes within 36 months.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: every accounting firm will eventually deploy Copilot, build automation workflows, and integrate AI into their daily operations. Microsoft, Google, and other platform providers are making this inevitable.

The firms announcing billion-dollar investments today aren't gaining competitive advantage - they're buying early adoption tax. They're paying premium prices to be first in line for capabilities that will be commoditized and democratized over the next few years.

Grant Thornton's Jim Peko says it perfectly: "This isn't just about investing in AI and technology, it's about investing in our people." He's right. But so is every other firm that will make similar investments over the next 24 months.

While the Big 4 and larger firms spend billions making their internal operations more efficient, there's a massive opportunity for smaller firms to leapfrog them entirely: building AI-driven services that generate high-margin revenue.

The fundamental difference:

One is a cost play. The other is a value play.

If you're running a firm ranked 11-200, you have a choice:

Option 1: Play Catch-Up - Spend the next two years racing to match Grant Thornton and RSM's internal AI capabilities. Invest heavily in platforms, training, and infrastructure. Compete on efficiency and price.

Option 2: Leapfrog the Leaders - Skip the infrastructure arms race and focus on delivering AI-powered solutions that create new revenue streams and command premium pricing.

The most successful firms will choose Option 2.

While the giants are automating compliance and streamlining audits, forward-thinking firms are building AI-powered advisory services that their larger competitors can't match:

These aren't theoretical concepts. Mid-market companies are already paying premium fees for these capabilities—and they can't get them from traditional accounting services.

Consider how ClearInsightsAI transforms middle-market businesses using just 12 data points from existing ERP systems:

The result? Clients see 2-5% margin improvement and 5-8% additional revenue in 60-90 days, delivering 15x ROI.

This isn't about making accounting firms more efficient. It's about making their clients more profitable.

We're at a strategic inflection point in professional services. The firms that win the next decade won't be the ones with the most sophisticated internal AI infrastructure—they'll be the ones delivering AI-powered client value that competitors can't match.

Grant Thornton and RSM are making smart operational investments. But they're also creating an opening for smaller, more agile firms to capture the high-margin AI advisory market while the giants are busy automating their traditional services.

If you're ready to leapfrog the billion-dollar infrastructure investments and focus on revenue-generating AI capabilities:

The $2 billion in AI investment announcements aren't harbingers of competitive advantage—they're the accounting profession's equivalent of 1994 email infrastructure investments.

The real opportunity isn't in making your firm more efficient with AI. It's in making your clients more successful with AI.

While the giants spend billions on internal automation, the winners will be the firms that deliver AI-powered insights directly to client bottom lines.

The revolution isn't in how accounting firms use AI internally. It's in what they deliver to clients externally.

And that revolution is just getting started.

Ready to build AI-driven advisory services instead of just implementing internal AI tools? The technology exists today to deliver enterprise-grade AI insights to middle-market clients—without the billion-dollar infrastructure investment. Learn More