Small U.S. financial services practices – such as independent Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), Certified Financial Planners (CFPs), Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), and Enrolled Agents (EAs) – are typically modest in size and assets.

The vast majority of RIAs are small businesses; in 2023, 92.7% of investment advisory firms had 100 or fewer employees. Most of these are much smaller.Approximately 42,000 U.S. accounting firms have <20 people, with the average small accounting firm having fewer than 10 employees​

​These modest firm sizes mean limited resources but also agility, which shapes their approach to adopting artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Despite growing hype, AI adoption among small financial firms is still in early stages.

Recent surveys indicate that only a minority of small practices are actively using AI as of 2024. For example, among financial advisors (including RIAs/CFPs), just 6.2% report using AI tools in client interactions (only 1.5% using them extensively)​

In the retirement planning niche, only 9% of plan advisers currently use AI in their practice​.

In the accounting and tax arena, one 2024 survey found 73% of accounting firm leaders said they are not using AI in any way​, implying roughly 27% have at least some AI use.

Similarly, the Thomson Reuters Institute found just 8% of tax and accounting firms are using generative AI tools, with another 13% “planning to use the tech soon”​

Actual full deployment of AI is low (e.g. only 6% of CPA executives in late 2024 had implemented generative AI in any business function​

Small wealth management firms tend to be boutique advisors or planners serving individual clients, often with AUM in the tens to hundreds of millions rather than billions.

On the accounting side, revenues are a proxy for firm size – the average small CPA or EA firm has under $600k in annual revenue and a handful of staff​

serving local individuals and small-business clients.

These scale characteristics are important because firms with fewer staff and smaller AUM/revenue may have more limited IT budgets and specialized needs, which can slow AI adoption relative to large institutions.

Nevertheless, small firms see AI as a potential equalizer to “punch above their weight” in efficiency​.

.

In small accounting and tax firms, AI adoption is likewise modest but picking up. Surveys in late 2023 and 2024 suggest that roughly 20–30% of small CPA firms have started using some form of AI, while the rest have yet to implement it​.

The trajectory is clearly upward – 80% of accounting professionals anticipate using more AI in the next 3-5 years, particularly in areas like accounting workflow, data analysis, and client communication​

Many small CPA firms are in the exploratory phase: about 30% are actively considering or piloting AI tools​.

Compared to wealth management, accounting and tax practices have some of the most clear-cut automation opportunities for AI, given the heavy amount of routine data processing in their work.

Tax compliance work is being turbocharged by AI. Firms use AI-driven tools to extract and analyze data from client documents (W-2s, 1099s, receipts) to populate tax returns​

This significantly cuts down the time needed to prepare returns and reduces human error. AI can also check returns for anomalies or missed deductions.

On the research side, CPAs and EAs leverage AI search engines trained on tax law (for example, an AI assistant that answers tax code questions).

According to the survey, tax research was the second most common AI application, as practitioners use AI to swiftly retrieve answers from vast tax knowledge bases​.

Firms are experimenting with predictive models that project a client’s future tax burden under different scenarios. For instance, AI can quickly model the tax implications of a client selling an investment property versus doing a 1031 exchange, or simulate multi-year tax strategies.

In the Thomson Reuters study, tax advisory (providing forward-looking insights) was a top-five use case, cited by many firms as a reason to adopt GenAI​.

By sifting through financial data and tax rules, AI can highlight planning opportunities (e.g. “if the client maxes out a retirement plan contribution, their projected 5-year tax savings is X”). This allows even small firms to offer sophisticated tax planning recommendations at scale.

Small firms are also using AI to assist in reviewing contracts, financial statements, or audit documents. AI can rapidly scan documents to identify discrepancies, missing information, or compliance issues.

For example, an AI tool might flag unusual entries in a general ledger that warrant a closer look, aiding auditors. Ensuring regulatory compliance (e.g. checking that financial reports adhere to GAAP, or that client investment accounts comply with IRS rules for IRAs) can be streamlined with AI.

In essence, AI acts as a tireless reviewer, catching things a human might miss.

It’s important to note that in these small CPA and EA firms, AI is not replacing accountants but rather automating their grunt work. Routine tasks like data entry, sorting receipts, or cross-referencing numbers – which used to consume hours – are now done in seconds by AI. This frees up practitioners to do what small firms excel at: personal client advice and service.

In fact, firms that were early tech adopters report significantly higher revenue per employee (as much as 39% more) than laggards​.

42% said they use it daily (or multiple times a day) in their workflow, and another 31% use it at least weekly​

The day-to-day reliance indicates that once a small practice integrates AI (for example, an AI-assisted tax prep software), it quickly becomes an indispensable tool.

On the client side, some accounting firms are also introducing AI-powered client portals or chat assistants. For instance, an AI chatbot might be available on a firm’s website to answer simple client questions (e.g., “What documents do I need to upload for my tax return?”) or to help schedule appointments.

However, like in wealth management, these client-facing AI tools are still relatively rare in small firms. Most accountants are using AI on the back-end.

The emphasis for now is on increasing accuracy and speed of deliverables (tax returns, financial reports) rather than offering AI-driven advisory chats directly to clients.

The improved turnaround time and insights via AI ultimately enhance client service – clients get more timely reports, deeper analysis, and potentially lower fees because the firm gained efficiency.

Small RIAs, CFPs, CPAs, and EAs are cautiously but steadily embracing AI to enhance – not replace – their professional services.

Firm size and AUM correlate with adoption: the largest of the “small firms” (closer to 20 employees or managing hundreds of millions in AUM) are more likely early adopters, whereas solo practitioners or very small outfits lag slightly due to resource constraints. Nonetheless, even lean practices are finding affordable ways to experiment with AI (often via cloud software or open-source tools).

Small professional practices view AI as a tool to augment their expertise and improve efficiency.

A positive outlook is prevalent – 72% of small businesses overall have a positive view of AI’s impact, and 82% find it helpful to their business​

In the financial services context, this optimism is tempered by practical concerns (data quality, privacy, and regulatory compliance were cited by ~43% of advisors as top barriers​

The next 1-3 years will likely see a jump in implementation. In fact, over half of advisors and accountants surveyed plan to integrate AI within the next year or two, which would mark a significant increase from current single-digit adoption rates​.

​

Each professional segment is focusing AI on the pain points of their workflow – whether it’s reducing the drudgery of bookkeeping and tax prep for accountants, or sifting through investment information for advisors.

As solutions mature and costs come down, AI will likely become as commonplace in these small firms as spreadsheets and tax software.

The coming years should see these practitioners leveraging AI not only to increase efficiency and profitability (doing more with small teams), but also to enhance the quality of advice and service they deliver in wealth management, accounting, and financial planning​.

Each of these articles is source from 2024-2025 research and surveys, including: