Navigating the Ever-Surprising Technology Landscape

Surprises can be welcomed with open arms, especially in cases of parties or special recognitions of others. On the other hand, unexpected surprises in business, particularly with technology, are less welcomed, mainly when a system failure or slowdown occurs. However, when you think of the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) and its incorporation into the applications we use daily (think, smartphones, Word, Excel, Google Search, etc.), I’d argue that many of technology’s surprises today are quite pleasant.

Of course, there’s one nagging challenge that technology presents many business teams: keeping up with the rapidly evolving landscape. In fact, many of your teams may already be planning for Microsoft’s big update on Oct. 14, 2025, when tech support for Windows 10, Office 2016, and Office 2019 will end—surprise! Speaking of surprises, this year is Excel’s 40th birthday and Microsoft’s 50th birthday! How should we celebrate?

While I can’t stop these unexpected, perhaps unwelcome, surprises from occurring, I can offer advice on how best to deal with these challenges.

BUILDING AN AI-ENABLED ENVIRONMENT

Technology is a tool that, when used properly, can help you achieve your goals faster, with less effort, and less overall cost—and it’s clear that trends in AI and machine learning will positively impact the accounting profession for many years to come. We’re already seeing accounting professionals use AI to write emails, create presentations, and write articles or blogs for their firm’s websites (I didn’t do that for you!). Just through my own work with AI, I’ve seen 5% to 40% measured productivity gains, depending on the task. Of course, if you plan on using AI for productivity improvements, my recommendation is to choose one platform and stick with it, whether it’s Claude, Perplexity, Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini, or Lllama. There are also various accounting AI platforms available, including TaxGPT, Blue J, MakersHub, Digits, and more.

To fully realize the benefits of AI (automating tasks, streamlining workflows, data-driven insights), you’ll need to invest in ensuring your software and hardware systems at least align with the available tools and are ready for what’s to come next. Not surprisingly, costs are only going up for systems powerful enough for successful AI integration. Though, if you buy software and hardware wisely, you’ll get many years of productivity from your platforms.

Notably, even with cloud computing and the broad adoption of software as a service, you must understand that powerful personal computers (PCs) are still essential and that AI-enabled or capable PCs must be even more powerful than standard PCs. For example, these five characteristics are essential in a PC you intend to use with AI.

• Neural Processing Unit (NPU): AI-enabled PCs come equipped with an NPU, which is specifically designed to handle AI and machine learning tasks efficiently.
• Copilot+ PC: These PCs include Microsoft Copilot, which provides AI-driven assistance and features like image generation, real-time translation, and more.
• Enhanced Performance: AI PCs are optimized for tasks like data analysis, training AI models, and running complex simulations. They have powerful central processing units, graphics processing units, and ample random-access memory.
• Local Processing: AI-enabled PCs can process AI tasks locally, reducing the need to send data to cloud-based servers. This enhances security and allows offline operation.
• Adaptability: AI PCs can learn, adapt, and make decisions autonomously thanks to machine learning algorithms and neural networks.

EVALUATING VENDOR CLAIMS VS. REALITY

When considering adopting any new technology and how doing so can help your business, it’s important to be thoughtful about your investments of time and money rather than be sporadic and reactionary to whatever new tool comes out by way of the tech giants and the private equity and venture capital firms bringing new technology providers to market.

Of course, it’s certainly understandable why vendor hype exists. Getting excited about the latest innovations in technology is both interesting and surprising. However, as wise managers and buyers, it’s important to recognize overpromised capabilities. As I often say, “follow the money,” and be aware of the many untruthful sales pitches out there. After all, being able to separate marketing buzzwords from real-world functionality can help you better evaluate innovative technologies and fully integrate them successfully into your systems.

Before deploying any new technologies across your organization or firm, I recommend:

• Looking for independent reviews and peer recommendations.
• Considering trial periods and sandbox testing to experiment, try new features, and troubleshoot potential problems.
• Assessing customer support and long-term vendor stability.
• Taking note of the lessons you’ve learned from past technology failures. (What went well and what didn’t?)
• Considering scalability, reliability, and return on investment (ROI) potential.
• Performing careful contract reviews—better yet, consider using AI to summarize contract terms.
• Applying a complete IT governance framework. This includes assessing your business objectives and needs, identifying relevant standards and regulations, reviewing available frameworks, consulting with experts and peers, assessing compatibility and scalability, evaluating resource availability, conducting a pilot implementation, and measuring success through continuous improvement.

PREPARING FOR SURPRISES: STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL STEPS

If you don’t already have one, make sure to develop a strategic plan for any new technology you want to adopt—consider it your roadmap. As part of this plan, I recommend:

• Aligning tech investments with firm growth and strategy.
• Prioritizing security and scalability in software selection.
• Conducting annual tech reviews to assess effectiveness.
• Budgeting for ongoing technology investments.
• Performing a cost-benefit analysis of any automation and AI adoption.
• Reducing software redundancy and overlapping subscriptions.
• Leveraging tax incentives for technology upgrades.
• Applying training and change management to ensure firm-wide adoption of new tools while addressing employee resistance to technology changes.

For tactical implementation strategies, you should also apply best practices for immediate efficiency gains, automate routine bookkeeping and financial reporting tasks, set up dashboards for real-time insights into organization performance, integrate AI assistants for client or customer inquiries and scheduling, ensure ROI on technology investments, conduct periodic cost-benefit reviews, and avoid common pitfalls like underutilizing software.

If you follow these steps and add specific business needs for your organization or firm, you’re more likely to be successful using technology—and you’ll certainly be less prone to the unexpected and more likely to be rewarded with the pleasant surprises that technology can offer.

Randy Johnston is the executive vice president of K2 Enterprises. He’ll be speaking more in-depth on this topic during his keynote address at ICPAS SUMMIT25. 

Related Content:

• What You Need in a CAS Tech Stack: Combining the right software and applications can help your CAS practice produce higher earnings and bring added value to your clients.
• 3 Steps to Success When Adopting New Technologies in Your Workplace: In most organizations, change is often met with resistance—especially when it comes to adopting new technologies. These three steps can help make any technological transition easier.