Auric Finance: Governed AI Workflows for a Mid-Size Accounting Practice

How a 120-person accounting firm replaced ad-hoc AI tool adoption with governed workflows across tax preparation, audit workpapers, and client onboarding.

The challenge

A mid-size accounting practice with 120 staff across three offices had started adopting AI tools organically. Tax preparers used one tool for draft returns, auditors used another for workpaper summarisation, and the client onboarding team had built their own spreadsheet-based workflow with a chatbot bolted on. None of it was governed. Partners had no visibility into which tools were being used, what data was being sent where, or whether outputs were being reviewed before going to clients.

The firm needed more than a single point solution. They needed a consistent, governed approach to AI across their three highest-volume workflows — tax prep, audit workpapers, and client onboarding — without slowing down the teams who had already started seeing productivity gains.

What we built

A unified AI workflow platform purpose-built for accounting operations, with governance baked into every step:

Tax preparation assistant — ingests prior-year returns, client-provided source documents, and ATO guidance to produce draft tax returns with line-by-line source citations, flagging items that require senior review before lodgement
Audit workpaper automation — reads trial balances, bank statements, and supporting schedules to generate preliminary workpapers with variance analysis, materiality assessments, and cross-referenced annotations against auditing standards
Client onboarding workflows — extracts entity details, ABN registrations, and trust deed structures from uploaded documents, populates the practice management system, and generates engagement letters pre-filled with the correct service scope
Centralised governance dashboard — gives partners real-time visibility into AI usage across all three workflows: what's been generated, what's been reviewed, what's gone to clients, and which staff members are using which capabilities

The results

Tax return draft time

reduced by 55%, with every line item linked to source documentation

Audit workpaper preparation

cut from 3 days to 4 hours per engagement

Client onboarding

reduced from a 2-week manual process to 48 hours including all compliance checks

Zero unreviewed AI outputs

sent to clients — the governance layer ensures every generated document passes through a senior review gate

What the client said

We had pockets of brilliance and pockets of risk. One team was getting incredible results with AI; another was sending draft outputs straight to clients without review. The governance layer was the missing piece — now every partner can see exactly what's happening, and every output has a clear review trail. It's the first time we've had consistency across all three offices.

Technology

Custom workflow platform integrating document ingestion, natural language processing, and structured output generation across tax, audit, and onboarding domains. Role-based access controls and mandatory review gates enforce the firm's quality standards. Connected to the practice management system via secure API. The firm owns the platform, all workflows, and every generated document.

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The challenge

What we built

A unified AI workflow platform purpose-built for accounting operations, with governance baked into every step:

Tax preparation assistant — ingests prior-year returns, client-provided source documents, and ATO guidance to produce draft tax returns with line-by-line source citations, flagging items that require senior review before lodgement

Audit workpaper automation — reads trial balances, bank statements, and supporting schedules to generate preliminary workpapers with variance analysis, materiality assessments, and cross-referenced annotations against auditing standards

Client onboarding workflows — extracts entity details, ABN registrations, and trust deed structures from uploaded documents, populates the practice management system, and generates engagement letters pre-filled with the correct service scope

Centralised governance dashboard — gives partners real-time visibility into AI usage across all three workflows: what's been generated, what's been reviewed, what's gone to clients, and which staff members are using which capabilities

The results

Tax return draft time

reduced by 55%, with every line item linked to source documentation

Audit workpaper preparation

cut from 3 days to 4 hours per engagement

Client onboarding

reduced from a 2-week manual process to 48 hours including all compliance checks

Zero unreviewed AI outputs

sent to clients — the governance layer ensures every generated document passes through a senior review gate

What the client said

We had pockets of brilliance and pockets of risk. One team was getting incredible results with AI; another was sending draft outputs straight to clients without review. The governance layer was the missing piece — now every partner can see exactly what's happening, and every output has a clear review trail. It's the first time we've had consistency across all three offices.

Technology