Webinar: From hype to guardrails: Meet the trusted AI agent you control by AccountingWEB

About

AI is dominating almost every conversation in the profession, but for many firms, clarity on the best way to implement it is still in short supply. While the hype promises total automation, the reality for most accountants is a mix of experimentation and uncertainty. As client expectations rise, the pressure to adopt AI is growing, but so are the risks of "hallucinations" and unchecked data entry.

In this practical, no-nonsense session, we move past the speculation to look at where the profession actually stands today. We’ll explore why trust, accuracy, and oversight must take priority over speed, and why the "black box" approach to automation is being replaced by something much more powerful: The AI Agent.

We were joined by Paul Lodder from Dext, Ryan Alderson from DJH, Charlotte Ing from Pure Cloud Accountancy and Jake Smith from AccountingWEB as they discussed a fundamental shift in how firms work. They move beyond simple automation to explore agentic workflows, AI that doesn’t just process data in the background, but works alongside you as a digital assistant.

Featuring a first look at Dext AI Assist, this on demand session will demonstrate how to use a trusted AI agent that provides smart, tailored suggestions while keeping you in total control. We’ll also dive into the practicalities of the "next big hurdle," showing how this technology works specifically with MTD for Income Tax.

This on demand session is designed for:

Accountants and bookkeepers who are ready to move beyond the AI hype and implement a secure, supervised workflow that increases capacity without compromising on professional standards.

What you will learn:

- The Reality of AI Today: Cutting through the noise to identify where firms are actually seeing success and where the "hype" falls short.
- Automation vs. Agentic Workflows: Understanding the shift from simple "if-this-then-that" rules to intelligent AI agents that provide context-aware suggestions.
- Guardrails and Oversight: Why "human-in-the-loop" is the only safe way to scale AI, and how to maintain control over every entry.
- Dext AI Assist in Practice: A deep dive into how the trusted AI agent automates complex bookkeeping tasks while asking for your professional "OK."
- MTD for IT Readiness: How to leverage AI agents to handle the precision and frequency requirements of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

Agenda

What “AI” actually means in accounting today – and why much of what firms already use is applied AI, not experimental tech.
Where AI is safe to use right now, and where it isn’t, including which tasks can be automated confidently and where human review must remain mandatory.
How accuracy, auditability, and compliance should shape AI adoption: what good guardrails look like in practice.
How AI changes firm economics, not just workflows, implications for pricing, capacity, staffing, and advisory services.
What’s coming next with AI Agents – and how to prepare – separating realistic evolution from over-promised automation.

Presenters

Jake Smith

Head of Branded Content, AccountingWEB

AccountingWEB’s Head of Branded Content joined the team in July 2021 to work closely with vendors and clients to help deliver engaging, original content for AccountingWEB members.

Paul Lodder

VP: Product Strategy and Accounting expertise, Dext

Paul Lodder joined Dext with 20+ years in practice at Sagars Accountants where he was a partner heading up the cloud accounting offering. ACCA qualified since 2003 Paul led the firms MTD and digital strategy, and provided support on digitalisation to accountants & bookkeepers across the country as well as providing solutions to clients’ challenges and supporting them to achieve their goals across accountancy, taxation and business advisory services. Paul is recognised as a leading expert on the implementation and benefits of digitalisation.

Ryan Alderson

Head of Cloud Advisory at DJH

Heading up everything Cloud and Digital at DJH, Ryan is all about using the latest and greatest tech to make lives easier - usually in the form of efficiencies, or client experience.

Focusing on maximising core accounting software as well as exploring the bolt-on integrating apps, Ryan helps owner-managed businesses save time and get better insights from their data.

Charlotte Ing

Managing Director, Pure Cloud Accountancy Ltd

Charlotte is the founder of Pure Cloud Accountancy, based in West Yorkshire. She is a chartered accountant with the ICAEW, trained after completing A-levels and an accountancy apprenticeship.

With over 16 years of experience, Charlotte runs her practice from her home office and offers a boutique approach to accountancy for owner-managed businesses, providing them with all the accountancy services they need to run their businesses. She specialises in app advisory and recommends the apps that assist her clients to have real-time financial information.

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