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Karbon · January 2026

State of AI in Accounting Report 2026

Karbon's State of AI in Accounting Report 2026 (January 2026; n=~600) found that 21% of accounting firms have a documented AI policy or strategy.

Read the original report ↗Cite2 min read · Summary updated
Trained AI users save more time each dayAverage minutes saved per day with AI, by self-rated AI skill level
Advanced users
82 min
Beginners
48 min
Source: Karbon, State of AI in Accounting Report 2026, 2026.

Key findings

  1. 01
    98% of firms now use AI, with most using it daily or several times a day.
  2. 02
    Only 21% of firms have a documented AI policy or strategy, and fewer than half invest in AI training.
  3. 03
    Firms investing in training, policies and documented strategy report greater time savings and higher confidence in AI use.

By the numbers

21%of accounting firms have a documented AI policy or strategy
46%of firms actively invest in AI training for their teams
60 minaverage time saved per employee per day with AI, up 7% from last year

What it means for you Draft

For executives at $10–100M companies

Near-universal use with little structure is a familiar pattern. For a professional services firm our size, a short written AI policy and some real training time look like low-cost steps that this report associates with better results.

Limitations

Low trust.Vendor-published (Karbon sells practice management software with AI); self-selected global sample; methodology details limited.

About the publisher: Sells practice management software to accounting firms.

The headline figure measures the “Approved” stage of adoption (sanctioned in a function).Why adoption numbers disagree

Cite the original

Karbon. "State of AI in Accounting Report 2026." January 20, 2026. https://karbonhq.com/resources/state-of-ai-accounting-2026/

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