Two-yea study f om Ka bo li ks tech ology mi dset to st o ge fi m pe fo ma ce as AI adoptio accele ates a d age ts eme ge as a ew sou ce of capacity
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ka bo , the leadi g AI-powe ed accou ti g p actice ma ageme t softwa e, today eleased The State of Tech ology i Accou ti g 2027, a ew epo t that details how accou ti g fi ms use tech ology. Amo g U.S. fi ms, the epo t fou d that a typical tech-fo wa d accou ti g fi m ge e ates 28% mo e eve ue pe employee tha a mo e cautious fi m.
The epo t defi es p og essive fi ms o tech-fo wa d fi ms as those that adopt ew tech ology ea ly o o ce its value is p ove , while cautious fi ms adopt late o wait u til tech ology becomes a established sta da d.
D awi g o mo e tha 1,200 su vey espo ses collected ove two yea s, the esea ch exami es how tech ology adoptio is shapi g fi m pe fo ma ce, how accou ti g fi ms a e co solidati g ope atio al wo k withi p actice ma ageme t systems, a d how AI age ts a e eme gi g as a ew sou ce of capacity.
As AI adoptio accele ates ac oss accou ti g fi ms, the typical p og essive U.S. fi m ge e ates mo e eve ue pe employee tha its mo e cautious cou te pa t. The esea ch also exami es how fi ms a e i co po ati g AI i to thei wo kflows, both th ough softwa e they al eady ow a d by addi g f o tie models:
The pe fo ma ce gap betwee p og essive a d cautious fi ms is wide i g. Amo g U.S. fi ms su veyed i both yea s, typical eve ue pe employee i c eased 9.5% fo p og essive fi ms, while emai i g u cha ged fo cautious fi ms.AI has become a sta da d pa t of accou ti g fi ms’ tech ology stacks. Nea ly i e i 10 fi ms (86.7%) ow use at least o e AI tool.Fi ms a e i co po ati g AI i to thei existi g tech ology stacks. Nea ly half (48%) access AI th ough softwa e they al eady ow , a d 97.8% of those fi ms also use f o tie AI models.
“The fi ms pulli g ahead a e the o es willi g to ethi k how they wo k,” said Ma y Dela ey, CEO of Ka bo . “AI is accessible to eve yo e, but the e’s a big diffe e ce betwee adopti g a ew tool a d maki g it a pa t of how a accou ti g fi m ope ates. The fi ms that a e willi g to expe ime t, adapt, a d challe ge the way they’ve always do e thi gs will be bette positio ed fo what’s ahead.”
As accou ti g fi ms expa d thei tech ology stacks, they’ e also co solidati g mo e eve yday ope atio al tasks withi thei p actice ma ageme t systems. Rathe tha elyi g o sepa ate applicatio s fo each fu ctio , fi ms a e i c easi gly usi g these systems to ma age wo k ac oss thei o ga izatio s while co ti ui g to ely o specialized tools whe e eeded.
The esea ch highlights how fi ms a e shifti g ope atio al wo k i to p actice ma ageme t systems, with p og essive fi ms leadi g the t e d:
Accou ti g fi ms a e usi g p actice ma ageme t systems fo mo e ope atio al tasks. Nea ly two-thi ds (63.2%) of fi ms with p actice ma ageme t softwa e ow use it fo five o mo e fu ctio s, up f om 23.3% the p evious yea .Mo e ope atio al wo k is movi g i to p actice ma ageme t systems tha out of them. Amo g fi ms su veyed i both yea s, esea che s ide tified 195 i sta ces of fu ctio s movi g f om sta dalo e applicatio s i to p actice ma ageme t systems, compa ed with 50 movi g i the opposite di ectio .P og essive fi ms u bigge , mo e o ga ized tech stacks. Ea ly adopte s use 16.5 tools o ave age a d u 7.2 ope atio al fu ctio s th ough thei p actice ma ageme t systems. Late adopte s use 10.3 tools a d use p actice ma ageme t systems fo 3.1 fu ctio s.
“The umbe of fu ctio s a fi m ma ages th ough its p actice ma ageme t system is a good i dicato of that fi m’s mi dset towa d ew tech ology: p og essive fi ms ce t alize mo e tasks tha cautious o es,” said Ma y Dela ey, CEO of Ka bo . “As some fi ms ethi k how they o ga ize thei wo k, they’ll educe complexity a d give thei teams mo e time to focus o thei clie ts.”
Accou ti g fi ms have t aditio ally expa ded thei capacity by hi i g employees o outsou ci g wo k. AI age ts a e eme gi g as a othe optio , givi g fi ms ew ways to ma age g owi g wo kloads a d expa d thei capabilities alo gside existi g teams.
The esea ch fou d that fi ms a e i c easi gly combi i g AI age ts with t aditio al staffi g app oaches, with p og essive fi ms leadi g adoptio :
Fi ms usi g AI age ts ge e ate mo e eve ue pe employee. The typical U.S. fi m usi g AI age ts ge e ates 17.7% mo e eve ue pe employee tha the typical fi m addi g capacity without them.AI age ts a e becomi g a othe way fo fi ms to expa d capacity. Two i five fi ms (40%) addi g capacity ow use AI age ts, alo gside t aditio al app oaches such as hi i g employees a d co t acti g wo k.Fi ms usi g AI age ts mai tai simila pay oll spe di g elative to eve ue. Pay oll accou ts fo 44.5% of eve ue amo g fi ms usi g AI age ts, compa ed with 45.3% amo g fi ms that do ’t use them.
“Ou esea ch shows fi ms a e addi g capacity i th ee ways: t aditio al hi i g p actices, co t act wo k, a d the use of AI age ts,” said Dela ey. “That said, AI age ts a e ’t eplaci g t aditio al hi i g out ight. They’ e c eati g oppo tu ities fo accou ta ts to spe d mo e time o the complex decisio s, st ategic advice, a d clie t elatio ships that d ive the most value.”
Fo mo e i fo matio o the epo t a d othe updates f om Ka bo , visit ka bo hq.com.
Ka bo , a global leade i AI-powe ed p actice ma ageme t softwa e fo accou ti g fi ms, p ovides a awa d-wi i g, collabo ative cloud platfo m focused o accele ati g fi ms’ top a d bottom li e g owth. Ka bo d ives u p ecede ted value fo its custome s evide ced by its #1 a ki g o G2 a d custome – epo ted savi gs of 19.9 hou s pe week pe employee. Fou ded i 2014, Ka bo has custome s i 40 cou t ies with employees ac oss US, Aust alia, New Zeala d, Ca ada a d the U ited Ki gdom. Ka bo is well-fu ded a d backed by Tidema k a d Five Elms.
Jack McHugh, P opll PR816-679-8277
CONTACT: jack@p opll .com
