The Fire Age paradigm: Leading the AI Transition in Tax Consultancy

As has happened with every disruptive technology in human history, the decision to use AI or not is no longer really ours to make. In practice, the decision has already been made by the market, by clients and by the pace of technological change.

Under the assumption that society finds a way to keep feeding the immense appetite of this new monster, AI is here to stay. Like our ancestors when they discovered fire, we face the same dilemma: it can burn if left uncontrolled, but we have no sensible option other than to learn how to use it.

From Global Paradox to Tax Reality

In the tax consultancy business, the relevant question is not whether AI should be integrated into our practices. That question has already been answered. The real question is how such integration should be made. And here the analogy with fire remains useful: AI must be governed, since the alternative leads straight to disaster.

However, we must face another plain fact that leads to a fascinating paradox: AI cannot be effectively governed without the use of AI itself. In complex advisory environments - including VAT, indirect tax, compliance reviews and risk analysis - human supervision alone will not be enough to monitor the scale, speed and opacity of AI-assisted work.

Reclaiming the Driving Seat

In my view, this paradox should not create confusion about the way forward. Senior professionals must reclaim the driving seat in the unavoidable task of adapting their firms to the AI scenario. Their experience, professional judgment and ability to assess complex problems remain essential, even if many of the new tools to use come from a different technical domain.

As has always been the case, calm judgment and common sense remain powerful tools. They should guide the key decisions now required: which technology providers to trust, which internal processes to redesign, which risks to control, which collaborators to hire and how they should be trained. To adapt to the AI age, we don't need to reinvent human wisdom; we just need to apply it to a new kind of fire.