The short answer
Let AI draft and summarise. Keep a person on everything that is sent, filed, attached or changed. Work out numbers with ordinary code, not with a model, and know where client data goes before you turn anything on.
Three levels of trust
What AI may do, and the rule for each
| Level | Examples | The rule |
|---|---|---|
| Read | Summarise a client's open work; answer who owes documents | Fine when it only reads what the person asking may already see |
| Draft | Write a reminder; suggest which request a file belongs to | A person edits and confirms before anything leaves |
| Act | Send a message, file a return, change a record, move money | Not without a person's decision each time |
What a model should never decide
- Totals, workload and deadlines. These come from deterministic code. A model may explain them; it should not calculate them.
- Who may see what. Permissions belong to the system, not to a prompt.
- Sending and filing. Both need a person, every time.
- Deleting or overwriting records. Never as a side effect of a chat.
Questions to ask any vendor
- Where does client data go when a model reads it, and what do the terms say about keeping it or training on it?
- Can an administrator switch AI off for the whole firm, or block some kinds of data?
- Is there a record of every AI call that shows who, when and which feature, without storing the content?
- Does a person confirm before anything is sent, attached or changed?
- Are numbers calculated by code?
- What happens with a document that contains instructions meant for the model?
A one-page AI policy to copy
Write it once, put a review date on it and make sure every person in the firm has read it. Edit the lists to match what your firm actually does.
AI policy template
Allowed without review
- Summaries of records the person can already see
- Rewording a message the person wrote
- Explaining a figure that code produced
Allowed, with a person's confirmation
- Drafting reminders and replies
- Suggesting which request a document belongs to
- Drafting a note or a minute
Not allowed
- Sending anything to a client without a person pressing send
- Filing or posting in any system
- Calculating totals or tax without code
- Using data classes the firm has blocked
How Claister handles it
- Output is advisory. A person confirms before anything is sent, attached, completed or changed. The one exception is a person's own private workbook, where the assistant's edits happen in view and can be undone.
- Numbers come from code. Totals, workload and deadlines are calculated deterministically; a model may explain them but never computes them.
- A workspace AI policy. Administrators can switch AI off for the whole firm, or block data classes such as client documents, messages, time or finance from ever leaving Claister.
- A run log without content. Each AI call is recorded with who, when, the feature, the status and token counts, and never the prompt, the files or the answer.
- Supplied text is untrusted. Documents and messages given to a model are treated as data, not as instructions.
Questions
Check your firm's rules and your clients' agreements first, and read the chatbot's terms on retention and training. A tool built into your practice software, with a firm-wide policy and a call log, is easier to control.
Not without a person confirming it. Filing changes a legal position, so a person stays responsible for what is filed.
Say what AI drafts, say that a person reviews everything that is sent, and say which data you do not use with it.
About this article
Author: Claister
Published by Claister, the company building the accounting practice management software discussed on this website.
Design partner: Natalija Miadzelic
Editorial review: Natalija Miadzelic · Accountant · Approved
Editorial policyChoosing accounting practice management software
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