Scaling audit practices with AI: 3 real-world case studies

Every audit professional knows the pressure: client expectations are rising, engagement complexity is multiplying, and qualified staff remain hard to find. The traditional answer, hire more people, no longer works in today’s market. 

Forward-thinking CPA firms are discovering a different path forward, with 91% of auditors reporting AI is faster than traditional research methods. These firms are using Thomson Reuters CoCounsel Audit to break through capacity constraints and create space for high-margin advisory work. 

Key benefits of scaling your audit practice with AI: 

Board minute and contract reviews cut from about an hour to five minutes 
Technical research reduced from 30 to 45 minutes to just minutes with citation-backed guidance 
Sample selection completed in 5 minutes versus 3 hours manually 

Let’s look at how three different firms transformed their practices with purpose-built audit technology that meets PCAOB and AICPA standards compliance requirements. 

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CoCounsel Audit case studies: Real-world results 

What the data reveals about audit firm AI adoption 

Experience Fiduciary-Grade AI for yourself 

CoCounsel Audit case studies: Real-world results 

The following three firms represent different specializations and service models, yet each discovered the same opportunity: purpose-built AI could multiply their team’s capacity without compromising audit quality. Their implementations focused on different objectives, growth, advisory expansion, and practice modernization, but all achieved measurable results within their first year of adoption.

1. Plante Moran: Next-level efficiency at scale 

Plante Moran, one of the nation’s largest audit and accounting firms, piloted CoCounsel Audit to streamline research, ensure quality, and position the firm at the forefront of AI innovation in audit practice. 

Highlights from the pilot: 

Staff across all levels embraced the tool quickly, with time savings cited as the standout benefit 
CoCounsel Audit helped unblock complex, novel work, giving teams a confident starting point for technical research 
Internal documents and templates integrate directly into the platform, making it easy to work within existing audit processes 
Citation-backed responses and advanced search gave the audit team confidence navigating compliance requirements 

Following the pilot’s success, Plante Moran made the strategic decision to deepen the partnership, scaling its user base by 450%. Beyond productivity gains, equipping every staff member with CoCounsel Audit has strengthened Plante Moran’s reputation as a desirable workplace — one that gives professionals access to the tools shaping the future of audit. 

2. Harris, Hardy & Johnstone: Elevating advisory services through efficiency gains 

A mid-sized CPA firm serving diverse commercial clients faced a different challenge. They had built strong audit relationships but struggled to cross-sell higher-margin advisory services. The bottleneck was time. 

By leveraging AI-powered document analysis, Harris, Hardy & Johnstone transformed their audit approach. The firm reports that what auditors would take an hour to do, CoCounsel can complete in five minutes. 

The measurable results tell the story: 

Board minute and contract reviews reduced from 1 hour to 5 minutes 
Research validations completed in 1 minute versus 15 to 30 minutes 
New client won within six weeks by analyzing financials and pinpointing anomalies 

Senior auditors now spend their time where they create the most value: analyzing trends, identifying risks, and having strategic conversations with CFOs. The firm captured new business by using CoCounsel to surface mispostings in a prospect’s financials, demonstrating immediate advisory value. 

The firm also discovered an unexpected benefit: audit quality improved. CoCounsel Audit’s Fiduciary-Grade AI provides consistent, thorough document analysis with complete source citations, creating audit trails that meet the highest professional standards. 

This model, using AI to handle routine procedures while elevating human expertise to strategic work, represents the future of sustainable audit practices. Firms that master this balance position themselves for both growth and engagement profitability.

3. Sam Brown CPA, Wells CPA, and The Forde Firm: Modernizing nonprofit practice engagements 

Nonprofit auditing presents unique challenges: specialized compliance requirements, tight budgets, and complex funding structures. Three nonprofit-focused CPA firms, Sam Brown CPA, Wells CPA, and The Forde Firm, recognized that their clients needed modern audit approaches. 

These firms partnered with Thomson Reuters to modernize their nonprofit audit practices using both Thomson Reuters Audit Intelligence Analyze and CoCounsel Audit. The combination addresses the specific needs of nonprofit engagements: grant compliance testing, board minute analysis, and donor restriction tracking. 

The efficiency gains are measurable and significant: 

One firm maintained the same revenue with two fewer staff members, demonstrating technology-driven margin protection 
Sample selection time: reduced from 3 hours to 5 minutes 
Document review: cut from 1 hour to a couple of minutes with defensible analysis 
Documentation quality: outputs that previously required a full day and tons of review comments now generate automatically 

CoCounsel Audit handles the document-heavy aspects of nonprofit audits with precision. When reviewing grant agreements for compliance terms, the AI identifies key restrictions, reporting requirements, and deadline obligations — exactly the information auditors need to design their procedures. 

The efficiency gains translate into better client service. These firms offer competitive pricing for nonprofit audits while maintaining healthy margins. They complete engagements faster, giving nonprofit CFOs the timely financial information they need for board meetings and funding decisions. 

For specialized audit practices, this case study demonstrates how purpose-built AI technology can preserve expertise while improving delivery economics — a critical combination for long-term practice sustainability.

What the data reveals about audit firm AI adoption 

Among the 140+ auditors in Plante Moran’s pilot program, 91% reported that CoCounsel was faster than traditional research methods. Perhaps more telling: 77% felt more confident using generative AI tools after using CoCounsel, and 87% believed the firm should make it available to all staff. 

These firms reveal common patterns for successfully scaling your audit practice with AI: 

Start with document-intensive procedures. The highest-value applications involve analyzing unstructured documents: bank statements, board minutes, contracts, grant agreements. These procedures are time-consuming, detail-oriented, and deliver immediate ROI. 
Measure what matters. Firms report reducing technical research from 30-45 minutes to just a few minutes, but the strategic value comes from redirecting that time toward higher-value work: risk assessment, advisory services, and client relationship building. 
Maintain professional standards. All three firms emphasized Fiduciary-Grade AI that provides complete audit trails. CoCounsel Audit’s citation-backed analysis supports PCAOB and AICPA standards compliance, giving firms confidence in their work product. 

The firms profiled here represent different sizes, markets, and specializations. Yet all found measurable value in applying AI to their audit practices. The technology has matured beyond experimentation. It’s now a competitive advantage.

Experience Fiduciary-Grade AI for yourself 

Scaling your audit practice with AI starts with understanding what’s possible. The case studies above demonstrate real outcomes at firms facing challenges similar to yours: capacity constraints, advisory growth goals, or specialized practice economics. 

CoCounsel Audit provides purpose-built AI for audit professionals who need accuracy, transparency, and professional-grade security. Built on 225 years of Thomson Reuters serving professionals, it integrates with your existing workflow while meeting the highest standards for audit documentation. 

Ready to explore how AI can transform your audit practice?

Test out the ROI for yourself using our calculator and request a demo to learn more.  The future of audit practice isn’t about doing more with less. It’s about doing better with smarter tools.