Smart AI for Smarter Accountants: Use AI Responsibly and Intelligently

Written By Pritom Phookun

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The Chartered Institute of Business Accountants (CIBA) recently submitted a detailed proposal to the South African Revenue Service (SARS), urging the agency to invest in artificial intelligence (AI) tools, subsidised platforms, and skills development for tax practitioners to counter growing technological asymmetry between SARS and the advisory profession.

SARS recently confirmed it will spend R3.5 billion over the next three years on modernising its systems, deploying artificial intelligence, and automating compliance enforcement.

AI offers immense power to transform your daily tasks as a business accountant. Used correctly, it can significantly boost your productivity and effectiveness. It can help you draft documents faster and assist with complex research. However, AI also carries risks. The primary risk is unreliability or “hallucination”—AI making up facts. You are ultimately responsible for all advice delivered with or without the use of AI. Hallucination by AIs or inadequate supervision of AI’s work could lead to incorrect client advice. You can avoid these risks by adopting the simple techniques detailed below.

Practical Techniques for CIBA Accountants

Here are the techniques you can apply immediately to ensure high quality and reliable outputs from your AI tools.

1. Selecting the Right AI for the Job

Use the AI, or combination of AIs, most suited to your purpose. Different AIs excel at different tasks (Large Language Models – LLMs – for writing, Researchers for verification, Creators for visuals).

How-to Application If you need to research a complex section of the Income Tax Act, use a research-focused AI like Perplexity first to get verified data and sources. Then, use an LLM (like ChatGPT) to draft the client advice using that verified information.

2. The CRISPE Model for Clarity

Use the CRISPE model to ensure your prompt is complete. This structure gives the AI everything it needs to perform a task correctly:

Context

Role

Intent

Scope

Parameters

Example

CRISPE Example Prompt (Cash Flow Forecast)

Context: “The client is a small, profitable retail store in South Africa. They are applying for a R500,000 short-term loan for inventory expansion.”

Role: “Act as a CIBA Business Finance Analyst reviewing the loan application documents.”

Intent: “Draft a three-page executive summary focusing on the client’s projected cash flow for the next 12 months to support the loan application.”

Scope: “The forecast must show monthly cash inflows (sales) and cash outflows (rent, salaries, inventory). It must clearly state the minimum cash balance projected in the next year.”

Parameters: “The summary must be written in a persuasive but realistic tone, suitable for a commercial bank’s credit manager. All currency figures must be in South African Rand (ZAR).”

Example: Reference this sentence structure for the concluding statement: “Based on conservative assumptions, the projected cash flow shows that the business will maintain a minimum monthly cash surplus of R[insert amount], demonstrating ample capacity to service the R500,000 loan.”

3. Prompt Sequencing

Break down complex accounting tasks into smaller, manageable steps, and sequence the tasks for the AI. This directs the AI through a multi-stage process.

Impairment Calculation Sequence

Prompt 1: “Calculate the recoverable amount (higher of value-in-use and fair value less costs to sell) for the following asset…”

Prompt 2: “Based on the recoverable amount from the previous step, determine and state the journal entry required under IFRS to record the impairment loss.”

4. Chain of Thought

The Chain of Thought technique forces the AI to show its logical working before providing the final answer. This makes the output auditable.

Deferred Tax Application “Use the Chain of Thought technique to first explain the steps for calculating deferred tax on property, plant, and equipment (PPE) under IFRS. Then, calculate the deferred tax liability/asset using the figures I provide.”

5. Prioritise Your Instructions

LLMs typically put more emphasis on more recent information. Therefore, put your most important instructions at the end of the prompt.

Lease Classification Prompt “Draft a response to a client’s query about IFRS 16 lease classification. Keep it under 200 words. Include a warning that final accounting decisions must be approved by the client’s registered auditor.”

6. Giving “I Don’t Know” Permission

Explicitly give the AI permission to say that it does not know. This is a crucial safety measure to prevent the AI from “hallucinating” when it encounters a gap in its knowledge.

Safety Instruction “If you are unsure of any part of the answer, or if the SARS position is unclear, you must state ‘I cannot verify this information’ rather than speculating.”

7. Meta Prompting

Use the AI itself to suggest better prompts for you. This is AI-assisted quality control for your inputs.

Meta Prompt Example “I want to use you to review the wording of an accounting policy note for revenue recognition. What is the best prompt I can use to ensure you check for compliance with IFRS 15 and that the language is unambiguous?”

8. Source Verification

Always ask for sources. If your AI cannot provide sources, review the output with an AI that provides sources (e.g., Perplexity). Absence of a source is a red flag on reliability.

Source Check Prompt “Provide the specific URL or official SARS document reference for each claim you made above.”

9. Confidence and Expert Self-Review

Ask the AI to assess its own output. Ask AI to state its confidence or certainty level with the output and/or ask for an expert review by AI itself.

Provisional Tax Review Prompt “Rate your certainty on the accuracy of the tax deadlines provided (1 to 5). Then, acting as a Senior Provisional Tax Expert, critique this email and with particular focus on the areas where your confidence is lower than 95%.”

10. Iterate

Refine your prompt and run the task again until the result is perfect. Don’t accept the first draft the AI gives you; refine it until it meets your professional standard.

Refinement Example

First Prompt: Draft a client letter about asset disposal. (Output is too casual)

Reiterated Prompt: “Draft the client letter again. Use the prior output, but change the tone to strictly formal and professional, suitable for a regulated CIBA accountant.”

11. Cross-Check (or Critique)

Use other AIs to cross-check or critique the initial output. This leverages the strengths of different models to find errors or improve clarity.

Cross-Check Prompt “Use your primary LLM (e.g., ChatGPT) to draft an executive summary of the annual financial statements. Then, paste the summary into a second LLM (e.g., Gemini) with the prompt: ‘Critique this executive summary for clarity, consistency of financial logic, and professional tone, specifically from the perspective of a CIBA-qualified analyst.'”

12. Inject Your Authentic Voice

AI output can sound generic. Modify the output to inject your authentic voice. Rephrase overly formal phrases like “commence an exhaustive examination” into simpler terms like “start a detailed review”.

13. Human Expert Review

All outputs should pass through human compliance review and be supported by documentary evidence, consistent with CIBA’s quality assurance protocols. AI is a powerful assistant, but it is not a replacement for professional judgment. Always review and sign off on critical outputs yourself.

14. Avoiding Pleasantries

Phrases like “please” or “thank you” are unnecessary for functional AI processing and may slightly reduce processing efficiency. Use them if they feel natural, but know they are completely optional.

Conclusion

AI is here to stay, and it represents a significant opportunity for every CIBA accountant to work smarter, not just harder. By diligently applying these techniques—from using the right tool to auditing the final output—you move beyond simple AI usage. You will ensure your work remains accurate, reliable, and compliant, all while boosting your productivity and maintaining your professional integrity. Embrace AI intelligently, and watch your practice thrive.

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