Canadian Lawyer

This article is the second in an ongoing series featuring leading practitioners at Canadian law and accounting firms who are leveraging new technologies and implementing innovative strategies to stay ahead of competitors and pro- vide the highest quality advice to their clients. W hen a company, in any sector, decides to bolster their commit- ment to innovative strategies, they can set themselves apart from their competitors. Selecting the right path to go down, though, is the tricky part, due to the deluge of technologies available for firms Sponsored by increasingly looking to stream- line time-sucking processes. The accounting sector is no different, and now more than ever, firms are turning to AI as a potential game-chang- er for their business. "By embracing machine learning as a tool, accountants can shift where we're spending our time from performing menial data preparation and analyses to the drawing of insights from those analy- ses," writes Donny C. Shima- moto, managing director of Intraprise TechKnowlogies. The financial sector is already adopting AI at a rapid clip. A report from McKinsey found financial services to be among the three business niches in the "high AI adop- tion" region of their analysis, along with high-tech/telecom and automotive. The report goes on to stress one of the key highlights of harnessing AI effectively: "AI can create value in projection and forecasting. Organizations need to con- stantly anticipate the future to gain competitive advantage." For Jenna Schwartz, Senior Manager at busi- ness advisory firm Richter, she is determined to lead this new wave of innova- tion. Her workload requires that she seek solutions to what she manages daily: Schwartz advises clients on a variety of issues such as corporate reorganizations and mergers and acquisitions. She also specializes in dispute resolution with government revenue departments. "Innovation is a tenet of Richter's legacy," says Schwartz in an interview. "At by David Silverberg A Financial Advisory Leader Reveals Why AI is Critical to Innovation

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