The AI-First Firm Accelerator Series
Firms today are looking to build systems that capture knowledge, improve consistency and free their people to spend more time where they create the most value, with clients. The AI-First Firm Accelerator is a three-part implementation series designed for accounting firm's that are ready to move beyond AI experimentation and begin putting AI to work across their practice. Through
☑️ Live demonstrations
☑️ hands-on workshops
☑️ and practical accounting examples
you'll learn how to build an AI assistant tailored to your firm, connect AI to your existing tools and identify the workflows that are ready for automation.
Throughout the series, Jody Padar, co-founder of XcelLabs and The Radical CPA, explores how AI is reshaping leadership, advisory and the future of accounting, while Ben Vickery, founder of TaxFlow and the engineer behind Navi by XcelLabs, provides the technical guidance and real-world implementation strategies firms can apply immediately. You'll leave with working AI tools, practical workflows and a clear roadmap for becoming an AI-first firm.
4.5 CPE NASBA based on workshop attendance.
Late Registration: Use discount code LATE
$314.00 (includes recording of Session 1)
Field of Study: Information Technology
Group Internet Based
Advanced Preparation: None
What you will need:
A paid Claude plan — Claude Pro at $20/month is enough (Max/Team/Enterprise also work; the free plan does not).
The Claude Desktop app installed — Mac or Windows. The course uses Claude Cowork, which only runs in the desktop app, not a browser.
Operating system: Mac on macOS 11 (Big Sur) or newer; Windows on Windows 10 or newer.
Install and open Cowork once before Session 1 — the first launch pulls down a component and can take a few minutes
NOTE: Cowork uses built-in virtualization, and on Windows Home that's switched off by default. It's a quick, free fix:
Press Win + R, type optionalfeatures, hit Enter
Check "Virtual Machine Platform" and "Windows Hypervisor Platform"
Restart, then open Claude Desktop → Cowork
Session 1: Build Your Firm’s AI Assistant August 12, 11:00 am ~ 12:30 pm EDT
Most accountants use AI like a search engine. They ask a question, get an answer and start over the next time. But the real power of AI comes when it understands your firm. In this hands-on workshop, you'll learn how to build a Claude Project that reflects your firm's voice, standards and expertise. Instead of repeating the same instructions every time, you'll create an AI assistant that consistently produces work aligned with how your firm communicates and serves clients.
Participants will learn how to:
- Build a Claude Project tailored to their firm's voice, terminology and standards
- Create reusable instructions that produce more consistent AI responses
- Organize examples, reference materials and guidance so AI becomes more reliable over time
- Develop AI assistants for client communications, tax research and other common accounting workflows
- Understand how firm-specific AI helps capture and scale knowledge across the organization
Session 2: Connect AI Across Your Firm August 19, 11:00 am ~ 12:30 pm EDT
AI becomes far more valuable when it understands the context of your work. In this hands-on session, you'll learn how to connect Claude to the tools your firm already uses, including email, calendars, cloud storage, meeting notes and accounting applications, so it can answer questions, summarize activity and surface information across your workflow.
Participants will learn how to:
- Connect Claude to email, calendars, cloud storage, meeting notes and other business tools
- Use AI to quickly find information across multiple systems instead of searching manually
- Create practical workflows that summarize client activity, track action items and answer firm-specific questions
- Understand the privacy, security and verification considerations when using connected AI
- Recognize when AI can be trusted to accelerate work and when human review remains essential
Session 3: Automate Your Firm with AI August 26, 11:00 am ~ 12:30 pm EDT
Using AI to answer questions is a great start. The real transformation happens when AI begins handling work in the background. In this session, you'll explore how AI can automate repetitive tasks, generate recurring summaries, monitor activity and support your team without requiring someone to initiate every interaction. Through real-world accounting examples, you'll learn where automation delivers the greatest return, what should remain human-led and when it's better to buy a solution instead of building one yourself.
Participants will learn how to:
- Understand the difference between using AI interactively and automating work behind the scenes
- Identify repetitive workflows that are good candidates for AI automation
- Evaluate when to build a custom workflow versus purchasing existing software
- Prioritize automation opportunities based on business value, complexity and maintenance
Your Instructors
Ben Vickery is an AI builder and the developer behind Navi by XcelLabs, an AI coaching platform for accountants. He's also the founder of TaxFlow, a tax workflow platform serving accounting firms. Alongside that, he builds AI automation inside CPA firms, from streamlining client communication to automating the repetitive work that eats up a firm's day. Ben focuses on the practical side of AI adoption: which tasks are actually worth handing to AI, how to do it without risking client data, and where human judgment still wins.
Jody Padar is one of the accounting profession’s foremost visionaries and pioneers. A well-known advocate for tech adoption and general forward-thinking behavior inside the profession, she has been consistently named one of the Top 100 Most Influential to the Profession by Accounting Today. She is a regular contributor to a number of industry publications, including Accounting Today and CPA Trendlines, where she offers practical tips and advice on running a next-generation firm.
About the Sponsor
The CPA Trendlines Academy (Thomas Advisors LLC d/b/a), #170718, is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors via its website at nasbaregistry.org.
