Can an Accounting or CPA Firm Sell or License Its Data to AI Companies?
AITrainingDataBroker.com
Can an accounting or CPA firm
sell or license its data
to AI companies?
For accounting, CPA and bookkeeping firms: what you can license, and the one thing you never sell.
Jimmy Lin
Can an accounting or CPA firm sell or license its data to AI companies?
If you run an accounting or CPA firm, your team has years of workpapers, checklists and review notes.
Now AI companies want to learn how accounting work really gets done. So can your firm sell or license its data? Yes, but not all of it.
In this video, I will show you what you can license, and the one kind of data you never sell, even with the names removed. Let us start with why this matters right now.
The video
Full script
If you run an accounting or CPA firm, your team has years of workpapers, checklists and review notes.
Now AI companies want to learn how accounting work really gets done. So can your firm sell or license its data? Yes, but not all of it.
In this video, I will show you what you can license, and the one kind of data you never sell, even with the names removed. Let us start with why this matters right now.
Here is the problem every firm owner feels. In 2023, about 42,000 people started the CPA exam. In 2024, it was about 28,000. That is the fewest since at least 2008.
But the work did not shrink. So firms are turning to AI to help.
And here is the catch. To help, the AI first has to learn how accounting work gets done: how a workpaper is built, how a review note gets cleared. That is where your firm comes in. But before that, a quick word about me.
I'm Jimmy. I have worked in data at Fortune 500 companies, as a data analyst, a data engineer and a software engineer, and I am trained in data science. I am also a Canadian military veteran, where I specialized in data analysis and reporting.
Selling your data? We are your broker and your technical advisor. We get you the best price, and we guide your team through the technical side, from export to cleaning, so your data stays private. Buying data for an AI lab? We find quality data that fits your requirements and see it through to delivery, so your team can focus on advancing AI research.
So, let us get the hard line out of the way first. Tax return information is never for sale.
Under tax law, Section 7216, a preparer can not share a client's tax return information without the client's written OK. And here is the part people miss: even anonymous numbers pulled from returns are restricted. So do not plan on it, even with the names removed.
What about other client data, like the books you keep? The AICPA confidentiality rule says you need the client's consent. And your own lawyer signs off.
So if client data is mostly off the table, what is left to license? A lot, actually.
Here is what an AI company really wants from a firm: your method, not your clients' numbers.
Think about one workpaper. First, the template: how your firm builds it. Then the checklist: every step, in order. Then the most valuable part, the review notes: what the reviewer caught, and why. And finally, the sign-off: how a file gets cleared.
Your firm wrote all of that. It is your know-how. And that is exactly the part an AI can not learn from a textbook. But do AI companies really want it? Here is the proof.
They do, and the demand is growing fast. In 2024, about 8% of tax and accounting firms had put AI to work. In 2025, it was 21%. On top of that, 79% expect big use of AI by 2027.
So the companies building those AI tools need to teach them real accounting work. That is why a firm's method has value. Now, let me show you how a review note gets cleaned.
Say a client agrees, and your lawyer signs off. Here is what cleaning looks like on one review note.
Sarah, the Henley Dental bank rec is off by $1,240. The deposit in transit from June 30 was booked twice. Reverse the duplicate.
After cleaning, Sarah is Staff 9. Henley Dental is Client 52. The amount becomes "a 4-figure amount", and the date becomes "month end".
But the lesson stays: a deposit booked twice, and how the reviewer caught it. That is what the AI learns. How the cleaning is done, and who does it, is written into the contract. And it is a license, so you keep your data.
So how do you know if your firm has this kind of method on file?
Here is a quick test. Call it the checklist test.
Do you have a written checklist, for month-end close or for review? Have you used it for 3 or more years? And do you have the review notes that show how each item was cleared?
If yes, your firm has a real method, written down. That is what sells.
It also helps to have about 30 or more people, 3 or more years on the same practice software, and records mostly in English. Your part is mostly exporting the files, and we help with that. Not sure? The free check at the end will tell you.
Now, how do you actually do this? Think of it like an engagement letter: clear scope, clear roles. I am your broker and your technical advisor.
As your broker, I bring your firm to several AI companies, so they bid, and you get the best terms.
As your technical advisor, I guide your team through the technical side: what to export, in what format, and how names and amounts come out.
And nothing moves without client consent where it is needed, and your lawyer's sign-off. Each deal is also reviewed by an outside lawyer and covered by an outside insurer. The terms and the price are worked out case by case.
My fee comes out of the deal. You never write me a check.
So, can an accounting or CPA firm sell or license its data? Yes. Never tax return information. What sells is your method: the templates, the checklists and the review notes your firm built.
If you run a company with 30 or more people, the records you already have could become a new revenue stream. Find out if yours qualifies, free, at AITrainingDataBroker.com.
Thank you for watching. See you in the next one.
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