What Accountants Can Learn from Spotify

When Spotify arrived, it didn't make musicians redundant. But it fundamentally changed what they had to do to succeed. 

There may be a lesson here for accountants as AI is transforming the profession. 

Before streaming, musicians created a product – recorded music – which consumers bought. Record companies controlled much of the distribution. Spotify changed that model by giving listeners instant access to an almost unlimited supply of music. 

For artists, that was both an opportunity and a problem. They could reach a global audience, but so could everyone else. Simply producing good music wasn't enough. Artists had to get noticed, develop a distinctive identity, build an audience and create an ongoing relationship with their fans. Social media, live performances and fan communities have become increasingly important. 

We’ve all witnessed these changes and seen the impact.  This revolution feels complete. 

Accounting may be heading to a similar transition. 

Many accounting firms still sell products. They prepare tax returns, financial statements, management reports and forecasts. Clients may value the relationship with their accountant, but a substantial part of what they are paying for is the accounting product itself – and the confidence that it has been prepared correctly. 

AI is coming for those products. 

Very soon a business owner can ask an AI tax preparer about their tax position, have it ask the necessary follow-up questions, analyze their information and prepare the return. The quality may not yet match that of a good tax accountant, but it won’t be long before it does. 

So what happens when access to accounting knowledge and accounting products becomes an unlimited supply? 

Accountants will need to respond in much the same way as musicians did. 

Being a competent generalist will no longer be enough. Firms will need a clearer point of difference – an industry, problem, or type of client for which they can hold themselves out to be specialists for. 

Firms also must build audiences, rather than simply waiting for prospective clients to find them. That could mean publishing genuinely useful information, creating communities, running events and becoming known within a particular market.  This can be local, regional or global. 

Spotify also beautifully cross sells you into podcasts and audiobooks.  Accountants will want to follow this approach too. 

But accountants do have an advantage. 

We don't need to trust the musician whose song Spotify recommends. If we don’t like it, we move on.  No drama.  Money, tax and business decisions involve long term consequences. Clients need confidence, not just in the answer, but trust in the person standing behind it. 

The trust and the relationship itself become the only thing we have which AI does not provide.  Rather than simply selling a tax return once a year, the value will increasingly lie in giving clients ongoing access to someone who understands them and whose judgement they trust. 

Perhaps focussing all your efforts on how AI can be used to improve productivity in your firm is not the most important thing right now.  AI will be built into the tools you buy.  But the firms who really win big will be those who are first who build their audiences.  The opportunity here is still wide open. 

Focus on building trust, and developing your audience.  Not on AI solutions.