Bartlett,Pringle,andWolf,LLP
TheCustomer
RegionalaccountingandconsultingfirmBartlett,Pringle,and Wolf,LLPwantedtoembraceAI,butfeltunsureaboutthe accuracyandauthorityofanswersfromgeneral-purposeAI models.WithBlueJ,theirteamgetsbettertaxanswers backedbyacuratedlibraryoftrustedtaxcontent.From moreresponsiveclientcommunicationstomoreempowered juniorstaff,thewholefirmisfeelingBlueJ’simpact.
MeetBartlett,Pringle,andWolf,LLP
Foundedin1948,Bartlett,Pringle,andWolf,LLP(BPW)istheleading accountingandconsultingfirmontheCentralCoastofCalifornia, providingpremiumservicestobothbusinessesandindividuals ThoughbestknowninitsnativeCalifornia,theSantaBarbara-based firmservesclientsacross39USstates,aswellasinternationally #300ontheIPArankingsandoneofAccountingToday’sTop RegionalLeaders,BPW’steamof85professionalspridethemselves onofferingclientsthebestofbothworldsasonlyaRegionalfirm can personalized,localservicewiththeknowledgeandexpertiseof anationalfirm.
Sincethefirmwasfirstestablished,BPWhasunderstoodthatpeople arethecoreoftheirbusiness.Thefirm’sdedicationtotheirteam hasledtothembeingrecognizedwithboththeCaliforniaBest WorkplacesEmployeeChoicebyBestCompaniesGroupandthe CentralCoastBestPlacestoWorkbyPacificCoastBusinessTimes. Naturally,whentheybeganconsideringhowtoincorporateAIinto thefirm’sworkflows,theimpactofthistechnologyontheirteam, communitypartners,andclientswastopofmind.
WithBlueJ,they’vefoundanAI-poweredtaxresearchsolutionthat notonlyempowerstheirteamtodotheirbestwork,butalso ensuresthatclientscontinuetoreceivethehigh-qualityserviceand superiorperformancethey’vecometoexpectfromBPW.
Bartlett,Pringle,andWolf,LLP
EarlyAIUncertainties
BPW’sjourneytoadoptingAIbeganasa smallstrategicinitiative.Withinthefirm,a fewforward-thinkingmanagers,partners, andjuniorshadstartedexperimentingwith toolslikeChatGPTandCoPilot.Amongthem wasJacobSheffield,whohasbeenatBPW for20years,servingbothasaTaxPartner andthefirm’sheadofIT.However,concerns aboutansweraccuracyandsourceauthority meantBPWdidn’tfeelconfidentenoughto formallyintegrateAIintothefirm’stax researchprocesses
BPWknewthatseniorleadershadthe experiencenecessarytodiscernaccurate answerswhenusingAI,butjuniorswould haveahardertimemakingthesejudgment calls.Still,asmoreandmorejuniorswere comingoutofschoolwell-versedin generativeAI,nothavinganAIsolution availableatthefirmwasquicklybecominga detractorforrecruitment especiallyin accounting’stighttalentmarket.
AsSheffieldexplained,“Juniorsare accustomedtohavingaccesstogenerative AI They’vealreadyusedthesetoolsduring schoolandwanttobeabletodothesamein theiremployment Thetroublecomesfrom makingsurewehavetherighttoolandthe righttraininginplace”
IntroducingBlueJ
Throughtrustedcontactsatother accountingfirms,BPWfirstheardaboutBlue J Immediately,BlueJstoodoutfromthe general-purposegenerativeAItoolsBPW hadtried
Thesolution’sconversationalinterfacehad thesamelookandfeel,butunlikethoseother options,BlueJwasdesignedspecificallyto delivertaxanswers.Withitscurated databaseoftrustedtaxresources including exclusivenewsandcommentaryfromTax Notes BlueJputBPW’sconcernsabout answeraccuracyandsourceauthorityto rest.
So,withapilotprojectof10users,Bartlett, Pringle,andWolf,LLPstartedusingBlueJfor taxresearch GivenBlueJ’sintuitiveuser experience,theBPWteamwashopefulthat onboardingwouldrequireminimaltraining Withmostteammembersgeneratingtheir firstanswerwithin5minutesoflogginginfor thefirsttime,onboardingwentevenfaster thananticipated.
AsBPWcontinuedthispilotproject,theyalso begantrainingteammembersonanswer verification.BecauseBlueJ’ssourcesare accessibledirectlythroughtheapplication, BPWcouldeasilyintegrateanswer verificationintotheirresearchprocesses.
Overthecourseofayear,thatinitialgroupof 10usersexpandedto25users,80%ofwhom arecurrentlyactiveweekly Asforthose earlierqualmsaboutgivingjuniorsaccessto AI,taxprofessionalsacrossalllevelsof seniorityatBPWuseBlueJ—frompartners andsupervisorstomanagersandstaff.
Bartlett,Pringle,andWolf,LLP
PersonalClientService,
PoweredbyAI
Today,BPW’s25usersaskanaverageof707 questionsamonth.AndbytrustingBlueJ withtheirtaxquestions,BPWsavestimeon theirtaxresearch.Infact,JacobSheffield estimatesthateachteammembersaves2 hoursperweekfromleveragingBlueJ’s acceleratedresearchcapabilities.But researchisn’ttheonlyareaBPWstreamlined byadoptingBlueJ
Clientcommunicationshaveundergonea transformativeshiftsinceBPWmadethe movetoBlueJ.Turningtaxresearchinto clear,comprehensiveclientcommunications waspreviouslyamajorhurdleforBPW’stax professionals.Now,theirteamusesBlueJ’s automateddraftingtotranslatein-depthtax answerstoclient-readyemailsinminutes.
“I’manumbersguy,notawriter,”said Sheffield.“ButwithBlueJIcandraftanemail I’mconfidentsendingtoaclientinseconds. Itusedtobeamulti-stepprocesswith multiplereviews.NowIcantakeaneditor’s lensinsteadofbeingthewriter”
Incorporatingautomateddraftingalsoledto severalmajorimprovementsinclient experience:
Fasterresponsestoclientquestions, replyingindaysinsteadofweeks
Morethoroughanswersthatproactively addressclientquestions
Focusededitingelevatesclient communicationsintoacompetitive differentiator
Oneexampleofthecaliberof communicationsBPWnowprovidesstood outtoSheffield.Whenaclientaskedwhether ashareholderwouldbesubjecttoNet InvestmentIncomeTax(NIIT)onacapital gainresultingfromthesaleofgoodwill,BPW usedBlueJtoproduceashort,plainlanguageclientemailwithdetailed calculationsonasample$5Mcapitalgain, takingintoaccountthecontextthatthe capitalgainrecognizedbytheScorporation andreportedontheK-1 BPW’steamthen preparedaninternalmemocitingthe relevantsources allinafractionofthetime itwould’vepreviouslytaken
Notonlydoclientsappreciatetheclarity, thoroughness,andspeedofBPW's communications,butthey’realsoengaging moredeeplyinreturn.BecauseBPWhas moretimetoconsiderdifferentanglesand scenarios,clientsareaskingbetterfollow-up questions tofosterdeeperadvisory conversations.
AForward-LookingFirm
WhenitcomestoBPW’sjuniorstaff,BlueJ hasproventobeimpactfulforfarmorethan justacceleratingtheirresearchanddrafting work It’salsoreshapingthetrajectoryoftheir careerswithinthefirm
Toonboardjuniorstaffeffectively,BPWled lunch-and-learnsessionsthatencouraged themtochallengeBlueJ,toaskquestions fromdifferentangles,toconsiderrelevant context,toplayoutdifferentscenarios,and tothinkcriticallyabouttheresponsesthey received.
Bartlett,Pringle,andWolf,LLP
Inshort,thesesessionshelpedthemdevelop thediscernmentseniorstaffusedwhen verifyingtaxanswers.
“Itbecameateachingmoment,”said Sheffield “Itwasn’tjustaboutunderstanding howtouseBlueJeffectively,buthowtothink likeataxprofessional.”
Ratherthanspendingtheirearlyyearsatthe firmmanuallyporingovertheresearch materialsrequestedbytheirmanagers, juniorscanmakemeaningfulcontributions totheteamrightfromthestart.This acceleratedlearninganddevelopmenthas becomeinvaluabletothefirm’srecruitment efforts.
Sheffieldadded,“Wewantcriticalthinkersat Bartlett,Pringle,andWolf,LLP Bygivingjunior stafftheopportunitytostepintoamore strategic,consultativeroleearlyon,we’re abletoattractthekindofpeoplewhoreally havethatdriveforanalyticalandcritical thinking—it’sagreatfilter.”
Wheninterviewingpotentialcandidates,BPW isalwayssuretomentionBlueJ’sleadingedgegenerativeAItechnology,something thatresonatesparticularlywithfreshgrads whohavealreadyspentyearsleveragingAI inschool
“It’simportantthatpeoplehavethebest toolstodotheirjobefficientlyandperformat ahighlevel.Havingthelatestandgreatest fromBlueJsetsusapartfromotherfirms theymightbeconsidering,”Sheffield explains.
Whencompetitionfortalentistight,havinga taxresearchsolutionthatjuniorsareexcited touseputsBPWatadistinctadvantage.By empoweringalllevelsofstafftodotheirbest workbothtodayandtomorrow,Bartlett, Pringle,andWolf,LLPcancontinuedelivering theirsignaturehigh-qualityserviceand superiorperformanceforyearstocome
CPAmericamemberscannowsave20% onBlueJ.Ifyou'rereadytotransform yourtaxresearch,bookademowith oneofourexpertsat:
