Who Are Your AI Adapters? Finding the People Who Can Help Lead AI Transformation

AI transformation in accounting is not simply about choosing the right technology. It is also about identifying the people who are willing to learn, experiment and change how they work. Every accounting firm is likely to have employees who respond positively to AI and begin exploring its potential before the rest of the organisation. These are the people Build, Buy, or Disappear described as Adapters.

For accounting firm leaders, recognising these employees early could be an important part of building an AI-ready culture.

What Is an AI Adapter?

An AI Adapter does not necessarily need to be a programmer, data scientist or technology specialist.

What matters is the person's response to change.

Adapters are the employees who are willing to explore new technology, understand how it can support their work and develop new capabilities as the accounting profession evolves.

They may be experimenting with AI-assisted research, finding ways to improve repetitive processes or exploring how technology could free more time for client-facing work.

Their defining characteristic is not technical expertise.

It is adaptable.

That distinction matters because AI adoption will affect people across an accounting practice, not just the IT department.

Why AI Adapters Matter

Buying an AI tool is relatively easy.

Getting an organisation to use new technology effectively is much harder.

A firm can invest in sophisticated software, but the technology creates limited value if employees continue working exactly as they did before.

AI Adapters can help bridge that gap.

Because they are willing to experiment, they can help the firm understand how AI works in real accounting workflows rather than only in demonstrations.

They can identify where technology saves time, where human judgement remains essential and where a workflow needs to be redesigned rather than simply automated.

This makes them valuable contributors to the firm's wider AI implementation strategy.

Your AI Leaders May Already Work for You

One of the risks in an AI transition is assuming that all the required expertise must come from outside the organisation.

External specialists may certainly be useful, but firms should also look carefully at the capabilities already inside their teams.

An accountant who consistently experiments with better ways of working may have more practical value to an AI project than their job title suggests.

A manager who understands both client needs and internal processes may be well positioned to identify where AI can create value.

A junior employee may have strong AI fluency even without years of professional experience.

The book's wider discussion of accounting firm culture distinguishes between Adapters, Resistant Staff and Hidden Talent, highlighting why firms need to understand how different employees respond to technological change.

Give Adapters Real Opportunities

Identifying AI Adapters is only useful if firms give them opportunities to contribute.

Rather than limiting AI decisions to senior management, firms can involve Adapters in controlled pilots and workflow experiments.

Ask them:

• Where are we wasting time?

• Which repetitive tasks could be improved?

• Where could AI support not replace professional judgement?

• What have you already tested that others in the firm could learn from?

Their experience can then be shared across teams.

This can help AI adoption become something employees see happening within the organisation rather than a strategy being imposed from above.

AI Fluency Should Spread

The objective is not to create a small group of employees who understand AI while everyone else remains dependent on them.

Adapters can help build broader AI fluency across the accounting firm.

They can demonstrate useful workflows, share lessons from experiments and help colleagues become more comfortable with new ways of working.

Over time, this can make AI adoption part of the firm's culture rather than a standalone technology project.

The manuscript's central people-focused argument is particularly relevant here: the firms that succeed will need strong people using strong technology.

Start by Looking Inside Your Firm

Before searching externally for the people who will lead your firm's AI transition, look at the team you already have.

• Who is experimenting?

• Who asks questions about new technology?

• Who naturally looks for better ways to work?

• Who is helping colleagues understand AI?

Those people may already be showing you where the firm's future capabilities can come from.

Build, Buy, or Disappear: The AI Playbook for UK Accounting Practices explores why AI transformation requires changes in people, culture and career development not technology alone.

At your next team meeting, ask one question: Who wants to help us test the next AI workflow? The people who raise their hands may tell you more about your firm's AI future than their job titles do.