Agile Market Intelligence’s 2025 Accounting Tech Review takes the pulse of over 700 accountants and bookkeepers on AI adoption across five main solution types, namely, ‘general ledger & ERP’, ‘practice & firm management’, ‘compliance, research & audit’, insights, reporting, & client engagement’, and data capture & automation’.
We collected satisfaction ratings across different user experience touchpoints. One new aspect in accounting tech platform experiences is artificial intelligence (AI). Results show that across different categories, only around half of accounting professionals express satisfaction with AI features. This indicates that at present, AI in accounting tech still has some way to go before meeting user expectations.
Key stats you need to know
- 96% of accounting firms have ‘general ledger & ERP’ platforms, but only 36% of users are satisfied with AI in this category.
- ‘Insights, reporting, & client engagement’ platforms have a 40% market share and have the highest AI satisfaction score (53% of users) among all categories.
- ‘Practice & firm management’ platforms are the second largest category in terms of market share (72%) and lie directly in the middle of AI satisfaction (44%) among different accounting tech categories.
Specialised tools gaining market share traction
- ‘Insights, reporting & client engagement’ currently captures 40% market share, with several platforms identified in the Top 10 fastest growing accounting tech list.
- 41% of firms use compliance, research & audit’ platforms, while 39% use ‘data capture & automation’.
Among accounting tech platforms, ‘general ledger & ERP’ and ‘practice & firm management’ software remain the core tech stack with firms, with 96% and 72% market share, respectively. These platforms form the foundation of daily operations that keep practices runninAmong accounting tech platforms, ‘general ledger & ERP’ and ‘practice & firm management’ software remain the core tech stack with firms, with 96% and 72% market share, respectively. These platforms form the foundation of daily operations that keep practices running.
However, specialised tools are gaining market share traction as firms look to enhance specific aspects of their service delivery. ‘Insights, reporting & client engagement’ platforms currently capture 40% market share, with several platforms identified in the Top 10 fastest growing accounting tech list. These tools help firms move beyond basic compliance work, and provide dashboards, reports and client portals that transform how they communicate financial insights. ‘Compliance, research & audit’ tools are used by 41% of firms to streamline regulatory requirements and technical research, while ‘data capture & automation’ platforms now reach 39% adoption, as firms seek to eliminate manual data entry and accelerate transaction processing.
“The core stack is established, but we’re seeing firms increasingly layer on specialised tools that address specific pain points. It’s about augmenting the foundation, rather than replacing it, ” said Michael Johnson, Director at Agile Market Intelligence.
Less than half of accounting professionals are satisfied with current AI features in their accounting tech
- At 53%, ‘insights, reporting, & client engagement’ is the only accounting tech category with more than 1 in 2 accountants reporting positive experience with AI.
- ‘Data capture & automation’ records the second highest satisfaction for AI features at 48%.
- Other accounting tech categories have, at most, 44% of users satisfied with their current AI features.
With most platforms now embedding AI tools, accounting professionals were asked about their satisfaction with this aspect of their platform experience. The satisfaction scores shown are the percentage of users that report being ‘satisfied’ or ‘extremely satisfied’ with their experience of AI.
Leading the pack is ‘insights, reporting & client engagement’ with 53% satisfaction. The satisfaction score indicates that AI features for this analytical category are on track to delivering service that’s aligned with user expectations. Second on the list is ‘data capture & automation’ with 48% satisfaction. Despite being a more specialised solution category, user satisfaction with AI features in these platforms are outpacing AI satisfaction in the core tech categories.
Further from capturing a majority-positive user experience were AI-embedded ‘firm & practice management’ and ‘compliance, research, and audit’ solutions, reporting positive performance ratings of 44% and 41%, respectively. ‘General ledger & ERP’ AI features are at the bottom with only 36% user satisfaction. These scores indicate that while AI has been integrated into the most widely-used platforms, implementations haven’t yet met user expectations. The current rollout still calls for more refinement, and paints a picture that seamless AI integration is still challenging today.
“While AI adoption rates in some accounting tools have breached the 50% mark, positive user experience remains a good determinant for integration maturity. There is significant room for improving user experience for embedded AI tools across all accounting tech categories”, said Michael Johnson.
About the research
The results from Agile Market Intelligence’s 2025 Accounting Tech Review are based on survey responses collected from 736 accountants and bookkeepers across Australia from 22nd April to 21 August 2025. For this report, we take a look at the users’ experience with AI in their accounting tech platforms.
2025 Accounting Tech Review is designed to benchmark accounting platform performance from the perceptions of Australia’s accounting and bookkeeping professionals. It captures sentiments towards functionality, service quality and platform features, to build year-on-year comparisons. Data has been weighted by practice size and role seniority to ensure a representative cross-section of the market.
A public version of the report will be made available to participants and industry in early November 2025. For more information about the full report, including the competitive analysis tool for technology providers, please contact jarrad.nash@agilemi.com.au.
