PwC US Announces $1 Billion Investment to Expand and Scale Artificial Intelligence Offerings
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) has announced a strategy to invest $1 billion in generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology within its U.S. operations over the forthcoming three years.
In partnership with Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI, the progenitor of ChatGPT, PwC aspires to automate a variety of functions within its audit, tax, and consulting sectors.
This significant investment includes hiring more AI experts and upskilling existing personnel with AI proficiencies. PwC is also considering acquisitions of AI software development companies. Generative AI technologies are particularly designed to produce natural language responses, images, or computer code in response to textual prompts from users.
The company's goal is twofold: integrating generative AI into its own tech infrastructure and client service platforms, as well as offering advisory services to other businesses on leveraging generative AI effectively. Mohamed Kande, PwC's Vice Chair and Co-leader of U.S. Consulting Solutions and Global Advisory Leader, highlighted the company's dedication to aiding other organizations in the creation and deployment of these tools. To meet these objectives, PwC plans to invest in utilizing OpenAI's GPT-4 language model, the foundation of ChatGPT, for developing and implementing applications in Microsoft's Azure cloud platform.
PwC envisages the use of generative AI technology to optimize its processes, including tasks such as compliance documentation, report writing, business strategy analysis, operational efficiency review, marketing material development, and more.
Eric Boyd, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft's AI platform, underlined the merits of PwC's investment, which allows them to make use of OpenAI's generative AI tools while reaping the benefits of the compliance and data protection capabilities of Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service. Microsoft itself has committed a considerable long-term investment in OpenAI.
Other prominent accounting firms like KPMG LLP and Ernst & Young are also investing in generative AI. For example, Intuit Inc., the firm behind TurboTax, is crafting its own generative AI language model specializing in financial management, leveraging years of interactions with its commercial customers.
Generative AI has notable potential in the fields of accounting, tax preparation, auditing, and other financial services. It offers opportunities like discovering and retrieving information from unstructured and semi-structured data, and improving the efficiency of report production with less human input.
An Enterprise Technology Research survey reveals that 53% of corporate IT decision-makers intend to evaluate, utilize, or assign more resources to OpenAI's ChatGPT technology. The sectors most interested in evaluating and adopting generative AI and large language models are consulting firms, business service providers, and educational institutions.
Despite the global generative AI market forecasted to reach $42.6 billion by year's end and expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 32% to $98.1 billion by 2026, experts warn that generative AI applications, like tax preparation, need validation by professionals. Auditors need to carefully consider compliance issues and the acceptability of tax decisions based on algorithms.
Rather than replacing employees, PwC's main objective is to enhance its workforce efficiency by automating repetitive and labor-intensive tasks through generative AI. With its U.S. workforce of 65,000, the company insists on its commitment to inclusivity, viewing the integration of generative AI as a cooperative effort within the organization.
About Us
Ashley-Kincaid is a leading mergers and acquisitions firm focused on assisting CPA firms across the country in expanding and thriving through strategic acquisitions, while also offering exit solutions for sellers.
With extensive experience in the industry, Ashley-Kincaid specializes in firm-to-firm mergers and acquisitions, serving clients with gross revenues ranging from $500,000 to $15M. If you're a CPA firm looking to expand and thrive through strategic acquisitions or are considering an exit strategy, Ashley-Kincaid is the firm to turn to. Schedule a Call today to learn more about their services and to schedule a consultation.