How We’re Using AI Responsibly

We know there are mixed feelings and thoughts about AI. One of our values as a firm is adaptability. We believe in evolving and growing, not settling or holding on to traditional methods. We also value transparency: being open and honest, not guarded or only telling people what they want to hear.

In that light, here is how we’re thinking about and using AI responsibly for your accounting, payroll, and taxes.

Our team’s hands-on use of AI is still in the early stages. Right now, that looks like applying AI to help with research and to draft communications, always with a team member reviewing the output and applying the judgment and experience that only a person brings.

The tools we rely on are also building AI deeper into the software. These enhancements flow into a better experience for you: faster turnaround, mistakes caught earlier, and more time for our team to focus on advice instead of data entry.

Privacy and Confidentiality Precautions

Your privacy and confidentiality are always our top priority. K&Co’s team takes several steps to ensure we’re using AI responsibly and protecting your personal information:

• SOC 2 Type II compliance for our software vendors: an independent audit that verifies their security controls work
• Bank-grade encryption of data in the cloud
• Multi-factor authentication across portals and online tools
• Written information security plans (required by the IRS for tax professionals), including documented risk assessments, response protocols, and ongoing security training

We will continue to explore ways to use this emerging technology in safe and smart ways, train our team members, and implement new policies as needed. Whether we’re using AI directly or it’s working behind the scenes in our software, the same standard applies: Your information stays protected, and a real person stays accountable for the work.

Required Electronic Filing and Digital Tax Payments

AI isn’t the first technology shift we’ve navigated, and it won’t be the last. Federal and state tax agencies have been digitizing for years, and we have adapted right alongside them.

Based on the volume of returns K&Co prepares, we are required to electronically file business and personal tax returns. We have worked through extensive registration and application processes to become an authorized electronic return filer with the IRS and state agencies, and we work with only the top tax software providers.

Tax payments are going electronic, too. Payments to the IRS are still accepted by check or money order for now (despite the September 30, 2025, effective date for electronic payments), but a hard cutoff is coming. We’ll let you know when the IRS announces it.

Payments from the IRS, including refunds, must now be electronic. The IRS can’t issue your refund until you provide direct deposit details, so it’s worth setting this up now.

The tools and requirements change, but our approach doesn’t. We stay ahead of what’s coming, so you don’t have to.