Professional services stories

Intuit's QuickBooks is under pressure as AI start-ups push automated bookkeeping, forcing accounting software to prove it can do more than digitise ledgers.

Xero unveils AI-native finance platform and JAX assistant to cut admin for small firms, with accountants and bookkeepers also in line for gains.

New Zealand businesses say stable power prices and supply would unlock investment, as Schneider Electric research flags energy uncertainty as a brake on growth.

EY New Zealand bolsters technology transformation push with senior hires as firms chase practical AI gains and better returns from existing systems.

Emergent's Wingman puts autonomous AI agents to work across email, calendars and chats, with human approval for higher-risk actions.

StructureFlow expands its AI platform to turn PDFs, diagrams and spreadsheets into editable legal and financial models for deal teams.

ReliaQuest says suspected former Black Basta operators are bombarding staff with emails and posing as IT support in Microsoft Teams to reach senior executives.

Elite rolls out AI-powered Validate checks to catch questionable legal billing before invoices go out, aiming to cut write-offs and speed payment.

Auctor secures USD $20 million from Sequoia Capital and backers to automate enterprise software rollouts and cut costly project delays.

Dayshape, selected for Microsoft’s Agentic Launchpad, will let professional services firms query staffing, skills and project finances in Teams.

Tax Systems rolls out AI assistant blending company data and IBFD research to speed cross-border tax analysis for multinational in-house teams.

Inde names Chris Beckett as Chief Technology Strategist to steer long-term roadmaps as New Zealand firms seek clearer guidance on investment and architecture.

WatchGuard and HaloPSA deepen ties to let managed service providers handle security alerts, licensing and billing from one workflow.

AI in legal services is unlikely to shrink demand, with clients seeking more senior expertise and using efficiency gains to unlock latent work.

Sidetrade sets out a four-year push into AI-driven order-to-cash, with three new products due in 2026 and a shift towards usage-linked revenue.

EY embeds agentic AI into Canvas audit workflows worldwide, aiming to cut admin, sharpen risk checks and keep human judgement in the loop.

EY deploys agentic AI across 160,000 audit engagements, backed by Microsoft, as it launches new assurance services and training.

Outsized rolls out enhanced Client Portal to streamline independent consultant hiring and project oversight for financial services and consulting clients.

Westcon Solutions wins Hong Kong and Macau distribution deal to back UiPath partners with services, engineering support and AI automation tools.

V2 AI has secured Databricks Silver Partner status, strengthening its credentials as it targets more data and AI work across Asia-Pacific.