In this episode of The Soul of Enterprise, Ed Kless and Ron Baker speak with Alexis Kingsbury about a rather audacious experiment: running an entire accountancy practice staffed almost entirely by AI.

The firm—Accrual Intentions—had eleven AI “team members” and one human: Alexis. What began as a curiosity about the real capabilities of AI quickly became something far more interesting. The AI team produced accounts, onboarded clients, and developed surprisingly human-like dynamics—personalities, accountability, even a kind of culture.

But the experiment also ran into limits, particularly around compliance and professional judgment. The result is Kingsbury’s new book, a fascinating mix of business experiment, comedy, and serious reflection on what AI actually means for professional services.

SHOW NOTES

Segment one

Here is some background on our guest today, Alexis Kingsbury https://alexiskingsbury.com/#about
“I started the world’s first, 100% AI accountancy firm. But it’s probably important to say from the start that it was very much set up as an experiment, arguably even a parody.” —Alexis Kingsbury
On the AI accountancy experiment: “I turned it into a book because I wanted to help other people go through the intellectual, but also emotional, journey that I went through.” —Alexis Kingsbury https://accrualintentions.com/
Meet the team behind the AI accountancy firm. Alexis is the only human and Grace Ledger (clever!) is the Managing Partner https://accrualintentions.com/#team

Segment two

Great achievement for Alexis in 2025: “I’m incredibly proud (and still a bit stunned) to share that last night I was named Neurodiverse Entrepreneur of the Year at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards.” https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alexkingsbury_neurodiversity-entrepreneurship-adhd-activity-7396471129848193025-cm9W
Regarding the book, Accrual Intentions, by Alexis Kingsbury….he has a review from a rather familiar person: “I loved it. A huge and important contribution. This is not a warning. It is a summons." — Ronald J. Baker https://accrualintentions.com/
Ron asked Alexis if he, the human in the loop, was always the bottleneck in the first 100% AI accountancy firm. The answer from Alexis? “Yes, absolutely.”
The conversation today about confidence (and being overly confident) is one of the most important lessons. The 100% AI accountancy firm from Alexis Kingsbury accidentally claimed it had professional indemnity insurance that didn’t exist, highlighting how confidently AI can invent information if not monitored carefully.

Segment three

“Everyone is about to become a manager. Not in the form of managing people in a corner offer. […] In terms of managing output, directing work and thinking about what’s the outcome I want.” —Alexis Kingsbury
The 100% AI accountancy firm created by Alexis came up with their OWN ideal client profile. One of the requirements? It must be a client that can communicate via email only because “we” can’t answer the phone
“The biggest sin in the economy today, in business today, is wasting your customer’s time.” —Ed Kless
Regarding AI: “It’s unfair to say it can’t do any innovation, because I think innovation is a spectrum.” —Alexis Kingsbury

Segment four

What’s a big mistake firms are making with AI right now? “It’s always been a good idea for any firm to document their business, to be clear on what their vision and values are, who their ideal customer is, what the process is for how they assess a get a new customer [and so on]. That becomes SUPER CRITICAL with AI.” —Alexis Kingsbury
I don’t think I could have said this better myself. Regarding AI: “This is a profoundly weird technology.” —Ron Baker
A big THANK YOU to Alexis Kingsbury for joining us today. The book, Accrual Intentions, is available today! Check it out here https://accrualintentions.com/

Bonus Content is Available As Well

Did you know that each week after our live show, Ron and Ed take to the microphone for a bonus show? Typically, this bonus show is an extension of the live show topic (sometimes even with the same guest) and a few other pieces of news, current events, or things that have caught our attention.

Click the “FANATIC” image to learn more about pricing and member benefits.