Hilary Bevan, Director of VAT advisory firm Bevan VAT Consultancy, did not want to be left behind when it came to generative AI (GenAI). Despite having reservations about the technology, she decided to start the process of adopting it before the technology became too advanced. “You can't judge whether it's any good or not, unless you have a go.”

Bevan has been using GenAI for the past six months, using it primarily for queries around legislation and VAT cases. Initially, she was unsure about how she would use it, but has developed some use cases over time, in part by experimenting and in part by asking other professionals about how they are using GenAI. 

“If you try out and it doesn't go well, you know not to use it for questions like that in future,” she says. “If it does, it leads you on to new thoughts about how else you could use it in future. I'm really only at the very tip of the iceberg. There are lots and lots of things I’m not using it for yet.”

Bevan uses two AI models: ChatGPT and Tolley+ AI. “I quite often use them both to look at the same question because between them, the legislation and me, hopefully we can get to the right answer. They don’t necessarily always give you the same answer.”

As Bevan’s practice is a VAT specialist, it’s been easier to figure out relevant use cases. She cites an example in which a client needed information about VAT relating to a French supplier. “We thought it should be outside the scope of French VAT, but I was basing that on the UK VAT legislation.”

Bevan used GenAI to find the corresponding French legislation, which allowed her to check the accuracy of the statement that she was sending to the client. Bevan also uses it to create simple explanations of tax law to make it easier for clients to understand.

“GenAI functionality is just vast, so zoning in and using it for one particular thing makes it a bit easier to avoid going down a rabbit hole. It helps that a lot of the things I’m using it for are similar things, which helps with phrasing the prompts and questions I’m using. How you actually ask the question is as important as what the answer is, to make sure that you get the right information. The more you ask similar things, the more you get a feel for the terminology.”

While this has been useful in improving efficiencies around checking tax and case law, Bevan still has three main concerns around using GenAI. The first and biggest is security: as a rule, Bevan never puts any client data into the models. “Tolley+ AI is, in theory, because it's contained and secure, but even so, I think it's safer not to put any client information in.”

Second, the risk of misinformation: GenAI was described to Bevan as an overenthusiastic puppy that wants to make you happy, which means it tells you what you want to hear. It also means it’s not always correct. “I’m always very careful that, whatever answer I get, either from Tolly or from ChatGPT, I don’t just accept it. I ask it to quote its sources, so I can follow it through to the legislation and make sure that I have actually verified it.”

Bevan’s third consideration is the environmental impact of GenAI. According to the International Energy Agency, a request through ChatGPT uses 10 times more electricity than a Google search.

“It uses a lot of electricity and a lot of water,” says Bevan. “We’ve got to be a bit careful about it and make sure it’s sustainable. I’m working to find out what the impacts are so I can be as careful as possible.”

When it comes to getting the most out of the technology, Bevan suggests that accountants and tax advisers make their prompts as specific as possible. “ You need to specify that it needs to be in line with UK legislation. You need to say that the customer is in the UK. You need to point out that you want it to look at current legislation, unless it’s something to do with errors in the past. Make sure to ask it to quote the sources, so it gives you links to the HMRC guidance or legislation.” 

In addition, make sure you carefully check the results to make sure what you’re putting out is accurate. “I’ve got 27 years of accounts and VAT experience, so I know what I’m looking for. But I think it would be a lot harder for somebody who is new to VAT to perhaps know whether it’s right or wrong.”

Despite using GenAI for six months, Bevan is still on the fence about using it regularly. “It is valuable, but I suppose I’m partly concerned that we might lose the ability to do certain tasks. I don’t think I’d want to get to that point because part of the fun of the job is figuring out the puzzle that a client has posed to me. I don’t think we as a human race want to lose the ability for critical thinking and for working things out.”

That said, she recommends that accountants play about with GenAI to see if they can identify any uses for it. “Even if you just set aside half an hour a week for three or four weeks to ask it some questions and see what sort of answers you get, I think that would give people a good idea of whether it’s worth using in their business or not.”