CHALLENGE

Brown Edwards, an IPA Top 70 CPA firm with +400 employees across 13 Mid-Atlantic offices, recognized AI as a strategic priority and was seeking to put into place a robust governance infrastructure and structured training to move forward with confidence. Individual staff members were experimenting on their own, but without a firmwide AI policy, data classification guidelines, or a coordinated rollout plan, leadership had no way to scale adoption responsibly.

The firm was looking for a partner who could help them build the foundation: policy, training, and a thoughtful approach to rolling out Copilot across the organization.

SOLUTION

Edgefield Group partnered with Assurance Service Line Leader Norman Yoder, Managing Partner Laura Sprouse, and Brown Edwards’ IT team over a few months to deliver an AI onboarding program.

AI Policy & Governance Advisory

Edgefield worked with Brown Edwards’ AI Steering Committee to help develop a firmwide AI data classification policy, covering data sensitivity levels, permitted use guidelines, and a controlled rollout protocol. The policy addressed how to handle sensitive client data (including PII restrictions) and established clear guardrails for staff using Copilot. Edgefield also advised on Copilot licensing strategy, usage monitoring, and the formation of an internal AI Pilot Group to lead adoption from within.

AI Foundations Training: Copilot

Edgefield delivered a 6-session AI Foundations cohort for a 30-person AI Pilot Group spanning multiple service lines and offices. Sessions were hands-on and accounting-specific, covering Copilot across Word, Outlook, Excel, Teams, and PowerPoint. Participants worked inside the tools from day one, building prompting skills and applying Copilot to their actual workflows rather than watching generic demos.