CHALLENGE

Faulk & Winkler (F&W), a full-service CPA firm, recognized that AI was rapidly reshaping the accounting profession. To remain competitive and accelerate firmwide efficiency, leadership sought a unified, responsible approach to AI adoption, but several barriers stood in the way:

• No firmwide AI policy or governance framework to guide responsible use
• Uneven AI readiness across departments (Tax, A&A, CAS, Pension, Valuation), each with distinct processes and workflows
• Limited AI literacy and inconsistent use of tools like Microsoft Copilot
• No prioritized roadmap to guide automation investments and technology modernization

F&W engaged Edgefield Group to deliver a comprehensive AI enablement program combining policy creation, hands-on training, and an AI-readiness assessment of the firm’s tech stack.

SOLUTION

Edgefield partnered with F&W over several months to deliver a three-pillar transformation strategy.

AI Policy and Governance

After reviewing Faulk & Winkler’s initial AI Policy, Edgefield Group collaborated with F&W’s leadership to draft an expanded responsible-use AI policy, providing ethical guidelines, risk mitigation practices, and firmwide standards for AI-supported work. This policy became the foundation for consistent AI adoption across all departments.

AI Foundations Training

Edgefield delivered a structured, hands-on training series through 8-week cohorts aligned to F&W’s operational realities. Sessions focused on practical use of Microsoft Copilot across Word, Excel, Teams, and PowerPoint, including building Copilot agents for repetitive workflows, prompt engineering, and reusable templates. Training incorporated live demonstrations, real-time coaching, and use-case ideation from F&W’s tax, audit, and operations teams.

AI-Ready Audit

Edgefield conducted an AI-Ready Audit of F&W’s tech stack, producing an 18-month AI-Ready Roadmap, process breakdowns for all five service lines, and a catalog of automation opportunities across AI, software implementation, and process optimization. The engagement culminated in a comprehensive partnership presentation, where Edgefield walked F&W’s partners through the full set of findings and recommendations, matched against Edgefield’s understanding of the external vendor landscape. With the number of AI and automation vendors growing rapidly, this perspective helped F&W cut through the noise and prioritize the right investments with confidence.