The IRS has replaced IRS2Go with a new mobile app that adds secure, account-specific services and self-service options. For accounting firms, that shift is a useful signal: clients increasingly expect fast, mobile-friendly access to tax information, and firms that build custom AI and automation around those expectations can reduce manual follow-up while improving service consistency.
The IRS is expanding self-service, and clients will expect firms to keep up
The new IRS app adds secure sign-in and access to selected account information, including refund and amended-return status, balance information, payments, notices, tax records, transcripts, profile preferences, and an Identity Protection PIN.
That matters for accounting firms because client service increasingly starts with simple status questions. If clients can check more on their own, firms can design better workflows that route only the exceptions, follow-ups, and judgment calls to staff.
Where custom AI and automation can help
This kind of digital-first service model creates a practical use case for custom AI: intake tools that triage common questions, workflow agents that gather the right documents, and client portals that surface status updates without repeated back-and-forth.
For firms, the goal is not to automate judgment. It is to automate the repeatable steps around tax notices, refund tracking, payment activity, transcript requests, and identity protection tasks so staff can spend more time on review, advisory work, and difficult client situations.
Security has to be part of the workflow design
A separate warning from this week is hard to ignore: a Texas bookkeeper was accused of stealing from an elderly couple while handling their finances, and the story shows how much damage can happen when trust, money movement, and weak controls collide.
Firms should treat automation and AI as part of a control system, not just a productivity tool. That means limiting who can approve payments, building verification steps into text and email requests, and using workflows that reduce the chance of a convincing but fraudulent request being acted on too quickly.
The practical takeaway for firm leaders
The IRS app update is a reminder that clients now expect more secure, self-directed digital service. Firms that respond with well-designed automation will be better positioned to handle routine work efficiently without losing control.
The best first step is usually a narrow, high-volume workflow: client status questions, document collection, payment approvals, or notice triage. From there, firms can expand into broader agentic workflows once they have clear controls and review steps in place.
- Build AI and automation around the client questions your team answers most often.
- Treat payment requests and money movement as controlled workflows, not casual communications.
- Use secure client self-service to reduce repetitive follow-up and improve response times.
- Start with one narrow workflow and add guardrails before expanding.
Sources watched
- IRS Launches New Mobile App That Replaces IRS2Go (CPA Practice Advisor AI)
- Don't Get Victimized By a Cybercriminal (CPA Practice Advisor AI)
- Texas Bookkeeper Accused of Stealing $1.2 Million From Elderly Couple (CPA Practice Advisor AI)
