AI isn’t a tool. It’s a lifestyle.

Jan Haugo, AI architect and founder of SmartAccountant.ai, joins Yuri to break down how accountants can start using AI safely and practically, without getting lost in the hype.

Jan shares her path from earning her accounting degree as a single mom to running a cloud-based CAS practice long before the cloud was the norm, and how she kept client relationships strong while taking her firm virtual.

They dig into Jan’s green, yellow, red method for deciding what data is safe to put into AI, the difference between free, paid, and enterprise tools like Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini, and what SOC 2 compliance really tells you about a vendor. Jan also walks through her RCRQ prompting framework and how to keep AI from simply telling you what you want to hear.

The conversation also explores why firms should build AI workflows instead of asking one-off questions, how recording yourself can turn into ready-made SOPs, why solo firms may benefit from AI the most, and where the accounting profession is headed as transactional work disappears.

Episode Highlights:

0:00 - Why AI is the hottest topic in accounting

1:33 - Meet Jan Haugo

2:16 - Earning an accounting degree as a single mom

3:01 - Leaving a CPA firm to start her own practice

4:41 - What sparked Jan’s interest in technology

6:54 - Growing to 150 clients with a five-person team

8:12 - Going cloud-based before it was popular

9:42 - Keeping client relationships during a virtual transition

11:18 - How to start using AI if you’ve been afraid of it

14:16 - AI security concerns for accountants

15:11 - The green, yellow, red method for client data

17:37 - Free vs. paid AI and staying inside the enterprise bubble

20:05 - What SOC 2 compliance really means

24:18 - What firm owners get wrong about AI

26:38 - The RCRQ prompting framework

30:14 - How to stop AI from telling you what you want to hear

33:51 - Building AI workflows instead of one-off questions

35:31 - Deciding if a task is for AI or your “OG brain”

38:53 - Inside Jan’s WorkflowCon sessions

41:31 - Recording yourself to create SOPs

45:23 - Why a firm of one still needs SOPs

48:42 - Using AI to run a lifestyle firm

51:25 - Deciding whether to buy or build AI tools

54:33 - How to vet AI vendors and products

56:54 - The future of the accounting profession

1:01:22 - Where to connect with Jan

1:03:17 - Jan’s “Read Anything in 10 Minutes” custom GPT

1:04:33 - Closing thoughts

SPONSOR

Today's episode sponsor is Financial Cents bringing you an amazing 2 day free online CPE event. Sign up here:

https://workflowcon.com/?utm_campaign=28894380-WorkflowCon%202026&utm_source=TheFunCPA-YuriKapilovich&utm_medium=social

ABOUT HOST YURI KAPILOVICH

Yuri, aka #thefuncpa, has been in the accounting profession for over 15 years and has seen, first hand, the challenges the profession brings. After seeing that no firm was fitting the bill, Yuri set out to do things his own way with his firm K&A and the journey began with LinkedIn posting at the front end.

Yuri is proud to bring you #thefuncpa podcast highlighting the fun and all the amazing opportunities our profession can bring us all.

CONNECT WITH YURI KAPILOVICH

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ykapilovich/

Website: https://www.thefuncpa.co/

CONNECT WITH JAN HAUGO

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janhaugo/

Website: https://www.smartaccountant.ai/