“Secret Weapon Against the CPA Crisis: This Startup’s AI Revolutionizes Tax Preparation”

A promising new entrant in the tax preparation industry, Field, has secured $17.2 million in funding as it aims to streamline tax work and address critical labor shortages with artificial intelligence. Co-founded by CEO Leroy Kerry and CTO Atul Ramachandran, the startup plans to reduce burdensome manual tasks faced by accounting professionals.

“The tax industry is facing a real crisis,” Kerry explained. He highlighted a looming shortage of certified public accountants (CPAs), driven by the impending retirement of seasoned professionals combined with a dwindling number of accounting graduates. According to industry figures, accounting professionals waste nearly half their working hours doing tedious, repetitive tasks that could readily be automated.

Field was created to remedy precisely these challenges. The platform applies advanced artificial intelligence technology to the tax-return process, automating workflows traditionally bogged down by paperwork and data entry. Its AI-driven platform reads documents, applies strategic reasoning according to each firm’s proprietary tax protocols, and seamlessly transfers processed data into existing software systems, without requiring clients to overhaul their current technological infrastructure.

When complex scenarios occur—cases that AI alone cannot reliably handle—the system flags them for human investigation. According to Kerry, this hybrid approach ensures professionals maintain control while significantly reducing monotonous manual effort.

Although several other startups already operate within the automated accounting landscape, including Black Ore and Basis, Kerry emphasized Field’s differentiated approach: its AI was purpose-built for tax-return processes and integrates natively into existing software used by accountants. This allows clients ease of adoption and minimal disruption to ongoing operations.

The startup’s Series A funding round was led by Northzone, with participation from Day One Ventures and Neo. Field intends to use these funds to grow its engineering team and recruit additional tax specialists who can help expand its market reach and enhance the product further.

The origin of Field’s vision stems from Kerry’s personal experience. Growing up in low-income housing in South London and raised by a single mother, Kerry never envisioned that being a CEO could be within his grasp. He entered the professional world early, working in sales at a call center to support himself through university, where he studied architecture. After graduation, Kerry quickly rose through the ranks, managing sales teams and eventually joining a high-growth startup that reached over $1 billion in valuation.

Following various leadership positions at startups in the UK and Sweden, he set his sights on the US market, launching Field after personally researching accounting firms in Colorado and Arizona. There, he observed firms’ ongoing reliance on outdated methods, including piles of paper documentation and fax machines. Seeing this, Kerry identified an opportunity to modernize the industry on a massive scale.

Field’s ambition reaches beyond automating tax returns. According to Kerry, the company has set its long-term course on revolutionizing the broader tax industry landscape—including client collaboration, document management, and audit processes.

“The tax sector has long awaited its AI moment,” Kerry stated. “And we’re just getting started.”

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