IRIS Software program Introduces AI-Powered Tax Anomaly Detection for UK Accountants

By Vriti Gothi

IRIS Software program Group has launched the primary section of an AI-powered tax anomaly detection instrument designed to scale back preparation time and errors in UK private tax filings, as accounting corporations face mounting workload strain and tighter compliance expectations.

The brand new functionality has been built-in into IRIS Components and IRIS Accountancy Suite at no further price for patrons. Constructed utilizing GPT-4.1 and deployed by Microsoft Foundry, the instrument identifies discrepancies in tax returns by evaluating present filings in opposition to historic information and flagging points reminiscent of sudden revenue fluctuations, lacking dividend or curiosity revenue, and guide information entry errors earlier than submission to HMRC.

IRIS estimates that the instrument can minimize the time required to arrange a private tax return from round 4 hours to as little as 90 minutes. Throughout its base of greater than 13,000 UK accounting practices, the corporate initiatives that as much as six million hours might be launched again into the career as soon as all deliberate phases are totally deployed.

The launch marks a strategic shift for IRIS, which is positioning itself past conventional compliance software program towards turning into an AI-enabled tax preparation companion. It additionally represents the primary section of a multi-million-pound funding geared toward embedding AI throughout the corporate’s flagship platforms.

“This is among the trade’s first options constructed particularly for UK tax compliance that really understands HMRC guidelines and accounting workflows,” mentioned Jonathan Priestley, Normal Supervisor for International Accountancy Options and Transformation at IRIS Software program Group. He added that the intent is to supply corporations with AI capabilities that perform as a “trusted companion” moderately than a standalone function.

Two additional phases are scheduled over the subsequent 12 months. Section two will introduce automated validation in opposition to HMRC guidelines and doc extraction from sources reminiscent of P60s and payslips, whereas section three is predicted to allow post-submission monitoring and AI-generated consumer reporting. When totally carried out, IRIS claims the platform may cut back preparation time by as much as 62.5% and minimize errors by as a lot as 95%.

The timing of the rollout is notable, arriving forward of the UK tax sector’s peak submitting season, when capability constraints are most acute. Mid-sized corporations utilizing IRIS Accountancy Suite are projected to avoid wasting greater than 1,200 hours yearly as soon as all phases are reside, whereas smaller corporations on IRIS Components may save at the least 250 hours a 12 months, in line with firm estimates.