AI is the most overused acronym in our profession today, arguably rivaled only by “PE” for private equity. And for good reason. Between the technological advancements, the real potential for improved productivity, and the early successes we’re seeing in the field, AI holds tremendous promise to elevate firms to the next level, when done right.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could roll out an AI initiative and everything went exactly according to plan? In reality, AI enablement is never that linear. In all of that my team at Edgefield Group has supported, we’ve seen some version of resistance emerge.
But don’t worry, this is absolutely normal. Firms that succeed with AI aren’t the ones who don’t encounter resistance. They’re the ones who anticipate the most common sources of pushback, navigate them strategically, and emerge stronger for it. If you can see around corners, address friction points early, and keep your team focused on the long-term vision, your AI initiatives will not only succeed, they’ll transform your firm for the better.
Here are three forms of resistance you’re likely to encounter, and thoughts on how to work through them.
1. “I like the way I do things now.”
Let’s talk about one of the profession’s least publicly talked about dynamic: some employees genuinely like the manual work. A common narrative around AI is that when we eliminate repetitive, tedious tasks, professionals will naturally use the freed-up time to do more strategic or creative work. And for many, that’s true.
But here’s the reality: not everyone wants that shift.
There are team members (often seasoned, capable, and proud of their work) who find satisfaction in the hands-on, detail-oriented aspects of accounting. They’ve built their careers on being reliable executors and being proficient at manual work. They don’t necessarily want to do “more interesting” work. They’re not looking to become strategists or analysts. They simply want to keep doing what they do well.
And when a new AI tool enters the picture, the implication that their work is suddenly replaceable can feel like a gut punch.
Here’s the honest truth: in this scenario, there is no easy carrot. For employees who take pride in the manual nature of their work—and who aren’t interested in pivoting to “strategic” or “interesting” tasks—the message isn’t always welcome. But it’s necessary.
The goal isn’t to scare them. It’s to equip them for what’s coming.
The kind of manual work they’re great at simply won’t exist in the same way in the near future. That’s not speculation—it’s a reality already unfolding across the profession. Helping them understand that their current role is being reshaped by market forces and client expectations is the first step in supporting their transition.
💡️ Tip: Communicate with clarity and empathy. Help team members understand that the world around them is shifting—whether they’re ready or not. Create a pathway for support, reskilling, and reinvention. This isn’t about pushing people out—it’s about helping them walk forward into a sustainable role for the future.
2. “Why are we spending time and effort on this?” (Says the partner…)
This is one of the biggest derailers of AI enablement—misalignment at the partner level.
Sometimes, AI projects are already underway when not all partners are truly aligned. And here’s the hard truth: when alignment is missing, the project will suffer. It might not be obvious at first, but hidden concerns surface later as resistance, disengagement, or outright sabotage.
One partner may be all-in, while another is quietly unsure—about the ROI, the timeline, or even the point of the whole effort. And while disagreement is natural, failing to create space for those concerns to surface constructively is what leads to trouble.
That’s why table-setting is so critical. And in many cases, partners don’t need to be converted into believers—they just want their questions, fears, and reservations heard and acknowledged. When that happens, even skeptics can (grudgingly) get behind a shared direction.
💡 Tip: Make space for real talk. Add AI enablement to the partner meeting agenda early. Use facilitated discussions to bring the skepticism out into the open. No one has to be a cheerleader—but if even one partner remains vocally negative, onboarding efforts will stall. Alignment isn’t optional—it’s foundational.
3. “AI doesn’t save me time—it slows me down.”
This resistance often comes from your most efficient team members. These high performers have mastered their workflows and can often complete tasks faster manually than an AI tool can suggest an output.
Their skepticism is valid:
- “I’ve tried Copilot, and I spend more time fixing its output than writing it myself.”
- “ChatGPT makes up stuff—I don’t trust it.”
- “It just adds another layer to my work.”
Because if something takes the same amount of time and effort to complete—whether manually or with AI — what’s the point?
But here’s the thing: part of our work is to learn how to work with AI. There’s a learning curve. Early on, it could actually slow you down. That’s not inefficiency—that’s upskilling.
The decision to use AI isn’t always about immediate time savings. It’s a strategic investment in building fluency with tools that are evolving fast. As your team gets better with AI, and as AI itself improves, those early time-neutral or even time-negative moments compound into real long-term efficiency gains.
Meanwhile, continuing to do everything manually guarantees that future productivity gains won’t materialize. So the question becomes: are we investing in long-term effectiveness, or just preserving short-term convenience?
💡 Tip: Acknowledge the ramp-up. Encourage your team to see the learning curve as a growth opportunity, not a productivity drag. Frame early adoption as training for future competitive advantage. And don’t force AI into every task—pilot in areas with clear ROI and let the early adopters lead the way.
Final Thought: Resistance Is an Opportunity
Resistance isn’t failure—it’s feedback. It tells you where the friction is, where the gaps are in your rollout, and where the real transformation needs to happen.
The goal isn’t to bulldoze resistance. It’s to listen, reframe, and equip your team for what’s coming. The firms that succeed in AI enablement won’t just have the best tech stack. They’ll have the best change management instincts.
And the firms that treat AI adoption as culture work—not just technology enablement—will be the ones that win.
