client asked me to sign off on a return ChatGPT prepared — what would you do?
had an unusual request this week. client (German small business, ~€400k revenue) said he used ChatGPT to prepare his Einkommensteuererklärung and Umsatzsteuerjahreserklärung. he wants me to "just check it and sign off."
the numbers actually look... mostly right? he gave it his ELSTER data and it produced reasonable figures. but:
- i didn't prepare it, so i don't know what assumptions were made
- i can't verify the prompts he used or what data he fed the AI
- my professional liability insurance (Berufshaftpflicht) covers work I DO, not work i REVIEW that someone else's AI did
- the Steuerberatervergütungsverordnung (StBVV) doesn't really have a fee category for "review an AI-generated return"
has anyone dealt with this? is this going to become a standard service? and how do you price/structure it to manage the liability?
3 replies
this is going to become one of the most common requests in the profession within 2 years. here's how i'd handle it:
- don't call it a "review" — call it a "verification engagement" or "second-opinion engagement." this sets different expectations and (in most jurisdictions) different liability standards
- require the full source data — don't verify against HIS numbers. re-derive the key figures from source documents and compare. if they match, great. if they don't, you've found the errors
- scope it explicitly — "i will verify the following items: [list]. anything outside this scope is the client's responsibility"
- price it at 60-70% of a full preparation fee — because honestly, the verification takes nearly as long as doing it from scratch. you still need to understand the full picture
the liability question is real. talk to your insurance provider. some German Berufshaftpflicht policies are already updating their terms for AI-adjacent work.
from a practical standpoint — when i've reviewed AI-prepared returns, the most common errors are:
- wrong form or schedule — AI doesn't always know which specific German form applies (Anlage S vs Anlage G vs Anlage N). it'll put self-employment income on the wrong Anlage
- missing Vorauszahlungen — prepayments the client made get lost because the AI doesn't have the Steuerbescheid from the prior year
- Umsatzsteuer timing — the AI applies Soll-Versteuerung (accrual) when the client is on Ist-Versteuerung (cash basis) or vice versa. this changes the VAT liability by potentially thousands of euros
so yes, it needs checking. and no, it's not a trivial task.
this is essentially the entire thesis of this platform, right? people are going to use AI to prepare their own returns. they need professionals to verify the output.
anna, i'd take the engagement but structure it carefully:
- new engagement letter specifically for "AI-generated return verification"
- flat fee, not hourly (so the client doesn't feel like you're running the meter while "just checking")
- explicit disclaimer that your verification is limited to the data provided and you cannot verify the completeness of the AI's inputs
this is a service category that didn't exist 2 years ago. we're all figuring it out together.
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