Latest news with #CathyRowe
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wolters Kluwer executive delivers keynote on the future of integrated tech stacks and agentic AI at AICPA Engage 2025
Cathy Rowe explores how unified tech stacks and agentic AI are transforming audits, tax workflows, and firm-wide decision-making. MINNEAPOLIS, June 10, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting (TAA) executive, Cathy Rowe, Senior Vice President and Segment Leader, U.S. Professional Market, delivered a compelling keynote address today at AICPA Engage 2025, held at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Her remarks focused on the accelerating pace of technological change and how integrated tech stacks and agentic AI are reshaping the accounting profession for audit and tax professionals. In her keynote, Rowe emphasized that the rate of technological change is now faster than ever, urging firms to embrace both sustaining and disruptive innovation. She shared insights from Wolters Kluwer's "Future Ready Accountant" study, which found that 77% of firms experienced growth last year, yet 40% cited keeping up with new technology as their top challenge. Rowe highlighted that firms using fully integrated solutions reported revenue increases of 10% or more, underscoring the ROI of strategic tech investments. She outlined four key pillars for leveraging AI in modern firms: Data-Driven Firm Management – Using AI to generate real-time insights and automate reporting. Increased Efficiencies and Capacity – Streamlining workflows and optimizing staff allocation. Proactive Risk Management – Monitoring tax and audit data to identify and mitigate risks. Enhanced Client Service – Shifting from compliance to advisory roles through AI-driven insights and automation. A central theme of Rowe's address was the emergence of agentic AI—a transformative evolution from traditional automation to intelligent agents that act autonomously with human oversight. She explained how agentic AI spans four key categories: Taskers, Automators, Collaborators, and Orchestrators. These agents can classify documents, manage workflows, guide professionals through complex tasks, and even orchestrate entire audit or tax preparation processes. Crucially, this next-generation AI is made possible through open integration platforms, enabling firms of all sizes to benefit from seamless automation, data interoperability, and intelligent decision-making. "Agentic AI is not just a buzzword—it's a strategic enabler," Rowe stated. "It empowers professionals to work at the top of their credentials, enhances client service, and creates competitive advantage. With open integration APIs, firms can build intelligent, responsive systems that adapt in real time." Wolters Kluwer is actively advancing the integration of agentic AI across its suite of tax and accounting solutions as part of its long-term innovation strategy centered on firm intelligence. Building on more than a decade of AI investment, these enhancements will empower professionals to automate complex workflows, enhance decision-making, and deliver greater value to clients. Customers can expect to begin experiencing these next-generation capabilities in the near future, reinforcing Wolters Kluwer's commitment to helping firms stay future-ready. Rowe concluded by encouraging firms to assess their current workflows, evaluate integration opportunities, and invest in talent and change management to become truly future-ready. Professionals interested in learning how Wolters Kluwer can help them prepare for the future are encouraged to contact their sales representative. Interview Opportunity Media interested in scheduling an interview with Cathy Rowe may reach out to Shannon Wherry, Associate Director, External Communications at About Wolters Kluwer Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in information, software solutions and services for professionals in healthcare; tax and accounting; financial and corporate compliance; legal and regulatory; corporate performance and ESG. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with technology and services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2024 annual revenues of €5.9 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 21,600 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. For more information, visit and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. View source version on Contacts Media Contacts Shannon WherryAssociate Director, External CommunicationsWolters Kluwer Tax & AccountingOffice: +1
Business Wire
10-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Wolters Kluwer executive delivers keynote on the future of integrated tech stacks and agentic AI at AICPA Engage 2025
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting (TAA) executive, Cathy Rowe, Senior Vice President and Segment Leader, U.S. Professional Market, delivered a compelling keynote address today at AICPA Engage 2025, held at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Her remarks focused on the accelerating pace of technological change and how integrated tech stacks and agentic AI are reshaping the accounting profession for audit and tax professionals. In her keynote, Rowe emphasized that the rate of technological change is now faster than ever, urging firms to embrace both sustaining and disruptive innovation. She shared insights from Wolters Kluwer's 'Future Ready Accountant' study, which found that 77% of firms experienced growth last year, yet 40% cited keeping up with new technology as their top challenge. Rowe highlighted that firms using fully integrated solutions reported revenue increases of 10% or more, underscoring the ROI of strategic tech investments. She outlined four key pillars for leveraging AI in modern firms: Data-Driven Firm Management – Using AI to generate real-time insights and automate reporting. Increased Efficiencies and Capacity – Streamlining workflows and optimizing staff allocation. Proactive Risk Management – Monitoring tax and audit data to identify and mitigate risks. Enhanced Client Service – Shifting from compliance to advisory roles through AI-driven insights and automation. A central theme of Rowe's address was the emergence of agentic AI—a transformative evolution from traditional automation to intelligent agents that act autonomously with human oversight. She explained how agentic AI spans four key categories: Taskers, Automators, Collaborators, and Orchestrators. These agents can classify documents, manage workflows, guide professionals through complex tasks, and even orchestrate entire audit or tax preparation processes. Crucially, this next-generation AI is made possible through open integration platforms, enabling firms of all sizes to benefit from seamless automation, data interoperability, and intelligent decision-making. 'Agentic AI is not just a buzzword—it's a strategic enabler,' Rowe stated. 'It empowers professionals to work at the top of their credentials, enhances client service, and creates competitive advantage. With open integration APIs, firms can build intelligent, responsive systems that adapt in real time.' Wolters Kluwer is actively advancing the integration of agentic AI across its suite of tax and accounting solutions as part of its long-term innovation strategy centered on firm intelligence. Building on more than a decade of AI investment, these enhancements will empower professionals to automate complex workflows, enhance decision-making, and deliver greater value to clients. Customers can expect to begin experiencing these next-generation capabilities in the near future, reinforcing Wolters Kluwer's commitment to helping firms stay future-ready. Rowe concluded by encouraging firms to assess their current workflows, evaluate integration opportunities, and invest in talent and change management to become truly future-ready. Professionals interested in learning how Wolters Kluwer can help them prepare for the future are encouraged to contact their sales representative. Interview Opportunity Media interested in scheduling an interview with Cathy Rowe may reach out to Shannon Wherry, Associate Director, External Communications at About Wolters Kluwer Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in information, software solutions and services for professionals in healthcare; tax and accounting; financial and corporate compliance; legal and regulatory; corporate performance and ESG. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with technology and services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2024 annual revenues of €5.9 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 21,600 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. For more information, visit and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
Fast Company
12-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
19 tips for effective leadership in the era of digital transformation
Technological advancements continue to push digital transformation forward and change how businesses operate. In response to this, leadership styles and best practices are shifting toward greater agility, collaboration, and real-time decision-making. To help you navigate these shifts, Fast Company Executive Board members share practical tips for leading successfully in a technology-driven landscape. Here's how they recommend guiding innovation, balancing digital tools with human insight, and building more flexible, connected organizations. 1. TAKE AN ADAPTIVE, DATA-INFORMED APPROACH TO DECISION-MAKING. Leadership is shifting from directive to adaptive and data-informed. With AI and real-time insights, leaders don't need to have all the answers—they need to ask better questions, guide decision-making, and empower teams to act fast. – Tom Amburgey, Euna Solutions 2. USE REAL-TIME DATA SETS TO COLLABORATE WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS. Leadership styles themselves can be more innovative when working with key stakeholders—customers, employees, and shareholders. The collaboration, enabled by the ability to synthesize vast data sets across multiple platforms, can be much more real-time and data-driven. This leads to proactive decisions and new ways of working, which is a shift from reactive styles based on historical data. – Cathy Rowe, Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting 3. LEAD LIKE A TEAM CAPTAIN. Leadership today should be less about command-and-control and more about data and insights, as well as collaboration. Good team leaders are like the captain of the soccer team. They play with their players while leading them to victory. – Al Sefati, Clarity Digital, LLC 4. ADAPT AND ADOPT WITH OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE APPROACHES. To be effective leaders today, they must adapt and adopt swiftly, embracing offensive and defensive strategies. The days when leaders could succeed without embracing emerging technologies and innovative thinking are behind us. The landscape has shifted, and so must their approach. – Katrina (Katya) Rosseini 5. EMPOWER YOUR PEOPLE. There is real value in leading with empowerment. Why? Innovation happens too rapidly for a command-and-control approach. Instead, people closest to the project or issue must be trusted to make the best decisions for the organization. At our company, empowering people is a strategic priority. This stems from our belief that, as technology advances, it will only be as powerful as the people behind it. – Barbara Humpton, Siemens 6. CONSIDER AI YOUR 'UNLIMITED TUTOR.' Utilize AI as an 'unlimited tutor.' In the past, if you didn't know something, you might say 'Google it.' Now a days, I try to empower my employees to figure something out by using ChatGPT and then coming back to me with the approach they may want to take and why. – Toni Pisano, PortPro Technologies, Inc. 7. LEARN TO ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS. Leadership is shifting from having all the answers to asking better questions. With AI in the mix, especially AI optimization, it's less about gut instinct and more about how fast you can interpret the signal. – Jonathan Snow, Avenue Z 8. APPLY LEAN PRINCIPLES AND A CUSTOMER-FOCUSED MINDSET. Leadership is evolving to be more adaptive, collaborative, and customer-focused—leveraging AI and data to drive deep learning, continuous improvement, and innovation. Applying lean principles helps create learning organizations that drive innovation through customer needs and insights gathered from team members at all levels. This also establishes a smarter, more connected approach to solve new challenges. – Mike Field, The Raymond Corp. Standout leaders blend technological fluency with deep emotional intelligence, viewing digital tools as amplifiers of human potential rather than replacements. They harness real-time data analytics to make faster, more informed decisions while strengthening interpersonal connections through thoughtfully designed virtual environments where distributed teams thrive. – Kathleen Lucente, Red Fan Communications 10. DISTRIBUTE AUTHORITY SO TEAMS CAN MOVE QUICKLY. Leadership styles are shifting from deliberative to decisive. With AI and real-time data, leaders can drive decisions with speed, agility, and discipline. Decision velocity is built by distributing authority, embedding real-time insights into workflows, and empowering teams to act fast, turning speed into a shared organizational capability that drives alignment, responsiveness, and sustained growth. – Santhi Ramesh, SKU 11. USE TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPLEMENT IN-PERSON FACE TIME. Technology allows leaders to be more accessible and connected. It provides an open-door policy, wherever you are on the planet. Sometimes, what is needed most is real-time feedback or a virtual high-five. Technology should never replace the importance of face-to-face communication. But in the moments when you are not live, meeting virtually is still impactful—and it's never been easier. – Bryan Buck, ON Partners 12. TRANSLATE YOUR BODY LANGUAGE TO SUIT DIGITAL MEDIUMS. Tech and digital have changed many aspects of leadership. The evolution of leadership styles faces a disconnect because tech communication is two-dimensional when many people converse in a 3-D world. They must learn how to translate body language into something that comes across in tech. – Baruch Labunski, Rank Secure 13. COACH YOUR TEAM AND CREATE SPACE FOR THEM TO SHINE. Leadership today isn't about having all the answers—it's about creating space for others to shine. With AI and digital tools, we get to spend less time on busywork and more time coaching, listening, and building something meaningful together. – Cody Barbo, Trust & Will 14. REMOVE BARRIERS AND ENABLE EMPLOYEE AUTONOMY. As tech delivers more visibility and automation, great leaders evolve from directing to empowering. Rather than doubling down on control, they focus on unblocking progress and enabling autonomy. The paradox is that letting go, supported by the right tools, actually unlocks greater ownership, speed, and innovation across teams. – Albert Lie, Forward Labs 15. IDENTIFY TEAM STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES WITH TECH-DRIVEN INSIGHTS. Technology can help leaders better identify their team's strengths and weaknesses with data-backed insights. For example, an AI-powered learning and training platform can pinpoint the individuals who need more hands-on guidance and personalized coaching on a specific topic or skill. These insights can help the leader get ahead of performance issues that may arise down the road. – Irina Soriano, Seismic 16. STAY DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THE ORGANIZATION. Technology hasn't replaced strong leadership—it's made attention to detail even more important. With automation handling routine tasks, the best leaders are the ones who stay deeply involved, catch small issues before they become big problems, and use data to make decisions. Digital tools are great, but they don't replace hands-on management. – Milos Eric, OysterLink 17. CONSIDER REPLACING YOUR HIERARCHY WITH 'EXPERTISE PARTIES.' Replace hierarchy with 'expertise parties,' teams where authority follows knowledge, not titles. Our CFO took direction from a 24-year-old blockchain specialist without hesitation. Digital transformation isn't evolving leadership; it's exposing who was faking it. True leadership is surviving the transparency that emerging tech creates. – Shayne Fitz-Coy, Sabot Family Companies 18. AUTOMATE TASKS WISELY.
