Overview

Every week, tax practices lost billable hours to the same work: responding to verification requests, corresponding with SARS, handling objections and requests for reasons, and sorting client records that arrived in no particular order.

Most practitioners already had generative AI on their desks. The harder part was knowing how to brief it well enough to produce work worth reviewing, then checking that work without giving back the time saved.

Rather than covering the method in theory, the session worked through a complete case study. It started with a fictitious company, its supporting records and a SARS verification letter received through eFiling, and finished with a reviewed response that was ready for submission. Practitioners received the AI skill used in the demonstration, which was built for South African tax practice. The session also gave a brief look under the hood. The skill turned a loose request into a properly briefed one without asking the practitioner to manage the mechanics.

The demonstration was run twice. In the junior version, the skill explained what a verification request meant, why each document belonged in the response pack and what the reviewing senior would check. It drafted the response while explaining the work, so that trainees could keep developing their judgement. In the senior version, the same skill produced the work product, deadline table and review checklist. The checklist looked for four ways AI could get South African tax law wrong: invented authority, positions superseded by amendments, law imported from other jurisdictions, and unsettled issues presented as settled. The practitioner still reviewed and signed the final response.

The session included 90 minutes of content and 30 minutes of open discussion. Niel Malan, an engineer, explained what an AI skill was, how these systems succeeded and failed, and how to verify their output.

The session was designed for practices as well as individual practitioners. It did not recommend a product or endorse a vendor. The approach applied to whichever generative AI platform a practice already used, and professional judgement remained with the practitioner throughout.

Webinar Content

• Part 1: Where the hours went: the work a compliance practice could hand to AI, and the work it should always keep with the practitioner.
• Part 2: What a skill was: a brief look at good instruction, and why it was built into the skill instead of taught as a separate method.
• Part 3: The case study, junior seat: a SARS verification letter explained, supported with evidence and drafted, while the skill coached rather than replaced the trainee.
• Part 4: The case study, senior seat: the faster route from letter to reviewed response pack, with deadlines calculated and diarised.
• Part 5: Trust, then verify: the four ways AI could get South African tax law wrong, and the review that made its output safe to rely on.
• Part 6: Practice guardrails: client confidentiality, limits on authority, and what stayed with the practitioner.
• Q&A and open discussion (30 minutes).

Competencies Developed

By the end of the session, practitioners were equipped to:

• Identify AI-suitable compliance work and distinguish tasks that could be delegated to AI from those requiring professional judgement.
• Structure effective AI instructions to produce relevant, practice-ready outputs from unstructured client information.
• Interpret SARS verification requests and identify the supporting documentation and evidence required for a complete response.
• Use AI to draft compliance responses while maintaining appropriate practitioner oversight and review.
• Apply AI in both junior and senior workflows, using it for trainee development, work-product preparation, deadline management and review.
• Verify AI-generated tax content by identifying invented authority, outdated legislation, foreign law and unsettled tax positions presented as established law.
• Evaluate AI-generated work critically using a structured review and verification process before submission to SARS.
• Apply appropriate practice guardrails relating to client confidentiality, data handling, professional responsibility and the limits of AI.
• Assess the impact of AI on practice efficiency, including review capacity, trainee development and the economics of compliance work.
• Integrate AI into existing practice workflows without replacing professional judgement or accountability.

Presenter

Niël Malan

As Chief A.I. Officer at Tangent Solutions and co-founder of Jurumani Solutions, I empower businesses to thrive in a dynamic digital world. With over 15 years of experience across cloud computing, telecommunications, and emerging technologies, I specialize in helping organizations apply AI-driven solutions to unlock new value, scale smarter, and innovate faster.

My journey spans from architecting cloud-first strategies to now spearheading the adoption of artificial intelligence and automation across industries. I am passionate about bridging the gap between groundbreaking technologies and real-world business outcomes — ensuring that innovation translates into measurable impact.

Certified by AWS and trained through MIT Sloan’s executive programs, I bring both strategic vision and hands-on expertise to each challenge. My mission is clear: enable organizations to lead, adapt, and win in the AI era.

Let’s shape the future — one transformative solution at a time.

CPD

Attending this webinar and the successful completion of the online assessment will secure a certificate of completion for 2 hours of Tax CPD.

Event Investment

Free for Tax Technician, Tax Practitioner, Tax Accountant CPD subscribers and Practice Packages. Not a CPD subscriber yet? Click here to register now.

• Regular price:  R460.00
• Group booking discounts available when you register for a group.

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