By Meg Flippin Benzinga
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - September 15, 2025 (NEWMEDIAWIRE) - Mel Walker, Managing Director and Data & AI Practice Leader at CohnReznick, recently sat down to talk with Benzinga about how the company is expanding and the role AI is playing in its and its customers’ transformations.
CohnReznick has been providing accounting, risk management and digital transformation services to companies across finance, healthcare, retail and manufacturing for decades. The company helps businesses optimize performance, manage risk and maximize value through its accounting, advisory and tax services.
“We’ve seen a shift in some of our clients’ needs where they’ve come to us and have expanded areas where they need additional support,” Walker told Benzinga. “Given the knowledge that we have on the tax, audit and finance side it really made us the perfect partner to come in to help them and advise them in other parts of their practice.”
CohnReznick Guides Businesses Toward Practical AI Adoption With Trusted Expertise & Strategy
Getting To Know AI
One area that is getting a lot of interest from CohnReznick’s clients is AI. As an early adopter of AI, CohnReznick is well-suited to help companies develop and implement their AI strategies. Customers are coming to CohnReznick to prepare for the days when AI is ubiquitous, says Walker. At this stage, many clients are learning, understanding and exploring what AI in existing apps can do. The company is also helping clients get ready for AI rollouts by ensuring the policies and processes are in place and the data is optimized. Far too often, companies will believe their data is in a good spot and ready for AI, but Walker finds there is always room for improvement.
While Walker is excited about what AI can do in terms of productivity and efficiency, she urges caution when companies adopt this disruptive technology. This isn’t something Walker says companies should go full throttle on out of the gate without giving it thought. Yes, there’s the potential to use AI for growth and optimization, but only if it's implemented correctly.
“Use AI where it makes sense, don't use AI for the sake of AI,” says Walker. “I always say kill a fly with a fly swatter, not a sledgehammer.” Walker points to the AI already embedded in things like Hubspot for customer relationship management or Salesforce for sales leads as a good place for businesses to start their AI journey. They can spend time seeing the AI capabilities in the apps they use before implementing new AI.
The Future Looks…AI
AI isn’t a fad. It's not going away anytime soon, but as for adoption rates, Walker thinks it may be slow and steady in the beginning. She says C-suite - particularly financial - executives will tiptoe into AI, testing the waters before jumping in. If it makes sense and they can trust it, they will roll it out, says Walker. If it's questionable and not secure it won’t be implemented.
As for how the world should view AI, Walker says it should be more positive and less negative. The commentary that AI will steal our jobs is overblown, argues Walker, predicting that ultimately AI will augment the way we work, not replace us. All in all, AI will make our work life easier. “AI certainly is not going away,” says Walker. “My hope is we get to the four-day work week because of AI.”
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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