Why we just made our first AI hire

THE AI-FIRST FIRM · ISSUE 1 · JULY 31, 2026 · 5 MIN READ

Another newsletter? Yikes. Your inbox is already full of them. I know I have to work for it, but let me give it a shot.

I’ve been heavy into AI for years. In fact, it’s how we built 40+ of our own tools at YBL with no developers. That being said, we just brought on a dedicated AI hire to go even further and I’d love for you to be part of this journey as I’m going to share the good, the bad, and the ugly. I learn something every time we evolve, and I’d rather bring you along with me than keep it behind closed doors.

You definitely don’t need another “5 AI tools to try this week” list written by someone who has never run a firm.

This is for firm leaders and their whole team, honestly anyone in the accounting space that’s curious what’s actually happening within firms using AI. And not just Canada, though fair warning, I’m Canadian, so expect the odd eh to sneak in here and there.

Long story short, every two weeks I’ll share what we’re actually doing with AI at YBL, what broke, and one thing I’ll share that you should steal.

What you will NOT get is hype like, “AI will transform your practice!” (even if it will).

The accounting community has been so generous to me over the years, so I’d love to take this time to reciprocate that generosity and show you what we’re up to.

You don’t have room to get it wrong. That’s exactly why most firms freeze on AI, and it’s why every issue shows you what broke, not just what worked.

If that sounds useful to you, you’re in the right place.

Let’s dive in.

Earlier this month our new AI Solutions Architect started. He’s the first official AI hire we’ve ever made. Everyone posts the big wins but people rarely post the fears, so here’s mine.

What I hoped for was someone to take my pile of vibe-coded tools and make them real. Stop the thoughts of “please don’t break” every time something I built touches a client.

What I also feared, and still do a little, is that I hired ahead of the revenue. How do I justify this hire? How does he fit into the mix?

A lot of people asked me what this role actually does, so quickly, three main pillars.

And lots more I’ll share in time…

Should you make this hire? Well as you can imagine, it depends. If you’re a solo or small shop, probably not yet. But the bigger and faster-growing you are, the sooner this type of role stops being optional. I do think almost every firm ends up with a version of this role eventually, even if it’s just an internal AI champion. I’m just trying it earlier than most, and I’m finding out in public whether that was brave or dumb.

Some weeks these will be dead simple, some weeks it’ll be a bigger build, but I hope it’s always worth taking.

Ever heard of a skill? It’s a set of instructions you teach Claude or ChatGPT once, so it repeats a task the same way, every time.

Here’s how to build your first one.

Our own VCFO client check-in skill goes a bit deeper. It also projects corporate and sales taxes owing, with a visual to go with it.

Oh and one more thing, make sure you’re on the right plan for handling client data before you put anything real in.

Yesterday I dropped a video on how we turn clients QuickBooks data from a history book into a forward-looking CFO system we call CFO Pilot. That one’s for business owners. Everything after it is made specifically for the accounting space.

Last week I was fortunate enough to speak alongside Vivek Srivastava, who runs AI at Karbon, on a session for Accounting Today called The Five Pillars of AI Success. I had a blast but you could tell the feeling in the room was “I feel behind.” Honestly, you might be. But that’s the whole reason these resources exist! Not to mention it’s impossible to “keep up”, so don’t beat yourself up about it.

That feeling is partly why we're running a free AI workshop. Sept 17 in Toronto, 50 people, 4-hours actually building the things instead of hearing about them. Click HERE to check it out if you're close enough to come, we’d love to see you!

Here’s what the next few months look like. You’ll get the real build log from us. What we thought it would take vs what it actually took. What goes right AND what goes very wrong. The apps we’re rebuilding, and the ones we quietly kill. The client work that turns into something different and more meaningful. If you’ve ever wanted to watch a firm rewire itself in real time instead of a fancy case study 2 years later, that’s what you’ll find here.

What’s the one task at your firm you’d automate tomorrow if you knew it wouldn’t break? Reply and tell me, I might feature your answer in the next issue.

See you in two weeks.

Mike

PS - You’ll notice there’s not a single em dash in this whole thing but I’ve always been a dash guy, always will be, dammit. Hyphens are staying.

PPS - My uncle Bob passed a year ago today. He was a huge part of YBL, and I miss him dearly. Felt wrong to send issue 1 without saying that.

Mike Libbey is CEO of YBL, a fully virtual Canadian accounting and VCFO firm. On YouTube (@MikeLibbey) he shows the tools he has built and what running a firm actually takes, and he posts every weekday on LinkedIn. He is quietly building TaxPilot for Canadian tax firms on the side. Reply to any issue, he reads them all.