Yes, an accounting firm can license de-identified records to AI buyers, but client files usually need client consent under the federal tax-preparer rule (Section 7216) and the AICPA confidentiality rule, so the firm's own process records are the safer start. Brokers report deals of $280,000 for an accounting group (Red Deer Data, October 2026) and $350,000 for a 60-person firm (Telegraph Lab, October 2026), neither independently confirmed. Mercor's listing says a 5 to 200 person accounting and tax firm earns $25,000 to $865,000 (Mercor Data, October 2026).
On this page
- Why do AI labs want accounting and advisory firm records?
- Which records do buyers ask accounting firms for?
- What have accounting firms been paid?
- What might a 20 to 500 person firm expect?
- What do Section 7216 and the AICPA rule allow?
- What can a firm license with less risk?
- How is accounting data de-identified?
- What should I do next?
- Questions
- Sources
Why do AI labs want accounting and advisory firm records?
AI companies are training models to do professional work, and accounting is high on the list. Business Insider (October 2026) reported that fields AI developers most want to automate, like law and accounting, see especially high demand for data. Labelbox Prism marks "financial reasoning traces," covering underwriting, valuation, forecasting and similar work "with key assumptions and rationale," as urgent demand (Labelbox, October 2026). Scale AI lists financial services and business and professional services among its industries (Scale AI, October 2026). Mode, a consumer app company, launched BizBuyData, a program that licenses records from accounting firms with at least 10 employees, with payment expected in about 60 days (Accounting Today, October 2026).
What a firm's records show is the path, not just the answer: how a messy ledger became a clean close, how a reviewer caught an error, how an engagement was scoped. See Mercor, Endless, Labelbox and Scale AI for their terms. Data Licensors, the company that publishes this page, also licenses records from professional services firms. Our buyer page sits next to the others.
Which records do buyers ask accounting firms for?
Buyers do not agree, and the difference matters:
| Buyer | What it asks for | What it excludes |
|---|---|---|
| Endless | Client onboarding, month-end close, reconciliation, SOPs | "Client books" |
| Mercor, accounting and tax listing | Tax returns with workpapers across entity types, several filing seasons, bookkeeping records, source documents | Blank forms and templates, non-US returns |
| Mercor, consulting and advisory listing | Final deliverables, drafts, workpapers, models and decks, 5+ years, anonymized so clients can't be identified | Firms with only marketing collateral and templates |
Sources: Endless and Mercor Data, checked October 2026.
Mercor's accounting listing asks the firm "Can client documents be licensed once anonymized?" That is the right question, and the answer depends on the rules below, not on the buyer.
What have accounting firms been paid?
| Company | Records | Amount | Kind of figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting group | Workpapers, client service workflows, templates, internal communications | $280,000, listed as "paid 5 days" | Broker claim | Red Deer Data, checked October 2026 |
| Accounting firm, 60 staff | Five years of workpapers, reconciliations, financial models, tax files | $350,000 | Broker claim | Telegraph Lab, checked October 2026 |
Neither names the firm or the buyer, and neither says how client consent was handled. We could not confirm either, and both are republished on other broker sites (Pewter Data, October 2026), so they are two data points, not a market price. Both are in our deal ledger.
What might a 20 to 500 person firm expect?
Sourced ranges are wide: Mercor's accounting and tax listing says $25,000 to $865,000 for firms with 5 to 200 employees, "depends on client count and seasons," and its consulting and advisory listing says $150,000 to $300,000 for firms with 10 to 500 employees (Mercor Data, October 2026). Your Data Value republishes one advisory firm's size table for all industries: $100K to $500K for 25 to 100 employees, with a typical close of $350K (Your Data Value, October 2026). A license limited to firm-owned process records will usually be priced below one that includes client work, so ask any buyer to price both scopes separately. Get an estimate, and see how much company data is worth for every buyer's range.
What do Section 7216 and the AICPA rule allow?
This is not legal advice. Use it to prepare for a conversation with counsel.
Section 7216. It is a criminal provision that prohibits tax return preparers from knowingly or recklessly disclosing or using tax return information. The IRS defines that term broadly: everything obtained to prepare a return, plus the computations, worksheets and printouts the preparer creates (IRS, checked October 2026). A convicted preparer may be fined up to $1,000, or $100,000 in identity theft cases, jailed up to one year, or both, for each violation (26 U.S.C. 7216). Section 6713 adds a civil penalty of $250 per disclosure or use, up to $10,000 a year, and it does not require the disclosure to be knowing or reckless (26 U.S.C. 6713; IRS). Exceptions cover things like disclosures to the IRS, to other US preparers helping with the return, and to get legal advice. All other disclosures need the taxpayer's advance written consent, in a set form that names the preparer and taxpayer, what will be disclosed and to whom (IRS).
Statistics are not a way around it. The regulations say a preparer "may not sell or exchange for value a statistical compilation" of tax return data, except when the tax preparation business itself is sold (26 CFR 301.7216-2(o)(2)).
AICPA Confidential Client Information Rule. Under the AICPA code (Rule 1.700.001), a member in public practice "shall not disclose any confidential client information without the specific consent of the client." It covers any non-public client information, including records such as financial statements that Section 7216 does not reach. The Journal of Accountancy notes that even when information is presented so specific clients cannot be identified, both rules limit when and how it may be disclosed (Journal of Accountancy, March 2015). State boards of accountancy have their own rules.
Data security. The IRS notes that under the FTC Safeguards Rule, tax return preparers must create and follow a written information security plan to protect client data (IRS Publication 4557). Any export, even of internal records, should follow it.
Law firms have a similar duty of confidentiality to clients, and Endless says client matter content is excluded from its law firm deals (Endless, October 2026).
What can a firm license with less risk?
Sort your records into three groups:
- Firm-owned: SOPs and checklists, templates you built, training material, internal process discussions in email and chat, workflow and project-tracking history, staffing and scheduling logic, and the firm's own books.
- Client-derived, consent needed: returns, workpapers, client ledgers and bank statements, deliverables and models. Include them only with written client consent in the form counsel approves, or under an exception counsel confirms applies.
- Out: anything a client agreement forbids, and government ID numbers and bank credentials, which are on our never accept list in any case.
Even firm-owned records mention clients, so they are de-identified before they leave. We go through a short rights check with you before anything is signed.
How is accounting data de-identified?
Names, addresses, emails, phone numbers, client and company names, and account, invoice and EIN-style numbers are replaced with placeholders such as [Client] or [Entity 7]. Financial records need one extra step: unusual figures can identify a business even without its name, so amounts may be rounded, banded or shifted, and rare details such as a small town plus a niche industry are generalized. Reviewer comments, the order of adjustments and the reasoning stay. A person reviews samples from every batch, and you see a de-identified sample before you sign. More: how de-identification works.
What should I do next?
List your systems (practice management, tax software, bookkeeping, document storage, email), decide which records are firm-owned, and take the consent question to counsel before asking for offers. Then compare written offers on the same scope using our licensing agreement guide, and read is it legal to sell company data for the wider picture.
