The consumer-facing approach will do the firm well. There are a number of things that could be automated in the tax preparation process, but H&R Block decided to focus on identifying deductions and credits. These are just the sorts of problems that machines tend to outperform humans in solving. It’s not hard to see how a machine would excel at this clearly defined search task. Watson will use natural language processing to parse tax documents and relate statements back to the 74,000-page federal tax code.
Yes, that’s right - we now need machine intelligence to save us from our taxes. The process is such a mess, even for said professionals, that H&R Block, one of the largest tax services providers, is partnering with IBM Watson to help make the process go more smoothly. It’s complicated, time-consuming and costly - particularly for people whose financial situation requires them to seek help from tax professionals.
