Fieldguide

Market position

Fieldguide describes itself, and is described in trade press, as a leader in AI-native audit and advisory technology, with adoption by about half of the Top 100 U.S. accounting firms including Big Four members. Its lead Series C investor characterized the platform as purpose-built models for a specific vertical use case rather than generic large language models, and said customers reported 30-40% efficiency improvements. The company frames the addressable problem as a structural capacity shortfall in audit and advisory driven by rising regulatory complexity and a shrinking pool of qualified professionals; Bessemer has referred to the audit and advisory industry as a $200 billion market.

The company emphasizes an AI-native architecture predating the ChatGPT era combined with domain expertise: it was built by former Big Four practitioners, and about a quarter of employees are former practitioners. Its investors point to purpose-built models for audit-specific tasks, deep vertical domain knowledge, and agentic execution with governance, traceability and human review designed for regulated environments, as distinguishing factors versus general-purpose AI tools and legacy, fragmented audit technology stacks.

Technology

The platform is AI-native and agentic: AI agents execute repetitive engagement work end to end while practitioners remain in control and review outputs. It is purpose-built for regulated environments, with governance, traceability and explicit human oversight in each engagement, and is marketed as a secure, privacy-conscious AI solution for drafting and analyzing tests, requests and document reviews. According to the lead Series C investor, the system uses purpose-built models designed for the specific use case rather than only general-purpose large language models. The company has announced Field Financials and Fieldguide MCP.

Go-to-market

Fieldguide sells directly to audit and advisory firms, using customer references and industry association endorsements, trade-press awards and named firm case studies for credibility. Its go-to-market organization includes dedicated sales, customer success and marketing leadership, and Series B proceeds were allocated to expanding reach across firms of all types and sizes and to international expansion. Thomson Reuters is both an investor and, per funding coverage, a strategic backer.

Audit, assurance and advisory practices, including CPA and consulting firms of varying sizes from Top 100 U.S. firms and Big Four members to smaller practices. Named users include KPMG, BDO, Grant Thornton, RSM US, Baker Tilly, CBIZ, Forvis Mazars, Wipfli, Mazars and Aprio.

Geography

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, and operated as a remote-first company with roles based in San Francisco or remote across the United States. Its customer base is centered on U.S. accounting firms, and Series B proceeds were earmarked in part for strengthening international presence.

History

Jin Chang, a CPA who spent five years at EY in audit and advisory and later served as chief of staff at the AI-powered legal firm Atrium (which shut down in 2020), conceived Fieldguide in 2020 as software to automate the manual aspects of accounting work rather than as a new-generation accounting firm. He co-founded the company with CTO Chris Szymansky, and Fieldguide went through Y Combinator's Summer 2020 batch. The company announced a $17M Series A in March 2022 and, by the March 2024 $30M Series B led by Bessemer Venture Partners, reported that nearly forty of the Top 100 CPA and consulting firms were customers. Early traction with an AI-native approach was initially difficult; the company says the popularity of large language models from OpenAI and Anthropic validated the strategy, and the CEO dates product-market fit to roughly the 18 months preceding the February 2026 $75M Series C led by Growth Equity at Goldman Sachs Alternatives.

Risks & controversies

Fieldguide's market thesis rests on an accounting talent crisis the CEO calls existential, citing a 17-year low in CPA exam candidates and more than 75% of current CPAs expected to retire within a decade. The company states its AI agents replace work typically outsourced to offshore firms in countries such as India and the Philippines, and the CEO projects that a traditional 10-person audit team could complete an audit with three people within a few years, raising labor-displacement questions that he counters by arguing automation will reduce burnout and accelerate junior careers. The product also operates in a regulated setting where audit quality standards must be maintained, and the company acknowledged early difficulty gaining traction with its AI-native approach; adoption among its listed customer firms varies in depth.