Pinion cuts 25% finance review time with MindBridge AI

Pinion has integrated MindBridge's AI platform into its financial review work, cutting time spent on a recent complex engagement by 25%.

The consulting and accounting firm, which focuses on food and agriculture clients, said a pilot with a new client reduced the workload on a review engagement from about 200 hours to 150 hours. The process also gave its team a broader view of the client's operations.

Pinion had already used MindBridge for external audit work before expanding its use to review engagements. The move was part of a wider effort to change established processes and reduce reliance on manual sampling in favour of analysis across an entire dataset.

That shift proved important in the pilot because the client had been dissatisfied with the pace of work and the level of interaction required by other accounting firms. Pinion said the new process helped it handle a large volume of data more efficiently while improving the quality of discussions with the client.

Instead of checking selected samples by hand, the firm used anomaly detection across the full set of financial data. This helped staff identify trends earlier and ask more targeted questions during the engagement.

Process change

The pilot involved a new client that Pinion selected as a suitable test case for a different review method. The firm serves businesses across the food and agriculture sector, including tractor manufacturers and logistics providers, and said the result has changed expectations for future projects.

Jenn Tozlian, Principal at Pinion, described the aim as improving the review process without lowering standards.

"I wanted to see if we could optimise the review engagement process, reducing the total time spent while still delivering a high-quality outcome. It was incredible to not only avoid any major issues on this first-year engagement, but to exceed expectations on all fronts. The client was extremely complimentary about the experience. They appreciated how smooth the process was, the timely delivery, and how well-informed we were about their business. I truly believe that taking the time to set them up with MindBridge and dive into their needs made a significant difference in the outcome," Tozlian said.

The outcome suggests that firms under pressure to complete assurance-related work more quickly are looking beyond labour-intensive methods. In this case, the benefits were not only shorter review times but also a deeper understanding of the client's business.

That can affect both staff workload and client relationships. Moving away from manual processes allowed employees to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time on analysis and discussion, according to Pinion.

Broader pressures

MindBridge, which sells AI software for financial review and audit work, said the result shows firms can shorten engagements without weakening oversight. It also linked the issue to wider staffing constraints in the profession.

"The results achieved by Pinion highlight the immediate value of adapting modern methods for complicated review engagements. By reducing the total time spent on a 200-hour engagement by 25%, the team has proved that significant efficiency gains do not require a sacrifice in quality. This allows professionals to focus on higher-value work and use our platform to find operational details that lead to more productive client discussions. This is critical when you consider balancing the pervasive theme of talent shortages with operational efficiency while maintaining coverage," said Sarah McGinnity, General Manager of Audit & Assurance Solutions at MindBridge.

The figures disclosed by Pinion indicate the engagement fell from 180 to 200 hours to 150 hours, which the firm described as a reduction of 20% to 25%. The result has also increased internal confidence in using the approach on similar work in future.

For firms in specialist sectors such as food and agriculture, where clients can span manufacturing, supply chains, and transport, the ability to quickly review large sets of operational and financial information can shape how much time teams spend gathering evidence and how much they spend interpreting it. Pinion said the pilot showed that a fuller examination of data could also improve the quality of client conversations.