Example agent design
Engagement Letter and Proposal Agent for CPAs
An engagement letter and proposal agent drafts letters and proposals from the firm's templates, carries the firm's third-party disclosure language and any consent form counsel has approved, and leaves fees, scope, and the signature with the engagement partner. This is a starting design. An AI Blueprint adapts it to your goals and the systems it will connect to.
It keeps required language intact across every letter. One partner can start on their own desktop, and a firm-wide template library runs hosted.
- Owner
- The engagement partner, who sets fees and scope and signs
- Reads
- Firm templates and disclosure language · The prior-year engagement letter · Client and service records from the workflow tool
- Never writes
- Fees or scope the partner has not set, or changes to disclosure or consent language. It never sends or e-signs a letter.
- Typical cost
- AI Blueprint $4,500–$7,500, credited toward the build. Typical first build $18,000–$35,000, or start local at $4,500–$9,500. Agent Operations after launch $2,500/mo for one production agent. See the first engagement
The workflow
Engagement letters today and with the agent
Planning comparison only. Scope, timing, and outcomes vary by data, workflow, approvals, adoption, and implementation conditions.
- Drafting
- TodayAssembled by hand from templates and last year's letter.
- With the agentDrafted from the firm's current template with this year's services.
- Required language
- TodayDisclosure and consent language copied and checked by hand.
- With the agentCarried from the approved template, unchanged.
- Fees and scope
- TodaySet by the engagement partner.
- With the agentStill set by the partner; the draft leaves them for the partner to fill.
- Sending and signature
- TodayThe partner sends and collects the signature.
- With the agentUnchanged. The agent never sends or e-signs.
How it runs
Five steps from template to signed letter
An illustrative solution design, not a reported client result. The AI Blueprint maps it to the firm's own templates and workflow tool.
- 01
Approve the templates
The firm's templates, disclosure language, and any consent form counsel has approved become the set the firm approves.
Partner review point
- 02
Gather the engagement
Reads the client and service records from the workflow tool and last year's letter.
- 03
Draft the letter and proposal
Drafts from the template with the required language intact, leaving fees and scope for the partner.
- 04
Flag what changed
Flags services added or dropped since last year's letter for the partner.
- 05
The partner finishes and signs
The engagement partner sets fees and scope, reviews, and sends. The agent never sends or e-signs.
Partner review point
Systems
The systems it reads
- Templates
- The firm's engagement letter and proposal templates, with its third-party disclosure language and any consent form counsel has approved.
- Workflow tool
- Client and service records from Karbon or XCM.
- Document system
- Last year's signed letter, in SmartVault, ShareFile, or Microsoft 365.
Technologies ITECS evaluates and integrates through supported import, export, or API methods confirmed in discovery; listing a product does not imply a formal partnership or a native connector.
Controls
Read-heavy and write-controlled by design
- Read-heavy
- Reads the systems listed above through access scoped to this workflow.
- Write-controlled
- Writes nothing listed under Never writes in the spec at the top of this page. Anything it drafts waits at the approval points below.
- Approval points
- The engagement partner reviews every draft, sets fees and scope, and signs. Counsel approves any consent form the letter carries.
- Audit trail
- Each run keeps its inputs, sources, output, and the reviewer's decision.
In this design
- Third-party disclosure and consent language is carried from the approved template and never rewritten by the agent.
- Return and client information is processed and stored in the US only, under no-training terms and written Section 6713 and 7216 confidentiality terms, and the agent is recorded in the firm's written security plan as an overseen service provider.
- Whether a client's consent is needed under Section 7216 stays with the firm's counsel.
- No agent signs, files, or posts anything. Returns, Form 8879, e-files, engagement letters, and entries stay with the named professional.
- ITECS does not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice through its agents, and no design promises an outcome. The agent drafts and flags; the firm's CPAs review the work and make every determination.
Deployment fit
Where this design can run
- Local AI Agents
- A Local variant runs one partner's templates in their own Claude, Codex, or Copilot workspace. A firm-wide template library with tracking runs hosted.
- Hosted AI Agents
- Runs in a governed Linux environment ITECS operates, on frontier models through enterprise API agreements, connected to the firm's templates and the workflow tool through controlled integrations, with human review and an audit trail.
Typical first engagement
Start with an AI Blueprint
The AI Blueprint sets the actual build rung and its fixed-fee not-to-exceed. The rows below show the typical path and the catalog range for each step.
- FirstAI BlueprintAgent Discovery & Technical Specification. Credited toward the build.$4,500–$7,500
- Typical first buildSingle-Workflow Production AgentIt is a single-workflow build because it runs one primary workflow, template to draft letter, with a human-in-the-loop review path.$18,000–$35,000
- Or start localLocal Agent SprintOne workflow · 1–2 data sources$4,500–$9,500
- After launchAgent Operations, one production agent$2,500/mo
Prices from the published AI pricing catalog. Every guided or delivered agent build is archived in the ITECS client vault: workspace configuration, skills, prompt libraries, data-source maps, and usage documentation.
Customize this design
Bring your goals and your systems. The AI Blueprint decides the scope and the systems, not this example, and ends with a fixed-fee not-to-exceed for the build.
FAQ
Engagement Letter & Proposal Agent FAQ
Does the agent set fees or scope?
No. The draft leaves fees and scope for the engagement partner, who sets them, reviews the letter, and signs.
Does it send or e-sign letters?
No. The partner sends the letter and collects the signature through the firm's existing process.
Who approves the consent language?
The firm's counsel approves any Section 7216 consent form, and the agent carries it unchanged. Whether consent is needed stays with counsel.
Can one partner start on their own desktop?
Yes. A Local Agent Sprint builds one partner's letter agent in their own Claude, Codex, or Copilot workspace. When the firm wants a shared template library, multi-user access, or an audit trail, it moves to a hosted build.
Is this tax or accounting advice?
No. ITECS does not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice through its agents. The agent applies rules the firm approved and drafts or flags for review; the firm's CPAs make every determination, and no design promises an outcome.
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