Newcastle University Business School Researcher Helping to Transform Tax Advisory Services Through AI
A new Knowledge Transfer Partnership brings together Newcastle University expertise and regional business to explore how AI can transform tax compliance and create opportunities for higher-value financial advice.
2 November 2026
Dr Erwei (David) Xiang, Senior Lecturer in Accounting at Newcastle University Business School, is contributing to an innovative Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) that aims to reshape how accountancy firms deliver accounting, financial, and advisory services. The project will use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to automate routine processes and free up capacity for more strategic financial analysis.
Dr Xiang specialises in financial management and analysis. He is working on the project Transforming Tax Advisory Services through AI with Professor Mohamad Kassem from the School of Engineering and Dr Huizhi Liang from the School of Computing, bringing together complementary expertise from across Newcastle University. The project is being delivered in partnership with Blu Sky, a high-growth cloud accountancy firm and strategic business partner.
The partnership has secured £225,483 in funding through the latest Innovate UK KTP funding round, with support from Newcastle University’s Newcastle Innovations.
Using AI to create more value for businesses
Tax compliance involves routine, data-intensive processes that demand significant time and effort from accountancy professionals. The project will explore how AI can automate these activities, reduce repetitive work and free up time for strategic financial analysis, insight and higher-value advisory services.
By combining academic research with practical business expertise, the partnership aims to develop and embed new capabilities within Blu Sky. This work will support the firm’s ambition to deliver high-value advisory services to high-growth companies.
The interdisciplinary team combines Professor Mohamad Kassem’s expertise in digital engineering, Dr Huizhi Liang’s expertise in data science, Artificial Intelligence and natural language processing, and Dr Xiang’s expertise in financial management and analysis.
Working closely with Blu Sky, the team will integrate these perspectives to address real-world business challenges, developing practical AI-enabled capabilities that reduce repetitive work, support more strategic and insight-led advisory services, and demonstrate how emerging technologies can help professional services evolve.
Dr Erwei (David) Xiang said: "AI has the potential to transform how accountancy and advisory firms operate by reducing repetitive, data-intensive work and allowing professionals to focus more fully on strategic financial analysis and higher-value advice. This partnership brings together technological, financial, and business expertise to develop practical capabilities that can support Blu Sky and its high-growth clients."
Strengthening connections with regional business
The partnership supports Newcastle University’s wider civic and impact agendas by helping businesses explore innovative solutions, strengthen their capabilities and pursue growth opportunities.
It also advances the Business School’s priority of strengthening engagement with regional businesses, policymakers and non-governmental organisations. The project demonstrates how collaboration with industry can connect the University’s research strengths with business needs.
As businesses across the North East navigate the opportunities that AI and digital transformation present, partnerships like this can connect specialist academic knowledge with the challenges and ambitions of organisations across the regional economy.
The project forms part of a wider funding success for Newcastle University, with a successful bid for more than £700,000 in combined funding to address challenges in accounting, water infrastructure and sustainable fisheries.