Today, Rima AI, a Y Combinator-backed startup founded by Harvard classmates Gwanygha’a Gana and Cedric Foudjet, opens public access to the first AI accounting agent that interviews accountants like a senior practitioner, learns their specific edge cases, and builds a custom document workflow that runs automatically, the same way, every time.
The Work Nobody Talks About
According to the Accounting Firm Operations and Technology (AFOT) Survey of 301 U.S. firms, 70 percent of accounting firms still use email to exchange at least some client documents, and only 14 percent have achieved fully paperless delivery (CPA Practice Advisor, 2017). A 2023 Canopy survey of 150 U.S.-based accountants found that 69 percent spend too much time gathering documents from clients, with 47 percent describing their current document management as a broken process. Because so many client documents still arrive as email attachments, scans, and paper, accountants spend hours on formatting, data entry, and Excel wrangling before anything ever touches the ERP. That is the real work of accounting today, and no software has touched it.
Solo practitioners and small to mid-market firms get hit the hardest. According to Rightworks’ 2024 Accounting Firm Technology Survey of nearly 500 U.S.-based firms, 60 percent described themselves as slow adopters of new technology, citing disconnected systems and the absence of standardized workflows. These firms do not have engineering teams to build internal tools. They have spreadsheets, manual handoffs, and workarounds that eat the hours they should be spending advising clients.
How Rima Works
Rima does not hand accountants a dashboard and hope their workflow fits. The platform interviews the accountant. It asks the questions a senior practitioner would ask until it understands the specific edge case. Then it builds a custom document workflow, called a Blueprint, that runs automatically.
Accountants tell Rima what they do in plain English and hand it their client documents. Rima figures out the rest. Accounting professionals are already using the platform to complete cleanups, catch-ups, bank and credit card reconciliations, AP reconciliations, and data entry for tax prep — the kind of work that used to consume entire afternoons.
Already in the Field
More than 100 accountants are already using Rima to eliminate manual document workflows.
“Using the Blueprint Rima developed, our monthly data entry process went from 90 minutes per client to under 20 minutes start to finish. With over 20 clients, this transition has been highly efficient and has drastically reduced my workload.”
-Ashley Losee, Senior Accountant, Sunbridge Advisors
Why Rima Was Built
Rima exists because of two family stories. When Gana’s mother’s business was on the verge of bankruptcy, it was not saved by software. It was saved by an accountant with a brilliant mind who stepped in and used judgment to steer the ship. Foudjet watched his uncle file for bankruptcy and close his restaurants because of financial mismanagement. An accountant could have saved that business. Accountants go to school to save companies like these from going under.
The need is urgent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects more than 120,000 accounting and auditing openings each year, while the 2025 AICPA/NASBA Trends Report shows a shrinking pipeline of new CPAs. Total accounting degree completions fell to roughly 55,000 in the 2023–24 academic year, down approximately 30% from the mid-2010s peak, according to the AICPA. The profession is losing experienced practitioners faster than it can replace them.
“It breaks my heart to see how these folks spend their days now. They aren’t practicing accounting. They’re acting as data janitors. We built Rima to give them their minds back. Now, the solo practitioner and the small firm have a partner that helps them punch above their weight, so they can focus on advising the businesses that build America.” -Gwanygha’a Gana and Cedric Foudjet, Co-founders, Rima AI
Availability
Rima AI is open to everyone starting today. Accountants can sign up and build their first Blueprint at www.getrima.ai.
About Rima AI
Rima AI is a Y Combinator-backed company building the first AI accounting agent that automates the manual work ERPs will not touch. Founded by Harvard classmates Gwanygha’a Gana and Cedric Foudjet, Rima interviews accountants to understand their specific workflows and edge cases, then builds custom document automation that runs automatically. Rima does not replace accountants. It handles the work they would rather delegate so they can focus on advisory — helping build the companies that build America. More than 100 accountants already use Rima.
Learn more at www.getrima.ai.
Sources
Accounting Firm Operations and Technology (AFOT) Survey of 301 U.S. firms (2017): 70% of firms use email for at least some client document delivery; only 14% fully paperless. Published by CPA Practice Advisor, May 2017.
Canopy survey of 150 U.S.-based accountants (2023): 69% spend too much time gathering documents from clients; 47% describe their document management as a broken process.
Rightworks 2024 Accounting Firm Technology Survey (493 U.S.-based firms): 60% self-identified as slow technology adopters. Published April 2024.
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Projects more than 120,000 annual accounting and auditing openings.
2025 AICPA/NASBA Trends Report: Accounting degree completions fell to approximately 55,000 in 2023–24, down roughly 30% from the mid-2010s peak.
