When we hear about artificial intelligence (AI), our closest references go back to the film industry. Movies like Terminator have shown us how AI has thought in creating tools that we had never think could exist. In many areas of science we see that AI has enormous potential.
But what is its scope in accounting?
As in other fields, we see that efficiency and service delivery have improved. In accounting, AI is a valuable ally as a tool. AI will allow us to carry out our activities in a simpler way and with less probability of errors. Accounting is a profession that requires years of training and practice.
We can think that the industry is immune to major transformations. However, we are at a fundamental turning point. The repetitive and automated nature of many accounting tasks tells us it is time for a change to occur. We see that the juxtaposition of AI technology and the accounting industry, puts the accounting profession at the center of an exciting new era.
Join us to see some of the aspects in which AI improves the performance of accounting, and has allowed us to optimize our work in an impressive way.
Let’s see!
Ai and accounting culture
Even we still a long way from true artificial intelligence, it is already optimal for automating repetitive tasks. AI allows us increasing precision and efficiency, and uncovering hidden ideas and trends. With artificial intelligence we can interpret the best way to achieve an answer and learn the routines that obtain the best result.
We can automatically upload documents, understand entries, and classify them into the correct accounting codes.
An example of this is our APP: My T. My T is a tool designed to facilitate data processing. My T allows us to convert data obtained through photos or scanned images to a digital format or spreadsheet.
This makes it possible to optimize our time and spend fewer hours processing data manually. If we automate administrative tasks; we can devote more time and energy to creativity. With AI we can analyze and interpret data to extract real value for the business and our clients, in much less time.
Accounting areas benefited with AI
Today we see many professionals excited about the benefits that artificial intelligence offers us. In fact, many accounting firms agree that AI will help improve their businesses in the future. As the application of AI progresses, we see three clear areas of benefit for the accounting profession: invisible accounting, continuous auditing, and active reporting.
This will provide our companies with the ability to capture business activity in real time. Our businesses will be able to carry out a continuous reconciliation and make adjustments. In our companies, thanks to AI will can analyze financial movements throughout the month.
AI and systems in the accounting field
We have been successfully applying expert systems in multiple fields: medicine, geology, chemistry, engineering, etc. Systems provide us with automation to perform very diverse tasks: interpretation, prediction, diagnosis, design, planning, instruction, control, etc. Administrative, financial and accounting activities are also fields in which expert systems can be applied.
In accounting, we use many of the tasks described above. Besides, we see that these tasks meet most of the requirements to be able to develop an expert system. In principle, we can apply expert systems in all areas of accounting.
However, as this classification would be very broad and impractical for us, we classify the potential applications of expert accounting systems according to the following areas:
- Audit
- Cost and management accounting
- Financial Accounting
- Statement financial analysis
- Services financial industry planning
In all these areas we need something in common: Data processing. The changes that we see in the rules and procedures, the requirements of our clients, among other aspects, lead us to optimize our time. Every day, the accounting areas demand that we make our work more efficient.
AI allows us to dedicate ourselves to truly challenging work and not spend hours on activities that can be automated.
Avoiding financial fraud with AI
AI can also significantly reduce our risk of financial theft and minimize accounting errors.
The rise of online banking has brought us a number of benefits, but it has also created new avenues for financial fraud. The chances of a dishonest payment slipping through the network increase as the volume of data grows. This is how AI and can work hand in hand with us professionals.
Together we can provide a more predictive and strategic service, using available data to detect potential problems before they arise. Regardless of the industry, we can use AI to analyze large amounts of data at high speed and scale.
AI has the ability to detect anomalies in the system and optimize our workflow. The use of artificial intelligence in the accounting market is still in the beginning, however, it has great potential.
And if you are still afraid that machines will take the place of people in the job market, don’t worry! Human intelligence will be essential in the control of robots and, in the future, all will have their guaranteed place.
Artificial intelligence and the counter of the future
We see that the use of artificial intelligence by accounting studies, is in initial phase. However, it has a great chance of becoming essential in the day-to-day of the accountant of the future.
Many accounting software already make our lives easier by using learning to automate data entry and reconciliations. The perspective is that, until 2021, other accounting tasks that include taxes, payroll, audits, among others, will be automated through artificial intelligence.
Additionally, when we allow machines to perform tedious and repetitive tasks, the opportunity for error is minimal. Software and robots don’t get tired or lose focus, right?
Another benefit of using artificial intelligence in accounting, is the ability to analyze large volumes of data.Robots can perform tasks such as interpreting contracts or actions or extracting important terms. And analyze them much faster than human work allows!
Artificial intelligence also provides us with safe and fast data whenever it generates a report, maximizing efficiency. We can also categorize information much more effectively, because, with time and machine learning, bots start to make better decisions based on human configuration. A bot can even adapt to the behavioral patterns of an accountant.
Predicting and making decisions
Finance professionals can use artificial intelligence to help with business decision making. We may rely on actionable information derived from customer demographics, past transactional data, and external factors, all in real time. Data can be used to make cash flow forecasts.
We can also predict when our business might run out of money, and take steps to protect ourselves from that situation in advance. Ultimately, thanks to AI, the accounting profession is modernizing and becoming more sophisticated.
Although the rules we follow for handling finances remain the same, the rules for working are changing. Investing in new accounting technologies has the potential to cause a very positive revolution in everything we are used to. The accountant of the future will benefit in the optimization of processes, solving accounting problems with more precision and efficiency, among others.
Conclusion
AI is an area of computing focused on the development of intelligent machines that can react like human beings. The advancement of automation in financial departments has given us a revolution.
However, it is depended on the fixed instructions programmed into the tool. Artificial intelligence is being developed to incorporate the ability of two new fundamental factors: learning and problem solving. Artificial intelligence has its limits: it lacks reasoning and it lacks intuition and it will always be that way. This guarantees us something: The human eye will always be necessary to monitor automatic functions.
In conclusion, we can say that:
The accounting professionals of the future will need to be knowledgeable about systems, problem solving, business savvy, and able to adapt to change. If you consider an AI-based tool that will help you with your accounting needs, My T is the solution.
Get to know our tool and get in touch with us, with My T technology and the avant-garde are at your fingertips.
