AI is taking many industries by storm, with plenty of advantages for efficiency, accuracy, security and growth. In the finance and accounting fields, AI is already making waves with its ability to streamline data entry and transaction processing, assist with compliance and evaluate data for future planning. AI can also revolutionize customer service and the daily responsibilities of finance experts. With this information, professionals can understand the potential of AI-based technologies for reshaping finance and accounting operations.
Streamlining Data Entry and Transaction Processing
Accounting entails handling a lot of data and, in many cases, capturing this information can be a highly manual process, such as downloading data from one system, manipulating and uploading it into another system. For understaffed finance and accounting departments that are under pressure to increase efficiency out of necessity, AI can be incredibly valuable.
AI tools can integrate with banking and accounting platforms to automatically record, reconcile and categorize transactions. Plus, AI can reduce time spent on routine tasks by up to 90% . AI-powered data entry and transaction processing also has a higher rate of accuracy, decreasing mistakes that lead to expensive or time-consuming fixes. This technology frees up professionals to spend more time evaluating data and providing space for more value-added tasks.
Transforming Communication With Customers and Vendors
With the use of chatbots and automation, AI is streamlining how finance teams interact with customers and vendors. AI chatbots and other services can be set up to provide automated responses to the most frequently asked questions, which can help accounting teams focus on the most complex issues. Tasks that were previously manual, such as following up on past-due accounts receivable, can be automated with AI, with little to no human intervention. Improvements to these systems over time can increase their accuracy and provide a better experience for all parties involved, while freeing up finance teams to focus on complexity.
Detecting Anomalies
Due to AI’s ability to analyze large datasets in a short period of time, tools have the ability to evaluate data and follow trends to identify transactions where there could be a high likelihood of fraud.
An automated system running this technology can quickly alert users to potential issues, possibly saving money and hassle.
Reimagining Financial Reporting and Compliance
Accounting is synonymous with compliance, which includes financial reporting to stakeholders. Financial reporting can be made more accurate and efficient using AI. With AI’s ability to collect, organize and summarize vast amounts of data, the production of reports becomes a simple automated task requiring less hands-on preparation from the teams.
AI can be used to research and synthesize complex compliance regulations, such as financial statement footnotes or accounting standards, into concise summaries, saving valuable time for finance teams. AI can also look for changes to regulations so that organizations can stay on top of the most up-to-date information about requirements, deadlines and more.
Helping the Office of the CFO With Predictive Analysis
AI’s true transformative capacity rises to the peak in predictive analysis. When tools have access to accurate historical data, AI can help CFOs and other business leaders make more accurate decisions in a timely manner. Previously, updating actuals and comparing to forecasts manually may have taken days or weeks; now, this time is cut down dramatically. Updating can be done in real time, based on data trends, allowing for teams to focus on analysis rather than the accumulation of data.Â
With AI, finance teams are starting to see their daily duties change. Instead of spending hours on data entry, transaction processing and report generation, finance professionals can focus on expert assessment of data, and advising clients and stakeholders. Improvements to the processes increase security and accuracy for tasks that automation can handle, allowing experts to spend more time improving their craft.
