Artificial Intelligence is a broad area of computer science that enables machine mimic human cognitive functions like learning, problem solving and decision making. While a manual task can be automated by a machine, AI further enables it to learn, think and make decisions on its own.

For example, car is a complex machine that helps you move around, but it needs you to drive. But for a car to drive you around on its own, it has to be powered by Artificial Intelligence. Simply put, an AI-enabled machine is a machine with human-brain like learning and problem solving skills. And the levels of sophistication of AI machine can vary based on the version of technology and task at hand.

Benefits of Artificial Intelligence for Accounting Industry:

With super-heavy reliance on the numbers, accurate data processing and analysis accounting industry obviously happens to be the prime candidate that can leverage the power of AI.

However, most of the accounting and finance professionals fall short of understanding the benefits of AI to incorporate new technology into their workforce. So, in this blog here, we make an effort to understand the benefits of AI for Accounting Industry and give you reasons why it is a must for professional accounting firms. So read on:

Automatic and Accurate Data Extraction:

While Optical Character Recognition has been around since many years, the simplicity, accuracy and work flow can be taken to new level with AI. With its self-learning capabilities and decision making, an AI-enabled system can extract information from different types of documents with minimal to no human intervention. Important data from the documents is automatically recognised, classified and is provided to the system making it further easy to automate data processing.

Streamlined Data Entry and Analysis:

With automated data extraction, data entry, most tedious process in accounting can be simplified with utmost accuracy. While the data entry is automated and simplified, the data that is spread over multiple spreadsheets and documents can be quickly consolidated, classified and analysed in minutes according to the requirements. The whole data entry and analysis which normally would have taken days or even months now can be programed to take minutes help you save time, money and manual resources.

While there are tools around for both data extraction, data entry and analysis, an AI enabled accounting software can streamline the whole process with minimal efforts.

Identify anomalies and Reduce Fraud: 

From simple data errors, oversights to massive frauds, accounting and financial world are marred by multitude problems that arise due to either minor slip-ups, lack of adequate verification or human errors. According to ACFI, a company losses atleast 5% of the revenue to the errors and fraudulent activities inside organisation. As a business grows, the financial transactions and data can increase many times over, further increasing the possibility of fraud, which can be eliminated using AI tools and software.

While regular accounting professionals can only audit and verify a tiny sample of data, AI can quickly filter and audit all the data without any qualms.  AI can quickly sift through entire information in real-time catch fraudulent patterns and anomalies helping accounting professionals quickly catch the fraud before it happens.

While the efficiency, accuracy and decision making capacity of an average individual declines with increase in the volume of data presented, the same capabilities of the AI increases multifood with volume of data due to its self-learning capabilities.

Enforce of Compliance and Policy:

Identifying and assessing the compliance of the accounting and financial data is one of the critical functions of the accountant which can be simplified and improved using Artificial Intelligence. Larger an organisation, higher the volume of receipts, documents, financial transactions and other purchases that have to verified for compliance. While it can take hours to quickly sort them all for accounting professionals, AI can quickly scan, extract identify and assess the information provided to quickly catch the errors and help you detect any cases of non-compliance.

Data Analysis, Document Review and Predictive Analytics:

By automating and streamline every workflow in accounting an AI perfectly sets itself to perform the work it truly shines at: Data analysis, financial reporting and intelligence.

  • With its ultimate capacity to crunch and process volumes of data accurately at greater speed, AI can help businesses generate financial insights needed by the business to plan strategy.
  • AI can also help in document and contract reviewing process by quickly identifying, learning, assessing the clauses with accuracy.
  • Many business are already using AI for ‘Predictive Analytics’ where AI helps business predict the sales and market conditions to allocate budget, resources and stay ahead of the competition.

Given the Accounting Industry is where hours of manual work hours are spent on repetitive, time consuming tasks like data entry, processing, document processing and analysis , Accounting industry can save both time, money and man-power using Artificial Intelligence in their work processes. But that is not just about it, the true power of AI lies in its capability of scaling human expertise to not just perform accounting tasks but to generate financial intelligence quickly and efficiently.

Why Should an Accounting Firm Leverage AI?

  • While most of Accounting firms and Remote Accounting Services already leverage automated accounting solutions, AI is what brings improves them and brings them all together increasing the efficiency many times over.
  • As manual and repetitive accounting tasks get automated businesses and organisations prioritise accounting firms that provide better value in terms of provide better financial intelligence, consultation and forecasting which can only be achieved leveraging Artificial Intelligence.
  • With raise in Gen-Z entrepreneurs, the work process of the current and future business is up for a massive shift. Upcoming millennial entrepreneurs are tech savvy who constantly look-out for better financial insights and services. And they naturally prioritise accounting firms with strong grip over innovative tools and technology that provide better value for their businesses.

So if you are professional accounting back-office services or accounting firm, you must leverage AI to efficiency, performance and become future-ready.

But if you are a business owner looking to leverage AI for your Bookkeeping and Accounting Services and seek help, our accounting professionals at Back Office Accountants can help you around. You can contact us here: http://backofficeaccountants.com/