How AI is Changing the Accounting Industry

Artificial intelligence, often referred to as AI, will change our society in ways even futurists find it hard to imagine.  In particular, AI is going to change the way we work.  AI is poised to disrupt the accounting industry by automating tasks such as audits, banking transactions, tax and payroll.  It will not be long until AI emerges from those mysterious research labs and makes a meaningful impact on the accounting industry and beyond.  The question is how, exactly, AI will affect accountants and accounting processes.

AI is not a Direct Threat to the Profession of Accounting

Machines will soon complete those pesky repetitive tasks no accountant or accounting assistant wants to perform.  These tasks are boring and chew up a ton of time.  Al will complete such repetitive tasks with minimal or no err at all.  The end result will be a decrease in overhead cost and more time for employees to solve complex problems that require the dexterity of the human mind.

AI Will Simplify Accounting Operations

Imagine an accounting practice of the future in which there is a small team of accountants, an office manager and a few accounting assistants.  Computers do the majority of the repetitive labor including some data analysis.  Human accountants oversee operations and solve problems that require the type of creativity that can only be mustered by the human mind.  The assistance of AI will ultimately make accounting that much easier, quicker and simpler.

An Uptick in Efficiency

AI’s machine learning algorithms are producing some truly fantastic early results.  Businesses that use these algorithms find efficiency spikes quite dramatically.  Furthermore, AI makes fewer errs than human workers.  The latest tech innovations make compliance with the law and industry standards that much easier.  It will not be long until AI provides accountants with reliable data in a moment’s notice for immediate analysis.

Bots will be used to categorize data into distinct accounts.  Bots can communicate and group data that is derived from the same source to different categories.  Bots might even learn from various human inputs to ameliorate judgment challenges and learn the behavior tendencies of specific accountants.  The possibilities for AI in accounting as well as other industries are truly endless.  Though this potential AI-centric future might seem a bit creepy to accountants, a scenario in which AI-powered bots analyze accountant behaviors just might help pinpoint costly errs, retain clients and avoid potentially costly fines.