Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming various professions and industries, and accounting is no exception. Accounting is one of the oldest and most trusted professions in the society, as it helps to measure the performance, ensure the compliance, and make informed decisions for any organization. However, accounting is also a profession that can benefit greatly from AI, as AI can help accountants to enhance their efficiency, accuracy, and quality.
In this article, I will share how AI is impacting the accounting profession, what are the opportunities and challenges for accountants in the AI era, and what are the tips and resources for accountants to leverage AI to improve their work.
How AI is Impacting the Accounting Profession
AI is a broad term that refers to the ability of machines or systems to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as reasoning, learning, or decision making. AI can be applied to various accounting tasks and processes, such as data entry, reconciliation, reporting, fraud detection, risk assessment, tax compliance, financial forecasting, scenario analysis, or decision support.
AI can help accountants to automate, assist, or innovate their work, depending on the level of complexity and value of the task. For example:
- Automation: AI can help accountants to automate tasks that are routine, repetitive, or low-value, such as data entry, reconciliation, or reporting. This can save time and cost, and reduce human errors and biases. Some of the tools that can help accountants to automate these tasks are InvoiceSherpa, which automates accounts receivable and invoice reminder processes, Wagepoint, which automates payroll management for small businesses, and Expensify, which automates expense management for personal and business use.
- Assistance: AI can help accountants to assist tasks that are complex, critical, or high-value, such as fraud detection, risk assessment, or tax compliance. This can improve performance and outcome, and enhance human judgment and expertise. Some of the tools that can help accountants to assist these tasks are Zoho Books, which assists accounting and bookkeeping for small businesses, and NetSuite, which assists enterprise resource planning (ERP) and financial management for large businesses.
- Innovation: AI can help accountants to innovate tasks that are new, creative, or strategic, such as financial forecasting, scenario analysis, or decision support. This can create new opportunities and services, and generate insights and value. Some of the tools that can help accountants to innovate these tasks are QuickBooks Online Advanced, which innovates financial forecasting and reporting for small and medium businesses, and IBM Planning Analytics, which innovates scenario analysis and decision support for large and complex businesses.
What are the Opportunities and Challenges for Accountants in the AI Era
AI can have both positive and negative impacts on the accounting profession, depending on how accountants adapt and respond to the changes. On the one hand, AI can create new opportunities for accountants, such as:
- New job roles: AI can create new job roles for accountants, such as AI accounting specialists, AI financial analysts, or AI business advisors. These types of jobs can offer more flexibility, diversity, and creativity for accountants, as they can focus on higher-level tasks that require human skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking, or communication.
- New skills and competencies: AI can help accountants to develop new skills and competencies, such as data literacy, digital literacy, and communication skills. These skills are essential for working with AI, as they can help accountants to understand, analyze, and communicate data and information effectively and ethically.
- New value proposition: AI can help accountants to enhance their value proposition, as they can offer more value-added services to their clients, such as financial forecasting, scenario analysis, or decision support. These services can help accountants to provide more insights and recommendations, and build stronger relationships and trust with their clients.
On the other hand, AI can also pose some challenges for accountants, such as:
- Job displacement: AI can reduce the demand for some accountants, especially those who perform routine or repetitive tasks, such as bookkeeping, payroll, or invoicing. These types of tasks can be easily automated or outsourced by AI, which can reduce the need for human intervention and interaction.
- Skill gap: AI can create a skill gap for some accountants, especially those who lack the necessary skills or competencies to work with AI, such as data literacy, digital literacy, or communication skills. These skills are crucial for accountants to keep up with the changes and challenges of AI, as they can help accountants to learn, adapt, and collaborate with AI effectively and ethically.
- Ethical dilemma: AI can raise some ethical dilemmas for accountants, such as the reliability, security, and fairness of AI. These issues are important for accountants to consider, as they can affect the quality, accuracy, and credibility of their work and profession. For example, accountants need to ensure that the data and algorithms used by AI are reliable, secure, and fair, and that they comply with the accounting standards and principles, and the ethical codes and regulations.
What are the Tips and Resources for Accountants to Leverage AI to Improve Their Work
If you are an accountant who wants to leverage AI to improve your work, here are some tips and resources that can help you:
- Learn the fundamentals of accounting and AI:
- Introduction to Financial Accounting: This course from the University of Pennsylvania covers the basics of financial accounting and reporting, such as the accounting cycle, the financial statements, and the accounting equation.
- Learn the best practices and standards of accounting and AI:
- Artificial Intelligence for Accountants: This course from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) covers the key aspects of AI for accountants and how to use it responsibly and professionally, such as the types, components, and capabilities of AI, and how to use it for various accounting functions, such as audit, tax, or advisory.
- You can check out some of these resources and courses that I found useful for learning accounting and AI:
- Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Accounting: This is a book that provides a comprehensive and practical guide to the applications and benefits of AI in accounting, such as automation, assistance, and innovation of accounting tasks and processes. It also covers some of the technical and ethical issues and challenges of AI in accounting, such as data quality, algorithm transparency, and human oversight.
- Accounting and AI: The Future is Now: This is a video that features a panel discussion among accounting and AI experts, who share their insights and experiences on how AI is changing the accounting profession and what accountants need to do to adapt and thrive in the AI era.
