Artificial Intelligence with its application, has taken the world by storm across all industries, Accounting and finance are no different. AI in accounting has proven to simplify complex operations, automate manual and menial workflows, reduce costs, and improve accuracy, productivity and also compliance. The big 4 in the accounting industry due to their foresight investments are reaping significant rewards and it is only a matter of time for the rest to follow the suit.
However, most small and medium industry are not entirely aware of AI, machine learning and their benefits in accounting to adopt and benefit from them. If you are one of them, then this blog is for you. Our accounting experts at Outsourced Bookkeeping has been working with AI and machine learning in Accounting Industry for years now, and in this blog here we help you with the basics of AI, Machine learning, their impact on the Accounting industry and also their benefits. So read on:
What is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial Intelligence allows the machine to learn and understand the information or data it captures and makes necessary adjustments to perform regular tasks performed by humans. In essence, an AI-enabled machine mimics human thinking and hence can help perform all the manual tasks with automation.
On the whole, the entire process of machine thinking and performing human tasks is called AI. Machine learning is how a machine learns the data developing its algorithms with the new feedback it gets.
Artificial Intelligence in Accounting: We all know how manual task-intensive both the accounting and finance industry can be, with large volumes of data generated. It has always been the case that the data-intensive tasks and the risks they present be it with data-entry errors, financial discrepancies and more, plague the accounting industry eating away the time and efforts which ideally has to be dedicated to for analysis and strategy.
And this is exactly where Artificial Intelligence can transform the accounting industry by eliminating the manual and tedious tasks that keep the accounting professionals occupied. With automation and intelligent workflows that are enabled by AI, your accounting department can increase its quality of work, improve productivity, and impart greater visibility and transparency without spending heavy. But where exactly does AI help an accounting process and how, you ask? Here’s where AI can play a significant role in improving your accounting process:
Quick and accurate Close Procedures – Monthly & Quarterly: Most accounting departments suffer from lax accounting procedures which result in late numbers and reporting – menial tasks can take time and also may cause errors. Given AI automates and gets your numbers done accurately and quickly your company has more time at hand to derive insights, strategies and plan your moves. AI-enabled tools can pull together the data from various sources consolidate, merge it and present it to your liking to give wheels to your prided closing procedures.
Accounts payable and Accounts Receivable: Being a remote accounting firm that has helped hundreds of business with their Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable, Outsourced Bookkeeping is well aware of the AP and AR problems most businesses face. So take it from us, having an AI-powered invoice management system can single-handedly streamline and improve your AP and AR process by miles. Not to mention, the payment integration and processing, master customer data set-up, data entry and even customer care, every step can be significantly improved by AI-powered tools and software today.
Procurement: Different file formats, and more importantly the unstructured data is the pinpoints in the procurement for most of the industries which can be easily solved by custom API-powered AI machines. These AI machines can seamlessly identify and consolidate and even track the price changes to makes the entire process simple, quick and automated.
Audits: Audits and risk assessment is where AI truly can shine given how enormously modern-day auditors rely on data analytics. Long gone are the days when auditors have to go through massive data files which are not easily accessible. Digitization of the files has enhanced the security level of the process with the digital trackers which help them track the files efficiently without having to spend more time on probing paper documents. With AI-enables tools that track and record every financial transaction and automates manual tasks, an auditor’s efficiency and productivity are significantly increased.
The application of AI in accounting doesn’t just stop there – From supplier on-boarding, expense management to AI chatbots, AI tools are constantly improving the processing side of accounting thus helping the human expertise and judgement of accountants shine. If you are a small and medium business looking to improve your bookkeeping and accounting processes using AI or in case you are looking for outsourced bookkeeping and accounting services, our accounting experts at Outsourced Bookkeeping can help you, you can contact us here: https://outsourcedbookeeping.com/