The introduction of new technology has a way of disrupting business processes and the expectations of the professionals who benefit from it. As the solutions offered by artificial intelligence (AI) become all the hype, accountants and finance professionals seem to be either hopping on board or being left behind.
With AI bringing so many opportunities for accountants to improve efficiency, provide better insight and deliver more value to their organizations, some accountants are still reluctant to embrace AI-enabled technology. On one hand, early adopters who seem to “get it” are inspired by a shared vision of what AI-enabled accounting software can bring. On the other, accountants who fear change or perceive a threat from AI have formed a resistance. There is a perception among finance professionals that AI represents a symbol of their replacement and this simply isn’t the case.
Artificial intelligence cannot replace a human, but systems such as AI accounting or enterprise software can and will consistently produce faster and more accurate outputs for repetitive tasks and insights compared to that of a human’s capability. Those are the key takeaways for accountants to remember: AI relieves the burden of an accountant’s repetitive tasks while delivering deeper insights into their data.
Read more on CPAs feeling the impact of Artificial Intelligence
Finance professionals familiar with AI who can work alongside the technology and identify certain tasks or processes where AI ERP can add value to their organization will get the best results from the combination of accounting automation and human insight. This combination is where AI ERP offers real opportunities for accountants.
Automation of Routine Processes
Through AI, repetitive administrative tasks such as those involved in data entry, basic bookkeeping, and CRM admin jobs are not only automated, but data gets processed and analyzed at speeds no human can achieve. Since AI mimics the way humans think, AI enabled accounting systems can learn to manage more complex tasks through repetition and experience. And by processing large datasets very quickly, enables an AI ERP system to recognize patterns more effectively.
When routine accounting responsibilities can be automated, valuable human brainpower is freed up to focus on advanced tasks and processes which machines cannot reliably process. Accountants can reduce the number of manual transactions and reconcile their books faster so they’re free to work on other growth initiatives. By helping organizations to detect patterns, spot trends, and uncover inconsistencies sooner and more effectively, AI ERP gives accountants deeper, more actionable insights.
Diving Deeper for Insights into Company Data
In the past, finance staff needed to manually model and produce predictive insights for specific functions of their department. This would be an intricate task for human, but effortless for AI ERP. Data is processed and analyzed at faster speeds than a human can achieve, bringing another of AI ERP key advantages to light.
Patterns and correlations exist within the massive data sets processed by AI ERP that aren’t always detectable to a human eye. The detection and analyses of these obvious patterns are part of what makes AI capable of making insightful inferences about specific business functions, allowing for more accurate forecasting and better decision-making.
The fact is, artificial intelligence ERP is more likely to help accountants get more done than it is to replace their role in their organization. Today’s finance professionals cannot afford to be cautious and wait for technology to be fully tested and employed by their competitors. If they’re able to leverage emerging technologies and grow with capable systems as they mature and without fear, they’re better positioned to focus on the strategic insights formed as a result.
