Unless you’re still pushing paper at your firm, you know that AI and accounting have become quite the professional pair. The technology has been integrated into just about every software solution on the market.

No surprise given AI’s accounting benefits:

• Enhanced speed. Large volumes of data can be processed within minutes with AI, providing faster insights and financial reports.
• Higher-quality work. AI can automate mundane and repetitive tasks like data entry, allowing accountants to focus on higher level work.
• Analyzing large data sets more accurately. The use of AI enables accountants to analyze large data sets for valuable insights they might otherwise miss.
• Better quality assurance. AI can assist in ensuring that accounting data adheres to regulatory standards and data accuracy.

And that’s not all. Keep reading to dive deeper into why AI and accounting are an excellent match (and why you should be taking advantage of this technology if you aren’t already!).

Hey-o! Accounting just got a lot more interesting thanks to Glasscubes. Book a free demo to see how you can stop tearing your hair out with admin work and focus on the numbers!

AI And Accounting: 11 Impactful Ways Your Job Will Change

1. You can automate those boring, routine financial tasks.

AI technology is automating repetitive tasks such as data entry, transaction categorization, invoice processing, and bank reconciliation. These tasks traditionally required significant manual effort and were prone to errors.

As an accountant, you can save time and improve accuracy by having AI handle these mundane tasks. This allows you to focus on more value-added services such as financial analysis, strategic planning, and advising clients.

2. You have access to more information for better decision-making.

AI algorithms can analyze large volumes of financial data, including financial statements, transaction histories, customer feedback, market trends, and regulatory changes. By processing and extracting insights from this data, AI can provide accountants with valuable information for making informed decisions.

For example, AI-powered analytics can identify patterns and trends in financial data, enabling you to provide more accurate financial advice to your clients and make strategic business recommendations.

3. You have easier access to data.

AI technology can integrate data from various sources, such as accounting systems, bank statements, credit card providers, and online payment gateways. By consolidating data from multiple sources, AI can provide accountants with a comprehensive and real-time view of financial transactions and business performance. This integration improves accuracy, reduces manual data entry, and minimizes the risk of data discrepancies.

4. You can work better as part of a team.

AI tools can enhance collaboration among you and your team, regardless of geographical locations. Cloud-based platforms and AI-powered communication tools enable seamless sharing of financial information, reports, and analytics. With these tools, accountants can collaborate in real-time, provide feedback, and make collective decisions, improving teamwork and efficiency.

For example, AI-powered conferencing software can automatically take notes during meetings and distribute them to participants after the meeting ends. This allows you and your clients to focus on connecting and sharing information instead of jotting down items you need to remember or reviewing the meeting recording at a later time.

5. You can be confident that documents and information are safe.

As technology advances, so do security threats, making robust data security crucial in accounting. AI technology can strengthen security processes by detecting anomalies and potential fraud patterns in financial transactions.

AI-powered algorithms continuously monitor financial data, identify unusual activities, and raise alerts, minimizing the risk of data breaches and fraudulent activities.

6. You can stop handling routine client inquiries. (Let AI do it!)

AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can handle routine client inquiries on accounting matters. These AI tools can provide quick and accurate responses to basic queries related to financial statements, invoices, payment status, and account balances. By automating these repetitive tasks, accountants can dedicate more time to higher-value client interactions and complex problem-solving.

7. You can see the future.

AI algorithms can analyze historical financial data, identify patterns, and make predictions about future financial events. For example, AI can forecast sales trends, predict cash flow patterns, and estimate future expenses.

By leveraging predictive analytics, accountants can proactively identify potential financial risks and opportunities, allowing businesses to make informed decisions and take relevant actions.

8. You can conduct audits more efficiently.

AI-powered audit tools can analyze vast amounts of financial data rapidly. By automating the audit process, AI can improve efficiency, accuracy, and detection of anomalies.

These tools can identify high-risk transactions, unusual patterns, and potential compliance issues, enabling accountants to focus on critical areas that require attention. This enhanced audit efficiency reduces the audit timeline and provides highly accurate results in less time.

9. You can stay compliant and reduce risk.

Compliance and risk management are two critical accounting areas AI is improving. AI algorithms can analyze vast amounts of financial and non-financial data in real-time, identifying patterns, anomalies, and potential risks. This allows accountants to proactively detect fraudulent activities, mitigate risks, and ensure compliance with regulations.

AI-powered solutions can also automate your compliance reporting, reducing the time and effort required for manual regulatory assessments and audits. Accountants can enhance their ability to navigate complex regulatory frameworks and maintain a robust control environment.

10. You can more easily expand your accounting services.

The integration of AI technology in accounting firms opens up the opportunity to enhance or expand service offerings. For example, AI-powered tools allow accountants to refine their forecasting capabilities and financial planning, or provide additional financial services such as predictive analysis and data visualization.

These services can deliver added value to clients, enabling you to differentiate yourself and grow your business.

11. You can provide more personalized client services.

AI technology enables accountants to provide more tailored services to their clients. For example, leveraging AI-powered customer relationship management (CRM) systems enables accountants to capture and analyze client data, including preferences, behavior, and past interactions. This helps accountants understand clients’ needs better, anticipate their requirements, and deliver personalized recommendations and advice.

AI tools can also automate personalized reporting, providing clients with real-time financial insights and benchmarks based on their specific industry or business type. Overall, that means you can build stronger client relationships, increase client satisfaction, and differentiate yourself in a competitive market with the help of AI.

4 Things You Can Do Now To Leverage The Power Of AI In Accounting

1. Upskill your workforce.

To effectively leverage AI technology, make an effort to continuously upskill yourself and your team. Attend training sessions, workshops, or online courses that focus on AI concepts, technologies, and applications in accounting.

Acquiring these knowledge and skills will help you effectively use AI-powered tools, interpret AI-generated insights, and remain up to date with the rapid advancements in AI technology.

2. Prioritize improving your data quality.

AI relies heavily on high-quality data to generate accurate insights and predictions. Therefore, it’s worth putting in the time to ensure data completeness, correctness, consistency, and integrity. This involves implementing robust data governance processes, conducting regular data audits, and continuously improving data management practices.

By maintaining data quality, you can maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of AI-powered compliance processes, such as identifying anomalies, detecting fraud, and ensuring regulatory adherence.

3. Partner with AI vendors.

Collaborating with AI technology vendors offers your firm the opportunity to select and partner with the most relevant technology options. Working closely with AI vendors allows you to understand the capabilities, limitations, and implementation requirements of specific AI tools.

Vendors can also provide support, training, and updates for their AI solutions, ensuring that you can effectively integrate the technology into your accounting practice.

4. Introduce new technologies into your existing stack.

To fully realize the benefits of AI technology, you must be willing to try new technology solutions and integrate them with your existing accounting systems, workflows, and processes.

Be sure to ensure compatibility between AI solutions and your firm's infrastructure to enable seamless data flow and automation. Integrating AI technology will enable you to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and achieve greater accuracy in financial processes such as auditing, financial reporting, and forecasting.

Glasscubes brings AI and accounting client engagements together in one secure place

Automation is baked into Glasscubes, a client portal perfectly suited for accounting firms large and small. For example, you can automatically request financial files from your clients instead of spending time sending emails.

You can request documents, ask questions, attach evidence, and question the information received from the other users. Glasscubes is a great platform to work on, and I really enjoy using it.

—Mihaela via Trustpilot

You can also build approval workflows for getting important documents signed off by designees on your and the client’s teams. The system automatically moves documents along after each person indicates their endorsement.

Here are a few other key features accountants love about our client portal:

• File sharing and document management
• File request
• Real-time collaboration
• Task management
• Version control
• Audit trails and access control
• Workspace management

 File Sharing And Document Management

Easily share and organize financial documents, tax returns, and reports securely in one centralized location.

This eliminates the need for manual tracking and searching through numerous email attachments, ensuring that everyone has access to the latest versions of documents.

 File Request

Avoid the annoyance of emailing clients to collect multiple files (an especially useful feature during tax season or audits!). Whether you need 10 documents or 100, you can collect them all via a single link that navigates to a unique, secure portal where clients can upload the documents you need. Files are checked off as they’re uploaded, so you and clients can easily see progress.

 Real-Time Collaboration

Communicate and collaborate internally and externally in real time.

This feature eliminates delays and miscommunications associated with email threads.

 Task Management

Create and assign tasks to clients.

Task reminders and notifications make it easy to convey clear expectations and deadlines, which improves accountability and timely completion of deliverables.

 Version Control

Never again lose track of document versions!

Rest assured that everyone is working on the latest iteration of every document. This mitigates the risks of using outdated or incorrect information.

 Audit Trails And Access Control

Automatically record and track all your accounting activities.

Glasscubes provides an audit trail for accountability and compliance purposes. Accountants can control access permissions to determine who can view, edit, or download specific documents.

 Workspace Management

Organize your work with workspaces.

In Glasscubes you can create a workspace for each client and give access to only that client’s team and relevant members of your staff.

Start working smarter at your firm with our powerful yet simple accounting client workspace.

Your staff and clients will get the hang of it the same day it goes live.

Book a free demo of Glasscubes today.