Botkeeper Blog

The Rise of the Machines: How AI Is Changing the Accounting Game

Written by Botkeeper | May 6, 2024 1:00:00 PM

You’ve heard about AI, but have you heard about what it can do for accounting? Let’s be honest: artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer the new kid on the block. In recent years, we’ve seen what this amazing technology can do. Artificial intelligence is an innovative development that’s changing several industries as we speak. 

Now, let’s talk about accounting — the wonderful field of numbers, deductions, and everyone’s favorite, data entry – yay! AI is making some serious moves on manually tedious tasks in this sector. This technology also improves bookkeeping, which once ate up your lunch hours. Complex calculations and data analysis that seemed like math marathons? Thanks to AI’s ability to learn and adapt at warp speed, they’re now a sprint.

Let’s take a comprehensive look into how AI is changing the accounting world, big time.

 

AI’s Evolving Role in Accounting

 

The Effects and Implications of AI in Accounting

Worried about wasting your money on AI? Well, Business Insider’s crystal gazing predicted AI will save financial players $447 billion by 2023. Let that sink in; that’s enough money to buy every NBA team, and there’s still change left for a private island or two. 

But hold on, this ain’t just about money. Let’s explore a bit more with real case examples of how AI is helping accounting and finance companies improve their customer service, propel their fraud system, and take their operations to the next level. 

 

Real-World Stories of AI in Accounting

 

Taking the Ethical AI Bull by the Horns 

First off, let’s address the elephant in the room: AI is only as good as the data feeding it. This can give bias a field to grow if we aren’t careful. Those sneaky biases can turn AI’s judgment into a Facebook political group in no time. In the world of accounting and finance, where fairness is a core element, bias can wreak havoc, leading to bad outcomes.

Then, there’s accountability. When AI makes a call that raises eyebrows, who will we blame? The creators? The AI itself? While AI is far from perfect, we need ethical tools to learn how to operate and streamline accounting processes to be honest, accountable, and responsible. We also need to remember that there’s no substitute for human oversight. 

Diversity in AI training data is the first step for removing bias. By ensuring the data reflects a broad spectrum of scenarios, this technology can make transparent decisions. Magazine describes a brilliant method of considering the ethical use of AI. Think of your AI tools as an entry-level employee. While they can do an okay job at first, being cautious and double-checking what they created is an important practice prior to presenting the results of an analysis to your clients. 

 

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