Artificial intelligence is redefining the future of accounting, and Nicolai Thomson, CEO and co-founder of Jenesys AI, is at the forefront of this transformation. In a recent episode of Silver Linings, he discussed how AI-driven solutions like Jenesys’ Jack is reshaping bookkeeping, automating compliance and freeing accountants to focus on higher-value advisory work.
Moving beyond automation: AI as an augmenting force
Jack, the AI-powered bookkeeping assistant developed by Jenesys AI, is designed to do more than just automate repetitive tasks. It aims to understand the context of financial transactions in real time, ensuring accurate reconciliation and providing valuable insights that accountants can act upon.
“This is not just about automation, but using AI to augment what you’re doing in the bookkeeping process to be able to provide really great data that your customers and your advisory services will hopefully use to transform businesses across the country,” Thomson explained.
AI: the next big leap in accounting tech
The accounting industry has undergone significant shifts, from traditional methods to cloud-based solutions. AI, according to Thomson, represents the next major evolution. However, its success isn’t just about implementing AI for the sake of efficiency.
“If someone just goes out there and says, ‘Oh, I need to put AI into the business,’ it appears to be like this silver bullet, right? But without specific contextual understanding, you’re not going to see the ROI you expected,” he cautioned.
The key to successful AI adoption, he argued, is rethinking workflows rather than simply layering AI onto existing processes.
Overcoming the fear of AI replacing jobs
One of the most pressing concerns about AI adoption is its potential to replace human workers. However, Thomson framed the conversation differently.
“When we talk about ‘Oh my gosh, is AI going to replace me?’ I’d challenge you to list out all the tasks you do – client engagement, internal collaboration, compliance work. AI is not here to take your client out for lunch or to build personal relationships. What it can do is take over the repetitive, transactional bookkeeping tasks, allowing you to focus on growth and advisory services,” he noted.
Rather than eliminating jobs, AI can enhance efficiency and help firms scale without continuously increasing headcount. This shift enables accountants to focus on strategic, high-value activities rather than manual data entry and reconciliation.
Tackling AI’s biggest challenge: hallucination
One of the biggest hurdles in AI adoption, especially for accounting, has been hallucination – where AI generates incorrect or misleading outputs. Jenesys AI initially built Jack using GPT models but quickly discovered the limitations when working with numerical data.
“When we were trying to mix numbers and words, we were getting lots of hallucinations,” Thomson admitted. “That’s why we had to build our own infrastructure – to create AI that learns from human input, follows accounting standards and applies contextual understanding.”
By developing a proprietary system, Jenesys AI ensures higher accuracy and reliability, making Jack a practical tool for real-world accounting applications.
The future: AI and human expertise working together
To bridge the gap between AI capabilities and real-world bookkeeping needs, Jenesys AI recently introduced Jackpot, a hybrid model that combines AI with human oversight.
“A lot of people looked at Jack and said, ‘This is great, but can you do the human bit too?’ And our answer now is yes. We’ve built a service where you can outsource the entire bookkeeping process to us, with AI doing the heavy lifting and experienced bookkeepers ensuring quality control,” Thomson shared.
This blended approach ensures that firms can adopt AI-driven efficiencies without compromising accuracy or trust.
AI: a tool for growth, not a threat
Ultimately, Thomson views AI as a tool that enables firms to expand their capabilities, not as a replacement for human expertise. The future of accounting, he believes, is about leveraging AI to improve service delivery, reduce manual workload and unlock new opportunities for advisory services.
“AI needs to step in and start to replace the answer of, ‘Can I just find a cheaper human?’ No, you can’t. But you can find a more efficient way to grow your business,” he concluded.
As AI continues to evolve, firms that embrace workflow transformation and AI-driven insights will be best positioned to thrive in the new era of accounting.
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