Accountancy firms play a fundamental role in supporting businesses across the UK. To stay relevant and valuable, they would benefit from keeping pace with both current and future demands. Integrating AI accounting software can be a significant advantage, enhancing accountants’ ability to perform their roles more effectively. By incorporating AI, accountancy firms can quickly elevate their efficiency and accuracy, while aligning with the expectations of their clients and staff in an increasingly digital world.
As companies like Klarna make headlines for AI-driven workforce reductions, the rise of AI has undoubtedly sparked concerns across society and within industries about potential job displacement. However, when managed thoughtfully, AI can greatly benefit accountants. Ideally, AI accounting software should be used to expand capacity for higher-value work, rather than reduce headcount. This allows accountants to devote more time to fulfilling and profitable activities such as strategic advisory services and client engagement.
Most in the profession agree that maintaining strong relationships is just as important as efficiency, with 85% of accountants stressing the importance of human connections with clients and colleagues. AI can deliver the best of both worlds, enhancing efficiency while also providing accountants the time and tools to strengthen these crucial relationships.
“Today’s accountants work in teams and with their clients to solve complex problems for organisations of every size, across all different industries. At the end of the day, accounting is a people business – you spend more time with people than with a calculator.” – Rod Adams, Talent Acquisition & Onboarding Leader, PwC
Easing a key pain point: manual data capture
Most accounting processes involve handling large amounts of data. In a field where accuracy is all-important, relying on manual data management is risky, as minor typos can easily escalate into major issues for both the firm and its clients.
Take spreadsheets, for example: studies have found that 90% of spreadsheets with more than 150 rows have at least one significant error. It’s easy to see why. Keeping track of all those details manually is tough, and errors can slip through easily.
This is where AI accounting software can really make a difference. This intelligent technology can completely transform the data entry process and improve accuracy by catching and correcting errors that many human accountants might miss.
How AI is transforming accounting workflows
When introducing AI-powered accounting software, accounting firms are able to build digital workflows that are faster, more accurate, and less prone to error. Here are some ways in which AI is making a difference:
- Intelligent data standardisation and mapping: AI can quickly categorise and find errors and anomalies in financial data, significantly reducing time spent on painstaking tasks. For example, it can streamline the mapping of bookkeeping ledgers to standard charts of accounts, starting with a data hygiene check and completing this in minutes, setting the stage for further automation.
- Advanced data monitoring and analysis: AI can conduct thorough automated reviews of client files, identifying unusual values in balances, transactions and reconciliations. This saves time, enhances data quality and identifies advisory opportunities for clients.
- AI-driven training and development: AI accounting software can be employed to offer on-demand training for new hires and junior staff in a way that doesn’t burden senior staff. This type of tool could provide guidance on the firm’s best practices and how to manage accounting scenarios in line with standard operating procedures (SOPs), enhancing the team’s skills and knowledge without interrupting workflow.
5 Key benefits of AI-powered accounting software
As firms have increasingly embraced AI for accounting software, they’ve uncovered several key benefits:
- Work is accelerated: AI significantly enhances efficiency. Tasks that once took several hours can now be completed much more quickly, with accuracy built in at every step.
- Efficiency leads to cost savings: The speed of AI and its ability to minimise human error translate into substantial cost savings. Teams can sidestep the inefficiencies and manual processes that often drain resources.
- Processes are consistent and compliant: AI-driven workflows are standardised and digitised, ensuring tasks are carried out the correct way every time. This helps in adhering to industry standards and regulations, while also providing digital audit trails for better transparency and oversight.
- Accountants can focus on strategic initiatives: With AI handling tasks that used to drain hours, accountants can dedicate more time to the work that requires their professional expertise and human skills. They can, for instance, focus on planning, decision-making, relationship-building and advisory work.
- Firms create a more appealing work environment: The adoption of AI accounting software helps to build future-fit operational tools and practices, making the firm an attractive place for top talent.
Why AI is more than just automation
While automation and AI often go hand-in-hand, they are distinct technologies with different capabilities and applications in accounting. Here’s a brief overview:
| Automation | AI | |
| Definition | Involves using technology to perform specific tasks or processes without human intervention, based on predefined rules and structured data. | Refers to systems or machines that mimic human intelligence to perform tasks and can iteratively improve themselves based on the information they collect. |
| Capabilities | Best suited for repetitive, predictable tasks that do not require decision-making or adaptation to changing conditions. Examples: Entering data into spreadsheets, processing invoices or scheduling reports. | Can handle complex tasks that involve decision-making, learning from data, recognising patterns, and making predictions. Examples: Identifying anomalies or surfacing suggestions as accountants work. |
| Adaptability | Can’t learn from past actions or improve over time. It operates within the constraints of the initial setup and rules defined by humans. | Can adapt to new data or unexpected scenarios without needing explicit instructions for every situation. It learns and evolves, making it more flexible and capable in dynamic environments. |
An example of AI in action is the Silverfin Assistant. Already used by hundreds of firms around the world, this intelligent tool acts as an extra pair of eyes as accountants work, offering timely reminders and insights that can help ensure nothing is overlooked.
As Russell Frayne, Director of Transformation at Gravita, puts it: “Using Silverfin Assistant is like having a friend who watches over your shoulder, always ready to point out something odd or remind you to double-check your work.”
AI’s role in the future of accounting
The ATT warns of a potential shortfall of 60,000 qualified accountants by 2050, urging firms to respond swiftly to secure the industry’s future. A key role that AI accounting software could play going forward, is to help accounting firms tackle the looming capacity crunch in the profession.
At the same time, Gartner notes that the demands on accounting professionals have been rising. In the past three years, 73% of accountants have seen their workloads increase due to new regulations, and 82% report that economic volatility has heightened the demands on their work. AI accounting software can mitigate these issues by enabling accountants to manage their workloads more efficiently and with greater accuracy. This allows firms to manage capacity issues by handling greater volumes of work with the same resources.
Additionally, firms that are early adopters of AI for accounting software are more likely to appeal to the upcoming generation of accountants. Many young professionals seek careers that offer flexible working conditions, engaging and meaningful tasks, and the use of advanced technology to boost work efficiency. AI aligns perfectly with these expectations, automating draining tasks, providing sophisticated analytical tools and supporting flexible work environments.
By integrating AI accounting software, firms are not just addressing immediate challenges but are also shaping themselves as desirable workplaces for future accounting professionals.
Making AI humanly possible
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reports that, going forward, AI has the potential to impact nearly 40% of jobs worldwide, redefining some roles while enhancing others. However, this shift doesn’t have to translate into job losses. AI that works alongside accountants and helps them achieve more each day not only stands to improve productivity levels, but also job satisfaction and career growth prospects.
When implementing AI-powered accounting software, accounting firms should ideally focus on enhancing human value by expanding the workforce’s ability to engage in high-value tasks and complex decision-making. By deploying AI, firms can refocus job roles to highlight human strengths such as problem-solving, strategic thinking and relationship-building. This not only preserves accounting jobs but makes them more fulfilling.
At Silverfin, we focus on creating AI that complements accountants. We have established a dedicated AI team with a mission to give accountancy firms easy access to the benefits of this technology. To make AI easier to adopt, we’ve cut out the need for specialist skills, extensive customisation or long setup times. Our AI-enabled tools are ready to go straight out of the box.
Don’t get left behind. Transform your accounting practice with AI today.
For more insights, read the Best AI Tools for Accounting.
