The risk of falling behind competitors who are embracing AI

What’s really at stake? The risk of falling behind competitors who are embracing AI

The risk of falling behind competitors who are embracing AI
5min Read

In this chapter from our recent AI whitepaper ‘Beyond the hype: the real benefits of AI for your accountancy firm’, we start to unpick the benefits from the hype.

“If you don’t do it, someone else will” applies to pretty much anything in life. It also rings true for digital transformation and AI adoption in business.

As your competitors adopt AI, they are gradually but consistently gaining a competitive advantage. This can be felt in various ways, including pressure on your margins or future customer losses.

Here are six areas where AI, when implemented effectively, can affect your accountancy firm’s position in the marketplace:

  • Capacity and efficiency
  • Consistency, accuracy and quality
  • Customer service
  • Talent attraction and retention
  • Financial performance
  • Competitiveness
Did you know? 
A 2023 Statista survey reveals just how fast companies are embracing AI. Out of the 5,369 business leaders who participated in the study: 
58% already utilise AI to enhance consistency and quality,
26% deploy it to assist workers through improving productivity,
16% use it to improve insights. 

Capacity and efficiency

From data entry to report generation and account reconciliation: AI can help automate a lot of routine and/or manual work.

An advantage your competitors’ staff may already be leveraging to:

  • reduce their often-heavy workloads and stress,
  • focus on value-adding or advisory services,
  • diminish the need for additional manual labour as data volumes increase.

Moreover, AI enables your firm to further streamline processes for greater efficiency and thus higher productivity levels.

Consistency, accuracy and quality

By mitigating human error, AI technologies hold the potential to enhance the precision of financial reporting, using intricate algorithms to scrutinise extensive datasets and uncover anomalies that may be difficult to spot by the human eye.

Moreover, AI can support your staff by facilitating deeper data analysis and standardising ways of working across different teams and offices – boosting the overall speed and quality of their work.

“We all have a bad day sometimes, but using Silverfin Assistant is like having a friend looking over your shoulder, saying: Have you reviewed this? Don’t miss that. This looks a bit strange, don’t you think?”

Russell Frayne, Director of Transformation at Gravita

Customer service

There are various ways in which AI technologies can help you step up your customer service game.

Think, for example, of AI-powered chatbots offering quick responses to common queries 24/7. Or how about AI-driven platforms that fast-track your compliance workflows, producing precise financial management accounts and providing deeper insights into cost-saving opportunities, financial planning and risk management?

Overall, your customers benefit from quicker turnaround times, more precise work, reduced fees, etc. Not only does this earn you their trust, but your firm also gains time to focus on nurturing customer relationships and offering enhanced services.

> Too busy to read the whole whitepaper, why not check out our summary infographic here

Talent attraction, retention and development

In an alternate dimension: who would you rather work for – Kodak or Apple? One failed to innovate, the other took over…While this hypothetical career dilemma is an extreme example, it does reveal a basic truth: employees like to work for forward-thinking companies. This is true in accountancy, too. If you want to attract and retain new or tech-savvy talent, they’ll expect your firm to follow suit.

But wait, there’s more. Why not use AI to nurture talent, too? AI can educate your junior staff on identifying and resolving common issues, grasping your firm’s best practices and handling accounting scenarios in line with your standard operating procedures. It’s a way of providing on-demand training without diverting attention from your senior staff.

Competitiveness

The sooner you adopt a new promising technology, the better your chances of dominating the market. But don’t take our word for it… A study by McKinsey found that early adopters of digital technologies outperformed their industry peers by a factor of 2 to 3 in revenue growth.

What’s more, AI will also change the prices clients are willing to pay. Many firms are already moving away from time and materials pricing to a focus on outputs, linked to fixed pricing. In this regard, AI, and automation technologies in general, can help you boost your output and turbocharge your competitiveness.

Financial performance

The bottom line is… your bottom line matters. And on this account, some of your competitors may be separating themselves from the pack, financially, as we speak.

Proof in point: a 2023 study by McKinsey revealed that high-performing AI organisations report a bottom-line impact of 20% or more from AI usage.

And we’re talking top-line growth here, as study participants indicate that AI is primarily driving an increase in revenues – not just (although certainly also) decreasing costs. Talk about sustainable growth!

  • 20% Bottom line impact reported by high-performing AI organisations

A copy of ‘Beyond the hype: the real benefits of AI for your accountancy firm’ can be downloaded here

Why not try Silverfin for yourself with our free 14-day trial? Sign-up here

Silverfin is the cloud platform that makes accountants successful. Silverfin dramatically improves the efficiency, accuracy and profitability of traditional accounting work. With centralised data, standardised and automated workflows, this work takes hours rather than days. 

But that’s not all. With more time available (and Silverfin’s data, reporting and analytics tools at their disposal) accountants can also deliver the advisory services their clients value.

Launched last year in the UK, Silverfin Assistant continuously analyses client files to find unusual balances, missing transactions and outliers. Flagging these and suggesting fixes, saves hours of manual checking, improves accuracy and improves client service

More Posts

UK accountancy sector prepares for growth in 2025

A joint Accountancy Age and HSBC report highlights the UK accountancy sector’s resilience and optimism. Learn more here.
Read More
AI Accounting Software

Transformative technology in accounting: Is AI taking over?

Discover how AI accounting software transforms work and enhances job satisfaction in UK accounting firms. Learn more at Silverfin.
Read More

The 3 Best AI Tools for Accounting  

The application of AI tools for accounting in the UK, such as Silverfin Assistant and Dext Precision, extends far beyond chatbot interfaces like ChatGPT, offering ...
Read More
silverfin

5 ways cloud platforms improve accounting firm team collaboration

Discover how to boost accounting firm team collaboration with cloud platforms like Silverfin, streamlining communication and tasks, and improving efficiency.
Read More

Technology Used in Accounting Firms: 5 Ways AI is Transforming the Industry

Accounting firms are under pressure to manage vast amounts of data while maintaining accuracy and meeting tight deadlines. These challenges can lead to costly errors ...
Read More

How AI technologies are revolutionising accounting firms in the UK

AI is transforming accounting firms in the UK by automating tasks, enhancing data accuracy and boosting productivity. Here's how.
Read More
New whitepaper from Silverfin AI - beyond the hype

Beyond the hype: the real benefits of AI for your accountancy firm

The team at Silverfin developed this whitepaper to bring together industry analysis of the key AI issues occupying accountants’ minds today. Using explanations of the ways ...
Read More

Insights on the future of entrepreneurship: What the UK can learn from Europe

With over 2000 SMEs surveyed across Europe, unlock key insights that can inform UK accountants on how to better serve their clients.
Read More

From crunch to clarity: 4 steps to revolutionise your accounting practice

In our recent whitepaper, “Tackling the Capacity Crunch in Accountancy: A Three-Stage Journey” we interviewed three accountants including Hollie Moore, Early Careers Manager at BKL, ...
Read More

Unlocking efficiency: the hidden benefits of standardised workflows

Discover how leading UK firms are unlocking efficiency in their accounting firms by standardising workflows.
Read More

How BKL Maximises Efficiency and Profit With Client Automation Software for Accounting Firms

Is your firm struggling with human errors, duplication of work, and a lack of available resources? Client automation software for accounting firms is the solution. ...
Read More

Technology Used in Accounting Firms: 5 Ways AI is Transforming the Industry

Accounting firms are under pressure to manage vast amounts of data while maintaining accuracy and meeting tight deadlines. These challenges can lead to costly errors ...
Read More

Let’s Chat

Scroll to Top