After the introduction of LLM-based generative AI models like ChatGPT, there has been a rapid adoption of this technology, and numerous use cases have evolved over the past year. This has also brought faster adoption of other AI tools for accounting and other businesses. Though LLM-based AI tools like ChatGPT represent a transformative potential, some limitations and risks need to be studied and evaluated while the AI landscape evolves.
Limitations like a lack of a human advisor led to bias and a lack of customer experience. Risks about data privacy and inadvertent exposure of firm data are aspects of adoption that need to be evaluated from a data, security, and legal risk standpoint. however, tools that integrate AI functionality as part of the product offering itself for accounting firms are more ring-fenced in terms of these risks because they have been risk-evaluated and built with the accounting firm’s usage in mind.
This blog talks about eight AI tools-based use cases that can help accounting firms in different areas of their practice. These AI tools can be integrated into the daily operations of a firm, and services can be built around their capabilities. Thus enabling accountants to create a modern accounting, tax, or bookkeeping firm and enhance their offerings.
Faster Tax Prep and Insights
Ai-driven tax software can automate tasks like data entry, tax calculations, and checks for accuracy and completion. This streamlines the tax preparation process for the preparer, reduces the risk of errors, and saves time.
Many tax firms struggle during the tax season because the entire process has client dependencies and is time-consuming and time-sensitive. Such tools, along with better workflow management, can help firms better service current clients and even take on more clients during the tax season.
Additionally, AI-powered assistants like intuit assist can work with tax team members and tax tools like TurboTax right from when documents are uploaded to create checklists for the needed forms, etc. Advanced algorithms can identify potential deductions and credits based on a client’s financial data, ensuring optimized tax savings and compliance. this is an excellent example of the inherent capability of a tool to simplify tax preparation and AI-powered assistants to provide insights and help tax preparers.
Tax Research Assistance
As an accountant, staying up to date with tax laws about the industries and states you serve in is very important. LLM-based AI tax research assistants use machine learning and AI to analyze vast amounts of data in their search database, offering firms the latest updates on evolving tax laws and regulations.
The advantages of such tools are –
- Ability to search through an extensive repository of data and documents
- Easy querying based on natural language
- Reduction in research time
- Faster response and advice to customer queries
- Industry-leading tools like checkpoint edge provide confidence in your advice because of accuracy and detail.
Thus, it empowers firms to provide clients with accurate and up-to-date advice, ensuring compliance and minimizing tax liabilities.
Less Effort on Bookkeeping
Ai-driven bookkeeping tools can automate data entry and save time for accounting staff members. Tools like Booke.AI integrate with QuickBooks online and review bank feeds to code each transaction to the appropriate ledger account.
Whenever there is doubt about how to code the transaction, it asks for human input. Once the input is provided, the tool can learn and improve its ability to categorize accurately from then on. It can also run reconciliation, highlight possible wrong classifications, and give options to choose from suggested categories.
This saves time and effort and helps accountants provide their clients with insights on top of the bookkeeping work.
Real-Time Financial Insights
Many industries like e-commerce and SaaS, where the business moves quickly, need real-time insights for faster decision-making. Critical decision-making points such as cash runway, cost of sales, burn rate, etc, need to be tracked and analyzed.
Ai platforms like zeni.ai can analyze the entire financial operations and create dashboards and insights to help with this. Also, accountants can be onboarded on these platforms to act as consultants and provide services on top of the AI tools.
This is beneficial all around; accountants deliver insights and get additional revenue opportunities, and businesses/start-ups benefit from the capability of the AI tool and the accountant’s expertise.
Precise Cash Flow Forecasting
AI-powered predictive models can use historical data to provide highly accurate cash flow forecasts. They help predict cash shortages, perform scenario analysis, and manage cash flow proactively, which can help accountants give deeper insights to their clients.
Apps like ForwardAI make it easy for accountants to consult their clients on cash flow forecasting. You can set up your account, connect your bank and accounting software, and categorize transactions. This helps you create forecasts and scenarios. Accountants can automate forecasting with rules, review and adjust it regularly, and collaborate with team members.
It provides visual tools for easy monitoring and analysis, simplifying cash flow forecasting and keeping firm finances in check. Accountants can help firm owners use these forecasts to optimize cash reserves, make strategic investments, and negotiate favorable terms with suppliers to ensure a healthy cash flow.
Conversational Insights for FP&A
FP&A Genius is an innovative AI-powered chat service designed to transform how you navigate and understand your firm’s budgets, forecasts, variance, and spending.
It seamlessly integrates with your consolidated finance data and provides swift, conversation-based insights using trends, graphs, etc. It can also be a great tool during crucial meetings like board meetings or ad hoc departmental requests. FP&A Genuis is similar to ChatGPT except that ChatGPT is an open-source tool, but FP&A Genuis can be integrated into your firm’s environment.
This can eliminate the time spent creating ad hoc reports. It also allows non-finance users, including firm management, to interact and gain insights. Accounting firms can integrate it into their firm and build standard prompt-based reports for their clients.
Autonomous Invoice Processing
Accounts payable is a cumbersome process, with multiple individuals meticulously reviewing and approving each transaction before payment. The process is time-consuming and can not only lead to potential errors but also place a strain on resources as various team members must collaborate to ensure accuracy.
Vic.ai helps you solve this. It is an intelligent invoicing solution that introduces autonomy into the process. It works by extracting the invoice data, matching it with the purchase order, and validating it.
It uses three-way matching to verify every line on the invoice and every line on the purchase order. This minimizes the need for extensive manual intervention, enabling a more streamlined and efficient workflow, thus allowing your team to prioritize client service, increase efficiency, and drive profitable growth.
Efficient Employee Onboarding
Ai-driven HR chatbots like leena.ai can allow firms to create employee onboarding experiences and workflows from preboarding to onboarding to engagement. It will even enable firms to develop remote onboarding workflows. This can lead to a reduction in candidate dropout rates and improve employee onboarding experience.
It’s a chat-assisted tool where you can define steps, and then a chat assistant guides new hires through the journey of employee onboarding. Firms can standardize and upload the forms and documents, access related checklists, and add to the workflow. Every time a new offer request is created, the workflow for pre-onboarding is activated.
Conclusion:
Like every other technological advancement, AI is here to stay with its pros and cons. While it will automate the repetitive tasks in accounting, firms must increasingly embrace working with tools that modernize their firm and provide an edge.
Accountants and tax professionals with years of experience can continue to offer valuable insights to their clients, while tech and AI can enable better client service and internal process improvements.
