A new AI era is here — but will finance pros benefit?

Finance leaders expect artificial intelligence and automation will have a bigger 10-year impact than cybersecurity, analytics and big data, biotech, and renewable energy combined.

This is according to a recent poll conducted by accounting and finance solutions provider Trullion, which found 64% of respondents named these technologies as carrying the most potential for the future. In contrast, none of the other named options came even close to 20%, indicating where finance leaders are turning their attention.

"Many remember a world without the internet — similarly, time can now be divided between pre-mass AI and post-mass AI availability. Finance professionals are essentially saying that the world will change completely in the coming decades. We are in a new AI era, which will change the way we do just about everything," said the report.

As for what these leaders wish AI would do, it seems mostly what they want is for computers to automate routine tasks. Half of respondents said that the most important thing for financial technology tools to do is save time by reducing manual work. Of the things that they want automated the most, data entry and financial reporting topped the list at 64%, an overwhelming majority, especially compared with the second most cited response, "updating spreadsheets," which only garnered 18%.

Can they take advantage?

While automation and AI are seen as game changers in the accounting and finance world, a poll from Gartner casts doubt on leaders' ability to capitalize on these technologies. While it says the number of employees with sufficient digital acumen is quite low, at only 18%, it is still higher than the proportion of managers seen as having the equivalent skills, 11%. What's more, Gartner says this gap has been growing as managers demand their employees develop new skills while neglecting to do so themselves. Gartner warned that this might drive employee turnover as the years go on.

"CFOs are preparing their teams for a time when finance will operate autonomously, driven by technologies such as AI, yet not many finance leaders are learning digital skills themselves," said Marco Steecker, research director in Gartner's finance practice, in a statement. "An already-wide digital skills gap between management and their reports will increase in coming years if unaddressed, and digital-laggard CFOs will increasingly struggle to manage staff who are delivering their digital initiatives."

To prevent this problem, Steecker recommended CFOs prepare themselves and their senior finance managers for increasing demands of digital literacy through:

• Revisiting and updating finance manager competency frameworks to prioritize digital competencies;
• Establishing and participating in wider organizational digital upskilling efforts, along with upskilling designed specifically for the finance function; and,
• Pursuing reverse-mentoring opportunities with digitally literate staff.

Firms making investments

Corporate offices aren't the only ones looking to capitalize on new technologies. A recent survey from Intuit — the company behind TurboTax, QuickBooks and other tax and accounting tools — found that 86% of 2,000 working accountants agreed that technology will play a significant role in the growth and expansion of their practices in the next year.

These priorities can be seen in other survey results showing that, in 2023, accountants expect to spend an average of $15,800 on technology improvements and upgrades. Nearly half expect to invest in and adopt automation tools (48%), AI (48%), and blockchain technology (47%) to maximize efficiencies.

"AI has powerful potential, and accountants are hungry to capitalize on what it has to offer," said Jeremy Sulzmann, vice president of Intuit QuickBooks partners segment, in a statement. "We see this appetite today with emerging tech, such as generative AI, as accountants look for ways to leverage new technologies that create efficiencies and free up their time to pursue higher-value work and better serve their clients. At QuickBooks, we recognize this demand and build solutions into our platform to provide an AI-driven expert platform that helps accountants and their small business clients operate more efficiently. This includes automating tasks like categorizing transactions using personalized machine-learning models that learn from user preferences and are refreshed daily."

Part of what's driving this is increasing demands from clients. The survey found that more than two-thirds of accountants report that their clients have needed more support with financial management (67%), filing taxes (62%), managing staffing costs (62%), and financial forecasting (65%) over the past two years. Accountants are also reporting that 91% have used technology to help meet clients' evolving needs over the past two years, including getting more interaction with a client, as well as playing a more active role as a strategic advisor.

Many firms are reporting gains from technology investments already: 41% said they have seen increased revenue due to efficiency improvements, 38% said clients trust their firm more, 36% said it has increased their income stream, 35% said they can serve a wider variety of needs, and 33% said it has improved employee retention and recruitment.

"Accountants throughout the U.S. are using this investment to level up by becoming faster, sharper, and more comprehensive in their support to clients. Evolving technology is also helping to solve the industry's biggest hiring challenges," said the survey report.