AI can boost productivity by automating manual tasks.
Key points
- AI implementation in UK accounting could add £2 billion to GDP and create nearly 20,000 new jobs, while reducing invoice processing costs by up to 80 per cent.
- AI automates routine tasks like invoice checking, VAT verification, and GL coding, allowing accounting professionals to focus on strategic activities.
- Rather than replacing jobs, AI addresses staffing challenges by handling repetitive tasks and enabling real-time data access for better decision-making.
Shelsea Adrian, who helps optimise client processes at cloud-based, purchase-2-pay (P2P) group Yooz, will outline how AI is a critical tool for enhancing accounting productivity at the Institute of Financial Accountants’s International Conference Online on 7 November.
AI technologies are emerging as powerful tools for modern accounting practices, automating laborious manual tasks and providing real-time data to facilitate more informed decision-making.
“AI actually helps firms, specifically in today’s context where they are struggling to find new hires,” Adrian says.
Recent research by Sage estimated widespread AI implementation in UK accounting practices could add £2 billion to GDP and create nearly 20,000 new jobs. The technology’s ability to perform repetitive tasks while providing real-time, accurate data is helping transform business processes.
“Our AI will check for invoices already captured, mistakes in invoices such as VAT errors or incorrect banking details,” Adrian says. “The AI does most of the checks that an accountant would do before proceeding to payment.”
This automation of routine tasks allows accounting professionals to focus on strategic activities and decision-making. For firms struggling with accounts payable management, AI offers many benefits. Through her work at Yooz, Adrian has seen invoice processing cost reductions of up to 80 per cent. The technology can interpret data from various document formats without predefined templates.
“A lot of firms are seeing the need to digitise and be more productive with their accounting processes,” Adrian says.
The technology tracks financial performance in real time, which enables more insightful decision-making.
Practical applications of AI in accounting range from smart capture of invoice data to automated GL (general ledger) coding and export to ERPs (enterprise resource planning).
“We offer two different kinds of product,” Adrian says. “A full Purchase to Payment solution for businesses and another solution tailor-made for accountancy firms which focuses on the automation of data capturing and GL coding of invoices.”
Adrian says AI is accessible and not intimidating to implement. “In terms of training with our solution there is no specific need ahead to prepare,” Adrian says. “We pride ourselves with offering the most intuitive solution for our customers so that they adapt rapidly to our product.”
Accountants freed up to focus on strategic work
Automating routine tasks allows accountants to focus on higher-value activities.
“Our solutions help companies be more efficient and strategic by allocating their time on more added-value tasks,” Adrian says. “AI does not replace people but rather assists them by providing more accurate checks.”
Adrian recommends starting with clear objectives for those wading into the AI waters.
“Usually people come to us because they have recognised a need for more productivity, accuracy and traceability,” she says. “The first step towards automating tasks is to identify the current pain point in order to seek solutions that address these specific pain points.”
UK firms have embraced AI albeit at a slow and steady rate. “In the UK, the uptake is slow but steady,” Adrian says. “It is still dynamic because a lot of firms are seeing the need to digitise, be more secure and more productive with their accounting processes.”
Adrian says fears about AI’s impact are unfounded. “There are negative biases surrounding AP (accounts payable) automation, thinking that it affects roles negatively, that it doesn’t work as one would want it to be, that it’s complicated and long to implement,” she says.
The 7 November session will explore these themes and draw on case studies from Free Now and Pay by Phone to demonstrate practical applications of AI in accounting. Adrian will address key questions about which tasks AI can alleviate, how real-time data supports decision-making, and the specific ways AI integrates with accounting processes.
The IFA’s International Conference Online 2024 on 7 November explores AI. Register HERE.
