No Pain, No Gain: AI Is Here to Stay

A few short years ago, Artificial Intelligence (AI) was little more than an earnest discussion topic for IT  professionals, sci-fi fans and futurologists. Everybody else had heard of it, but most of us were not quite sure what it did. Today, it is everywhere.

Thanks to the advent of ChatGPT and other ‘generative’ AI tools, the potential of AI, for good and ill, is the lead story on evening news shows and the cause of heated debates in homes, coffee shops and offices around the world. Will it take our jobs? Will it take over the world? Conversely, will it make our lives easier and more fulfilling?

That debate is mirrored in the professional services arena, where AI also provokes mixed emotions. The technology is already being used in some areas of accountancy, and has the potential to be used in many more. But will it make some jobs in the professions obsolete? And might the reliance on smart, self-teaching technology for our financial good health have unintended consequences? 

AI the gamechanger

At the moment, nobody can be certain of the answers to these questions, but a few things seem clear: AI is a game changer, potentially the most disruptive force since the industrial revolution, and unquestionably here to stay.

In accountancy at least, this optimistic view is widely shared. Michael Antovski, chief operating officer for UHY Advisors, Inc., believes AI has been part of our professional and personal lives for a number of years, even if we haven’t categorized it as such.

“We should embrace it, but be intentional about how we use it,” he says. “As far as accountancy is concerned, I am optimistic that AI will bring benefits to our profession as a whole, and enhance our colleagues’ careers.”

The case for optimism

Where does this optimism spring from? Partly, it is down to the positive impacts AI, machine learning and robotic process automation (RPA) are already having on the profession.

UHY International’s member firms use a number of AI-type tools in its operations already. DataSnipper, for example, can automatically identify and highlight important information in mountains of documents, from bank statements to handwritten notes. It does not just accomplish this document scanning faster than a human ever could, it is also more accurate and thorough.

It has always been the job of accountants to highlight atypical transactions. Increasingly, new AI tools are helping them to analyze vast volumes of documents and transactional data quickly and accurately, freeing up time that can be spent with clients to investigate and discuss anomalies. In this way AI can change the service that professionals offer, often enabling additional insights to help improve client businesses further.

Internal advantages

There are other benefits, too. Antovski says the AI tools UHY currently uses are as much a benefit to employees as clients. “Pre-AI, the contract review process, for example, was done manually by our colleagues,” he adds. “AI allows colleagues to focus more on the review itself and be consultative with the results.” Proponents of AI often cite this time saving role as a reason for optimism. Technology in general, and AI in particular, can automate routine and repetitive tasks, allowing professionals to focus on more complex, sensitive or higher value activities. AI-powered accountancy will be less about bookkeeping and more about business advisory.

The pitfalls of AI

With all these benefits, it is no surprise that AI is generally welcomed by professional services providers. It offers the potential to turn information into insight in a way that was previously either impossible or so labour intensive as to be impractical.

But there are caveats. Antovski mentions that we should use AI ‘intentionally’, and that information produced by AI needs to be verified by other means.

Technology experts stress the need to be sure of what AI is doing and impose limits on its actions. AI is progressing all the time and through machine learning can teach itself to be better at the tasks assigned to it. We should be cognisant of the possibility that what AI identifies as the optimum way may not be the securest way, or the way that best ensures data privacy or safeguards regulatory compliance, and build in relevant checks and balances.

Technology is sometimes seen as a great leveler. In this interpretation, small firms that embrace the right technology can do the kinds of things that were previously only available to larger competitors with deeper pockets. That is true of data analytics, for example.

But AI implementation also has the potential to widen the gap between the technological haves and have-nots. The tools may become increasingly affordable. The talent to understand, implement, tailor and maintain them probably will not.

The future of AI in accountancy

These are real concerns, but the implementation of AI in professional services is likely to accelerate anyway. The train has left the station and the direction of travel appears set.

So how might the near future look when AI has infiltrated further into the accountancy technology stack? Letting AI source, check, verify and file the relevant documentation would save time and money for everyone involved. Software could also create tailored engagement letters, and guide clients through basic technical onboarding. The human touch is an important part of building relationships and trust in professional services, but having to contact a human just to request a document alteration can be frustrating.

There will be much more to the AI-driven future, of course. As a society and a profession, we are probably some way from grasping the technology’s full potential. But grasp it we must. Professional services firms who fail to understand the game-changing importance of AI are at risk of falling behind. The AI revolution has only just begun.

Read more stories in Issue 17 of the UHY Global Magazine published by UHY International.