artificial intelligence

Article Dean Dorton

If you asked me to count the number of articles written about artificial intelligence (AI) in accounting, I would probably outsource that job. Features like enhanced data accuracy, efficiencies gained through automation, real-time financial reporting, and advanced predictive analytics (to name a few) are buzzwords slung around like mud at a presidential debate. And for good reason! These features have tremendous value and Dean Dorton’s outsourced accounting team is implementing these functions across numerous clients.

However, all these features often leave me pondering what’s coming with the next evolution of AI. Below are my predictions on what the future holds for AI within the world of accounting:

1. AI-Driven Predictive Compliance

Picture an AI application so forward-thinking that it predicts compliance changes better than your weather app predicts the weather. AI systems in the future could predict upcoming regulatory changes by analyzing trends in global financial governance.

2. Enhanced Custom Financial Modeling

Imagine an AI that knows your business, your history, your industry, and your goals. That same AI could create sophisticated financial models tailored to specific industries and individual businesses. This would provide businesses with invaluable insights for strategic planning and decision-making.

3. Intelligent Cash Flow Management

AI may take over the world, but cash will always be king.  AI could offer advanced cash flow management services, predicting future cash flow scenarios with high accuracy. These predictions would be based on a comprehensive analysis of historical data, market trends, and economic indicators, allowing businesses to optimize their investment and operational decisions.

4. Automated Real-Time Auditing

Imagine an auditor who never left. Wait, that came out wrong. Imagine an audit process that was autonomous, automated, and relevant. This would represent a shift from periodic audits to an ongoing process, dramatically increasing transparency and enabling immediate identification and resolution of discrepancies.

5. Advanced Fraud Detection with Predictive Analysis

Cue Tom Cruise’s Minority Report. AI systems could become more adept at not only detecting but also predicting potential fraud. Precognition anyone? By analyzing patterns and anomalies over vast datasets, these systems could identify potential risks before they materialize, enhancing financial security.

6. Continual Risk Assessment Tools

As a CPA, I’ve never understood why risk assessment is only an annual process. AI could fix that. AI could provide risk assessment tools that continuously update in response to changing market conditions, business activities, and external events. This would allow businesses to have a real-time understanding of their risk exposure and make informed decisions to mitigate potential risks.

7. Interactive Financial Dashboards with Predictive Insights

The term dashboard is overused and associated with stale data, or data errors. Imagine interactive AI-powered dashboards that not only display financial metrics in real-time but also provide predictive insights and recommendations. These dashboards could become an integral tool for CFOs and decision-makers, offering a futuristic view of the company’s financial health and trajectory.

These future enhancements promise a world where AI not only simplifies and streamlines financial processes but also provides deep, actionable insights, transforming the way businesses plan, operate, and grow. As AI technology continues to evolve, its integration into outsourced accounting services is poised to offer unprecedented levels of efficiency, security, and strategic value.

Dean Dorton’s outsourced accounting services team is passionate about finding the right tools to fit your business. Contact us if you would like to learn more about our services or where AI might benefit your organization.

Justin currently leads Dean Dorton’s Accounting and Financial Outsourcing (AFO) group, providing outsourced accounting and business consulting services to clients throughout the country in a variety of industries.

Article Dean Dorton

Remember in Back to the Future, when Marty McFly discovers that Doc Emmett Brown has built a time machine out of a DeLorean? Doc Brown says, “The way I see it, if you’re going to build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?” Time travel is not the only phenomenon with style. With artificial intelligence, automation, cloud technology, and other high-tech trends, the future of accounting is looking pretty good, too- check out these top 6 shifts we predict.

Artificial intelligence (AI), once found in futuristic movies, is now in our everyday lives. From Siri and Alexa to customer chatbots, AI makes it easier to live, work, and play. Artificial intelligence can be defined as “technology that enables computers to perform decision-based tasks previously left to humans.” One form of AI is machine learning. The more machine learning is used, the better it becomes at analyzing and decision-making. AI helps accounting teams with everything from automating routine tasks to using natural language processing capabilities to interpret thousands of contracts or deeds, a capability that accounting firm Deloitte has implemented.

Automation. Technology is allowing finance teams to automate key processes such as accounts payable, so they can focus on higher-value work. Patrick Villanova, former audit senior manager at PwC, wrote in Accounting Today, “Let the machines generate the numbers; accountants can analyze their significance for varied business and process owners to enhance the organization’s long-term financial performance.”

Customization. For greater business agility, accounting teams need the ability to easily tailor their financial management software to fit their needs now and in the future. Instead of manual workarounds or expensive, hard-coded customizations, today’s solutions are highly adaptable. From user-friendly report configurations to unique document workflows that can be automated without custom scripting, modern accounting tools fit the way you work—and not the other way around.

Flexibility. Too often, accounting and finance teams don’t have formalized processes in place, or if they are, they’re not based on best practices. Best-in-class accounting software helps users see immediate process improvements. More importantly, this type of software can be easily adjusted, extended, and integrated to match a company’s unique needs. An AICPA whitepaper by Fox Financial Planning Network noted, “While automating workflows is a critical step in efficiently delivering client services, an even more important issue to delivering a personalized experience is to put in place workflow architecture that has flexibility.”

Control. Today’s accounting pros need the ability to gather instant insight into their business’ financial and operational performance. That way they can manage growth, reduce risk, and help their company take advantage of opportunities as they come their way. They leverage a single source of truth to understand the true nature of their business, and real-time dashboards and flexible reports give users across the organization access to information on how and when they need it.

Anytime-anywhere cloud capability. The beauty of cloud software accounting tools is that they can be accessed, 24/7, from any Web-enabled device that has an Internet connection. On the road, in the office, at home, or even on the beach, a company’s finance team can do their job as needed, when needed. With a growing remote workforce and geographically dispersed business entities, forward-thinking businesses need the freedom and flexibility of the cloud. 

Jonathan Bareham, director of the U.K. accountancy firm Raedan summed up how many of these different trends work together. He told the Journal of Accountancy, “We see AI as the next step in automation and efficiency provided by cloud software. It will increase time savings, reduce errors, and aid compliance.”

There has been some concern in the industry that technology will displace many accounting functions. But, unlike Doc Brown not needing roads to travel into the future, accountants will always be needed. Derek Bang, chief strategy and innovation officer at accounting firm Crowe Horwath, said, “The accountants of the future will exist, but they will know how to interact with machines.”

For more information on accounting, automated financial management, and cloud technology, contact us!

Article Dean Dorton

In the 1960’s, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning was something we read about in science fiction books. Today, it’s a reality.

As thought-leaders delved into the topic of AI and machine learning in finance at the recent 2018 State of Technology conference, it was easy to see how the future can take shape for financial management and accounting.

So, what might a future in financial management look like? Where are we likely to see AI and machine learning support finance, and how can accounting take advantage of technology’s advancements?

Auditing

Auditing is the first place finance leaders can look to technology for support.  Instances already exist where technology via machine learning can simplify complex and tedious data examination by pouring through volumes of transactions, documents and contracts to identify anomalies in a fraction of the time it would take a person to do.

Reporting and Compliance

At present, big banks already use AI to navigate complicated regulatory guidelines.  Accounting firms are quick to follow this lead, so we should only expect that the future will offer greater compliance support and data retrieval in our financial management solutions at the company level.

Sage Intacct, a best-in-class cloud accounting solution is the first of its kind of software designed to support the new ASC 606 and IFRS 15 guidelines for subscription-based companies and non-profit organizations alike and has promised there is more to come.

A Bright Future

Siri and Alexa occupy center stage, but financial management should keep on the lookout for Sage Intacct’s Pacioli, now in the works.

The cloud-based accounting software company is currently developing their own machine learning technology designed to record your activity to make information retrieval faster and easier for your accounting teams.

While no date is set on the release of Pacioli, it is expected that Sage Intacct aims to have it up and running sooner rather than later.

Sage Intacct’s offers strong financial management solutions, and expert streamlining for audits, consolidations, compliance, and collaboration. For this reason, we can anticipate a bright future with Sage Intacct when it comes to AI and machine learning.

If your business is rapidly growing, both in size and complexity, it might be time to consider adopting a system that can grow and scale with your business.

To find the right financial management platform to replace your current static, on-premises software system, we can help.

Give us a call for expert guidance into options that have the strength to grow and change with the future of accounting technology.

*Credits: google images

Article Dean Dorton

This blog can also be found posted by Massey Consulting on ERP Software Blog.

Advanced computer programs using automation and artificial intelligence are having a major impact on society and business.

These technologies are being used to analyze data for insights that have never before been understood. People often think of these tools as useful for finance, science, marketing and government among other purposes. However, it turns out that human resources and payroll have key uses for automation and AI – and they are revolutionizing these business functions.

Hiring

Artificial Intelligence has an important application for human resources within the hiring process. Large companies receive hundreds of applications for a single job post. Smaller companies too, get an overwhelming number of resumes emailed to them. It is, at best, extremely tedious and at worst, nearly impossible to go through every single resume to look for the ideal candidate. In fact, most of the resumes are simply unfit for the position.

AI has now emerged within applications to automatically crawl the resumes to find keywords and highlights that might be a good match for the position. The AI tools find the ideal candidates and narrow them down for HR. Those resumes are put on the top of the stack and evaluated for final consideration before an interview is offered.

Taxes and Healthcare

Payroll can be extremely complicated, especially when there are employees working remotely in different states and countries. Getting it all right requires significant expertise. Most companies do not have this type of expertise on staff. Additionally, they don’t want to hire a third party just to determine how much they owe in taxes and healthcare costs on for each month’s payroll expenses.

Enter Artificial Intelligence – and now there are tools that can determine the correct amounts automatically. Employers simply upload their employee profiles that include the salary, stock options, age, location, dependents and employee status (contract, part-time or full-time). The AI program then determines how much each employee receives each pay period, how much goes to which government department and which account to send the funds to each time. This makes the job of payroll tremendously easier, especially as the taxes and withholdings become more and more complex.

Severance, Commissions and Bonuses

In addition to regular compensation to process, the payroll team must also process one time or irregular payments like severance, commission and bonuses. While a small company with five to ten people may want to do this manually, once the number starts becomes larger, an automated system is ideal. Instead of having one centralized team collect and upload all of the data, each department head or manager uploads the data for their specific team.

For example, a sales manager in the North East office uploads the commission payments for their team at the end of the month. Those automatically are confirmed with the CRM system, the accounting software and other verification systems. They then filter through to the payroll system and are applied to the compensation of each individual sales representative.

Compliance Training

More and more companies are requiring compliance training for employees to understand guidelines and regulations. However, the process of organizing, monitoring and checking compliance training is quite cumbersome. Following up with each employee to check whether they have completed training is a time-consuming nightmare as any HR manager will attest..

Fortunately, these process can now be almost completely automated. Sophisticated systems automatically send out the link to test and then monitor employee engagement. They track test scores and determine if there are any employees that have yet to complete the courses. Employees who have not completed the requisite training are then sent follow-up emails. Finally, the entire report is sent to senior management, acknowledging that the compliance training was completed by all employees- all of which happens automatically within the system.

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Check out WorkForceGo– the HCM solution that lets you track and analyze payroll, human resources, time and attendance data—and stay ACA compliant—from any mobile device, laptop or desktop.

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Article Dean Dorton

At this year’s Sage Intacct Advantage conference in Las Vegas, Sage Intacct announced Pacioli – Sage Intacct’s future in AI.

Luca Pacioli, a Franciscan friar and friend of Leonardo da Vinci, is credited as the creator of the double-entry accounting system. Now, Pacioli is the face of Sage Intacct’s future digital assistant to their users. Pacioli products or timeframes for release have not been announced, but we can rest assured, it is something to expect from Sage Intacct going forward.  

In a digital world where AI (artificial intelligence) integrates into our daily lives, online, in our homes, and at work, we should expect nothing less than that our cloud accounting solutions will follow in stride.

We will keep on the lookout for Pacioli. What should we expect from a bot assistant and machine learning to make our financial processes faster, stronger and more secure?

Reporting and Compliance

In the future, for accounting firms, we can expect to see regulation and organizational policy compliance monitoring. This year we are seeing ASC 606 and IFRS 15 compliance guideline changes. Going forward, AI would be a welcome time-saving tool to ensure company data is being organized to meet compliance in a more automated way.

Risk Management

Because AI can catch anomalous events in your data and transactions, artificial intelligence is a great detection and support tool against fraud and human error. AI can sift through reams and reams of data to search for inconsistencies and errors to save the finance and IT departments time, effort and resources.

Trend Analytics

Machine learning and artificial intelligence have the capability to take complex data, like business metrics, in high volume to analyze and form predictions that support financial management in strategy and decision-making.

Auditing

Because AI can easily analyze large quantity contract documents and compile them into useful data, it is an ideal support tool for auditing. Having AI as a support assistant means auditors are free to focus on tasks requiring more judgment and expert analysis outside of data sorting and compiling.

When we consider artificial intelligence and how it can support financial management, we can begin to imagine more time and more specialized tasks in our grasp. AI is just one more offering that Sage Intacct will bring to their users to keep them at the forefront of innovation.  

Best-in-class financial management solutions like Sage Intacct can help your teams find the support they need to work smarter for your company’s future.  

Contact us to learn more about how innovation can move your company forward.