6 ways to use AI in your firm

May 7, 2024 11:08 AM

They say artificial intelligence will change the world, and in many ways, it already has. But AI's rapid advancements have been a source of stress for professionals like accountants.

Will you be automated out of a job?

The concerns are valid, but fortunately, the general consensus is that AI won't replace accountants. Instead, it will serve as a tool that presents a huge opportunity for growth and productivity. Research from Gartner found that 80% of CFOs expect to invest more in AI in the next two years.

The question is: how do you incorporate AI into your firm? There are many ways you can do so. In today's article, I want to break down a few that you can be utilizing today.

Grow your firm through enhanced lead generation

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When used properly, AI can enhance lead generation and help you grow your firm. There are endless ways to incorporate AI into the mix for this purpose.

With the help of AI, you can:

Organize and outline blog posts;
Edit posts;
Automatically pull video clips from your long-form video content to create impactful short-form content; and,
Generate ideas for new content, like webinars, e-books, blog posts and more.

Artificial intelligence can serve as your right-hand assistant when it comes to lead generation and content creation.

One area where a lot of firms and financial professionals struggle is their social media presence. And, while I don't recommend using AI fully for this and eliminating the human element from your posts, it's a great way to:

Create better hooks for your posts, so more people read them;
Edit your posts to flow and connect ideas better; and,
Suggest how to repurpose posts so you can get the most out of them.

The goal should always be to work smarter, not harder, and this is where AI can really help.

Naturally, there are also client-centric benefits that you can leverage with AI, too.

Provide clients with strategic financial decision-making

AI is quickly becoming a key player in the realm of strategic financial decision-making. Why? Because it's capable of analyzing vast amounts of data at lightning-fast speeds and at a depth unattainable by humans.

We all know that data can help us make smarter decisions, but making sense of that data is challenging. That's where AI shines.

With the tap of a button, AI algorithms can filter through data, identify key patterns, and provide an in-depth analysis of that data to help make strategic decisions. And they can do all of this while saving you time and money.

From predictive modeling to scenario planning, AI makes it easier for firms to start offering financial planning and analysis or improve their current offering.

Leveraging the power of AI for strategic financial decision-making provides countless advantages. Clockwork has an excellent guide here that covers how you can use AI to offer FP&A at your firm.

Streamline reconciliations and accounts payable/receivable

AI's ability to automate and streamline redundant tasks, like accounts payable and receivable, allows firms to save time that can be spent on more impactful tasks.

AI tools can use optical character recognition scanning to automatically extract key data from invoices, verify their accuracy and then send them out for payment or approval.

End-of-month reconciliations can also be automated. AI can:

Match transactions;
Generate reconciliation reports; and,
Identify errors and discrepancies.

Automation not only saves time but it also reduces the risk of costly errors that eat up more of your firm's time and resources.

Improve fraud detection

AI's ability to analyze huge amounts of data makes it easier and quicker to detect irregular patterns, anomalies and other red flags that may indicate fraud.

Specialized algorithms can help monitor financial data and transactions for suspicious activity, allowing you to take action quickly.

For example, AI algorithms can be trained to detect:

Unusual transaction amounts; and,
Unusual behavior or spending patterns.

These algorithms can be trained with new data over time, so they're continually learning and improving their accuracy.

If the right systems are in place, these fraud detection tools can also alert key stakeholders to potential fraud, and you can then utilize a third-party auditor (or an in-house one) to begin cross-checking issues.

False positives can and do occur, which is why it's often best to use the alert to indicate, "Hey, something looks off here, but let's have someone verify it."

Automate budgeting, forecasting and tax compliance

Budgeting and forecasting play crucial roles in financial management, but manual processes are time-consuming and tedious. AI can step in to automate and streamline these tasks while reducing the risk of errors.

Enhanced accuracy means that your forecasts and projections are more reliable. In minutes, AI tools can:

Analyze market trends and historical data;
Create accurate cash flow predictions; and,
Create reliable financial forecasts.

Along with budgeting and forecasting, AI-powered tools can analyze financial data to:

Quickly find tax deductions and credits that minimize tax liability; and,
Detect errors or issues in tax filings to ensure compliance with regulations.

These tools can be put to work for clients and for the firm itself to save time, improve accuracy and increase value.

Enhanced audit support

Artificial intelligence can also prove to be a valuable ally when it comes to auditing. Firms can use this technology to prepare audit schedules, assist with financial reporting, analyze data, and detect anomalies for further investigation.

By streamlining these tasks, AI can save time and improve efficiency.

You'll want to use audit support much like fraud detection. If any issues are found, you can have an auditor overlook them. An auditor can also use these tools to run a quick scan of financial data to spot potential issues from the start and streamline some of their tasks.

Final thoughts

There are numerous ways to incorporate AI into your firm's processes and workflows. From lead generation to strategic financial decision-making, fraud detection and predictive analytics, AI can streamline time-consuming processes while improving the accuracy and reliability of your data.

You don't have to transition all of your processes to AI, but if you begin slowly finding ways to automate or augment tasks, it's a good start.

Firms that choose to embrace AI and leverage these benefits now will be better positioned to stay ahead of the competition and provide clients with more value in the future.