Accounting's AI revolution not only continued into 2024 but actually seemed to accelerate, as it has now become nearly impossible to go to a conference, sit in a strategy meeting or even shop for new software without hearing those two famous letters, often preceded by the word "generative" and followed by the words "powered" or "driven." This might seem rather strange, as around this time last year we were marveling at how far AI has come in such a short time. Yet at the end of 2024 we find ourselves in this place once more as the current generation of AI tools makes last year's seem almost quaint.
This is why, in our second annual AI Thought Leaders Survey, we asked experts in the field what they thought of the past year. The field of AI is both vast and ever-changing, and we wanted to see what people deeply enmeshed in AI in accounting thought of all the changes they've seen this year.
Many noted that AI has gone from being a novelty or an experimental tool in many cases to being a practical, widely adopted technology integral to daily operations. In this respect, even those who may not consider themselves tech savvy are now using sophisticated AI tools that would have seemed like science fiction as little as 10 years ago. Strategic decision-making, advanced analytics and personalized client interactions are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to use cases for accountants.
"At the beginning of the year, AI in accounting felt like an emerging trend that many were watching from the sidelines," said Kacee Johnson, vice president of strategy and innovation at CPA.com, talking about the noticeable shift. "It's no longer just about automation; the conversations have evolved to exploring how AI can enhance advisory roles, improve decision-making and solve capacity challenges. I've seen more professionals embracing AI as a tool they need to understand and leverage, not just something that might affect their work down the line."
The speed at which AI has advanced this year impressed many, especially its generative capabilities and its application to data, both structured and unstructured. In a short time it has transformed workflows, increased productivity and uncovered new insights never considered by users. Meanwhile, the recent rollout of specialized AI agents capable of limited autonomy to handle complex tasks like fraud detection, tax analysis and data reconciliation tells them there's still so much more to come.
"We have all seen AI advance significantly in the past year, especially in the area of automation of manual tasks," said Jim Bourke, managing director of Withum's advisory services. "Think about areas like bill pay, invoicing, expense management, financial statement analysis, etc. AI is putting accountants into more strategic roles and getting them out of the trenches in doing the manual tasks. This past year I have seen a number of players in the tax space surface by leveraging AI. Although many of them still continue to be a work in progress, we are going to see AI totally change the tax space and eliminate the massive tech stacks that exist in many firms today."
Of course, all technologies have their risks, and AI is no exception. Indeed, as the technology's presence in firms grows, so too have the concerns about its use. Experts cited security risks like data breaches and misuse of sensitive information by AI systems, and many are worried about the accuracy of AI output given the tendency to "hallucinate" (i.e., make up stuff). But they also raised broader ethical concerns, such as the perpetuation of bias as well as potential job displacement in the short term. Experts didn't think AI was going to wholesale replace accountants anytime soon, but some conceded it would serve to disrupt job dynamics in certain parts of the profession.
"It's poised to replace certain jobs or at least automate specific tasks within jobs," said Prashant Ganti, head of product management in Zoho's Finance and Operations business unit. "AI agents will influence particular roles, potentially altering the premium placed on certain skills, leading to some traditional jobs disappearing entirely."
In this, the first of three parts, we look at what our experts—drawn from CPA firms, software vendors and academics all deeply involved in the field of artificial intelligence in the accounting world—thought of three questions:
- How has your perception or impression of AI in accounting changed from the beginning of this year to now?
- What scares you the most about AI today? What is your biggest concern?
- What's impressed you the most about AI this year? What really got your attention (both in terms of accounting and overall)?.
We'll have more from our experts next week.
