AI in the Accounting World

Automation in the Accounting World

Machines are replacing people in agriculture, banking, manufacturing, restaurants (you can now order a burger from a tablet at McDonalds!), and now its moving its way towards the accounting field.

Automation or artificial intelligence (AI) is taking the accounting world by storm. The old-school green eye shade accountant with his paper ledger and pencil (or excel sheets for the more current) is being taken over by a group of young, tech savvy individuals that promise automatic bookkeeping and instant books for a very competitive price.

So how does this work? In short, these automated bookkeepers basically sync your bank and credit card accounts to their specialized software that is formatted to code your transactions on a real-time basis.

So does this mean the entire bookkeeping process can be automated, and that no people are needed, just computers?

At QBO we don’t think so. We take advantage of these automated solutions where ever and whenever we can to keep our client’s fees reasonable and ensure we are providing timely information to our clients. BUT we still think that having a US-based staff available to actually speak with clients is an important component of an effective and efficient accounting system.

WHY?

1. 100% Automation lacks the personal touch
2. Human-centric thinking is required for certain complex and non-repetitive transactions. We have real estate clients that have 100+ line closing statements for the purchase of a $50 million property.
3. People are still needed to deal with real-world problems that small business owners face every day (e.g., a notice from a government agency that payroll taxes were underpaid)
4. Clients have questions outside of the day-to-day bookkeeping process that people with business experience need to answer.