AI in Accounting Software: Understanding AI Tools to Enhance Efficiency

Over the last few years, business models and day-to-day operations have been reinvented as artificial intelligence impacts many aspects of business. Accounting and financial management teams have certainly noticed that AI is transforming accounting software, enhancing accuracy, automating tasks, and shaping the future of the accounting industry and the tools we use every day.  

AI-Driven Innovations in Accounting

Accounting is at the heart of any organization, but this important function often struggles with inadequate staffing, inefficient systems, and outdated workflows. To overcome these challenges, accounting and finance leaders must seek out impactful software solutions to fill the gaps and improve efficiency.  

For example, Sage, a leader in cloud financial management, continues to release AI and machine learning technology that will permanently impact the accounting and finance fields. Sage Intacct leverages many AI and machine learning-powered solutions, such as:  

GL Outlier Detection

GL Outlier Detection is a machine learning solution that helps check the accuracy of journal entries via an approval workflow. This functionality reviews journal entries and flags anomalies to help you proactively catch errors and identify issues/risks before approval.  

Sage Co-Pilot 

Sage Co-Pilot provides a real-time view of business performance with proactive suggestions. This functionality transforms the data into immediate, actionable insights.  

AP Bill Automation 

AP Bill Automation helps organizations stay on top of cash flow and pay invoices with a focus on minimizing cost, human error, and risk. With this automation, organizations can free up time and resources while improving efficiency in the accounts payable process.  

Automated Bank Feeds

The Automated Bank Feed creates a bank connection that instantly pulls data from your account(s) to Sage Intacct. This data automatically matches your invoices, payments, and purchases, allowing your team to save time and improve data accuracy.   

How AI is Shaping Financial Decision-Making 

With these AI and machine learning tools, accounting and finance teams are seeing faster month-end close times, relief in the need for hiring, and, most importantly, a wave of positive change. Leaders can focus on high-value work, such as strategic decision-making and leadership, while leaving the low-value tasks, such as catching errors and data entry, to the efficiency of AI.   

AI Accuracy and Ethics  

Accounting and finance teams must be trusted sources for up-to-date financial data and reporting. As every accounting professional knows, the reported data needs to be accurate, current, and available. However, it can be difficult to decipher and trust that the reported data is correct especially when it is coming from new technologies and systems.  

The Sage Intacct development team is dedicated to supporting and creating accurate AI and machine learning tools by: 

• Focusing on equal investments in automation and assurance, 

• Leveraging a team of data scientists to find and prevent AI hallucinations, and 

• Continuously working with current Sage Intacct customers to align the way Sage AI behaves with the way that they expect a human to behave. 

Sage’s CTO, Aaron Harris, is a long-time advocate in the AI and machine learning space and continues to explore how AI impacts the accounting industry and our day-to-day processes. Sage has a clear set of AI ethics and principles that outline important concerns such as data security and privacy. 

Continuous Insights  

CTOs, CFOs, and COOs are propelling their organizations into a world of continuous insights by partnering with accounting solutions that leverage AI. Through innovative AI and machine learning-powered features and integrations, accounting and finance teams can gain advanced insights in less time. Sage Intacct leverages its true cloud format to provide customers with seamless integrations, robust workflows, and the ability for employees to access important insights anytime and anywhere. 

The Strategic Impact of AI on Accounting 

Leaders who have not yet made the technological leap into AI-powered accounting practices often consider a few key questions: 

How can we use AI practices in accounting, reporting, and planning? 

AI and machine learning are transformative tools for accounting, reporting, and planning, offering significant efficiency gains and time-saving benefits. These technologies can automate low-value tasks like data entry, freeing your team to focus on higher-value activities that drive business growth. With AI handling routine tasks, your team can dedicate more time to strategic decision-making and analysis. 

Can implementing AI-driven accounting software really help me? 

Implementing AI-driven accounting software like Sage Intacct can greatly enhance your team's efficiency and accuracy. At a recent Sage conference, they unveiled their AI strategy, focusing on three key areas: continuous accounting, assurance, and insights. These innovations aim to eliminate the need for a traditional period close, ensure compliance, and provide real-time insights to support smarter decision-making. Sage’s upcoming software releases promise to expand these capabilities further. 

How can AI help my accounting team save time? 

AI can significantly enhance your accounting team's efficiency by streamlining various processes within Sage Intacct. For instance, the automation of the AP bill intake process reduces the need for manual data entry, speeding up the approval process while minimizing errors. Additionally, AI-driven tools help you manage cash flow more effectively by providing real-time insights, allowing for more accurate and timely decisions. Looking ahead, AI in Sage Intacct will soon offer features that prompt you with accurate accrual data, making it easier to analyze financial information and make informed decisions. These capabilities collectively save time, reduce errors, and enable your team to focus on more strategic tasks. 

Who can help me make sense of all this? 

Integrating AI into your accounting software can be difficult, but the benefits cannot be overlooked. AI can transform systems and make long processes more accurate, accessible, and efficient. Our team of experienced professionals can help you assess your cloud accounting software needs and get implementation underway. Contact us below to learn more.