Bots-first Accounting

Fuelling the Modern Accounting Practice with Automation:
Part 2: Bots & AI Beyond the Hype, What’s Actually Working?

The Beanieverse

Bots and Artificial Intelligence sounds a little fancy, right? Like something out of a sci-fi movie. Maybe you’ve imagined Bots doing all your clients tax returns while you nip for a coffee. And while neither may actually be quite that magical (yet), the technology is very rapidly evolving and is changing the game for accountants. But beyond the buzz though, what’s actually working? Enter “Bots-First-Accounting”!

“Seek out tasks that you perform regularly or repetitively, whether daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually … Combine the automation of these tasks with eliminating, standardising and simplifying your work … Design any new tasks and work to be performed, with a Bots-First mindset … Use your freed up time wisely to train your mind, acquire new knowledge and practice new skills … Find new ways to add value by delighting your clients, improving practice productivity and profitability … Pay it forward by exploring new ways to make small, continuous improvements every day … And advise your clients how best to build their own Bots-First business”

[Bots-First-Accounting in 100 words | Bots For That]

The reality is that Bots-First accounting isn’t about replacing humans, it’s about amplifying what humans do best. We’re talking about tools that can analyse and process mountains of data in seconds, detect patterns, and give insights that might’ve taken an age to uncover manually. Think of Bots and AI combined, as a tireless digital accounts assistant, always ready to dig through and process the data, but leaving the final judgment (and glory) to you.

How Are Accountants Using Bots Today?

Here’s where things get exciting, because Bots are already at work behind the scenes in many accounting practices, doing things like:

Client Communication:

Sending management accounts, reports and reminders to inform and notify clients of all manner of important looming deadlines and the status of activities. No more manual checking and chasing, Bots are driving the outcomes on your behalf. And the big advantage is, they’re using your existing communication tools to do it, so changing everything, without changing anything.

Report & Data Generation:

Need a full management pack or just a transaction report or end of period Trial Balance? Bots will whip these up in no time, either on-demand or on a pre-defined schedule, and for dozens of clients at the same time. And the outputs are automatically converted and formatted to a predefined template.

Data Entry:

Manually handing and entering data is often referred to as “swivel chair” activity, because it involves users shifting between different applications or screens to update them, and it’s common in all businesses to some degree. Bots are handling these tasks with deft precision, leaving accountants free for more valuable and important work.

Workflow:

Modern day work is increasingly complex, especially when it passes through multiple different members of staff and systems. Bots are simplifying workflow by facilitating better communication, automatically completing tasks, assigning to the human-in-the-loop for exceptions or approval and overall replacing bottlenecks with fluidity.

Data Validation:

Regularly sifting through volumes of data is the norm for most accountants, which is incredibly taxing, time-consuming and prone to human error. But Bots are making light work of this task, and are not only able to spot errors and patterns where we can’t, but they’re adding additional tasks across multiple systems in real-time to deliver an exponentially better outcome.

System Integration/Connection:

Cost and complexity often prevent adequate traditional integration between many systems, and Bots are filling this gap to perfection, especially when combining other up and downstream tasks for more reliable and complete data.

How Are Accountants Using AI Today?

And here’s where things often get intriguing, because AI is generally not that well understood. What is sometimes believed to be AI really isn’t, and vice versa. Here’s some examples of where AI could be at work in your practice:

Client Engagement: Tools like AI Chatbots (or the more obvious ChatGPT) are drafting emails, answering client questions and initiating requests. No more lost time wasted on calls, online meetings or messaging platforms, furiously searching and typing whilst silently seething and cursing the day you created the firms WhatsApp account.
Data Analysis: AI-powered tools can comb through financial data, spot trends, and flag anomalies. They even predict future financial performance based on historical data, leaving you looking like a fortune-telling genius.
Document Generation: Need help with a document, letter, report, or spreadsheet? AI tools are not just generating these on demand, but actively looking over your shoulder and suggesting options before you’ve even thought you needed the help. The powerful and truly AI tools make personalisation natural too, learning the tone, style and voice of you or your firm.

The key takeaway? Bots and AI tools are here to stay and to help you deliver faster, smarter, and more accurate results – not to take your job. So, maybe it’s time to embrace their help?