AI Revolution in Accounting & Finance: Use Cases

In our previous article, we provided an introduction to how the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in accounting and finance is reshaping traditional practices, offering unprecedented efficiency and insights.

This article explores key applications of AI in the industry, highlighting global and Australian examples.

Automating Routine Tasks

AI’s ability to streamline repetitive workflows is transforming back-office operations, particularly in invoice processing and payroll management.¹

Key applications include:

Invoice Processing & Data Entry

Docyt’s GARY AI bookkeeper cuts month-end close times from 2+ weeks to just 45 minutes. This comes at the accounting profession is facing a decline, with CPA exam candidates receding at an annual rate of 7%. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects an annual vacancy of approximately 136,400 accounting and auditing jobs.2

KPMG reports that 44% of Australian respondents (42% globally) are piloting AI in financial reporting, with 26% (24% globally) using it selectively. Over the next 3 years, 61% of Australian companies and 52% overseas said they would be using it selectively. Accounting and financial reporting was the most common usage area – with tax further behind, along with risk and treasury operations.3

Payroll & Expense Management

AI-powered payroll systems have been shown to reduce errors by up to 80% for small enterprises. Companies using AI payroll automation have seen a 20% boost in accuracy.⁴

For example, Deel’s AI-Driven Payroll System integrates machine learning to analyse historical payroll data for forecasting future expenses and cash flow needs. Its AI-powered self-service portals allow employees to access payslips, update personal details, and resolve payroll queries, reducing administrative workloads while improving employee satisfaction.⁵

Enhancing Data Analysis & Insights

AI is transforming raw data into actionable intelligence, empowering finance leaders to forecast trends and mitigate risks more effectively.

Key applications include:

Predictive Analytics

AI enables exploitation of empirical evidence beyond traditional methodologies, including by processing and analysing large datasets, including non-traditional data sources, to improve predictive models and decision-making processes.⁶

For example, HighRadius uses AI-powered cash flow forecasting software that offers real-time visibility into cash positions, enabling businesses to manage liquidity effectively. Their solution claims to achieve 95% accurate cash flow projections using AI-powered forecasts leveraging AR and AP data.⁷

Fraud Detection

According to a KPMG report, 43% of companies identify fraud detection as a key activity that auditors should prioritise for using genAI.⁸

AI systems are trained on historical data to recognise patterns associated with legitimate transactions and fraudulent behaviour. For example, Worldpay, which uses Brighterion AI for fraud detection, claims to have reduced false positives by 20 times.⁹

Streamlining Audit Processes

AI is enhancing audit accuracy and scalability, transforming traditional methodologies.

Deloitte has developed an automated document review platform using cognitive technologies to read and automatically identify relevant information within documents. This platform allows teams to process all types of unstructured information faster and with greater accuracy.

The automated document review platform uses natural language processing to read and recognise patterns in documents. It applies advanced machine learning techniques to automatically identify relevant information and key terms in the documents, improving its accuracy over time as practitioners review a wider set of documents.

One team at Deloitte was able to increase the scope of their contract review effort significantly, processing more than 150,000 documents using the application.¹⁰

Improving Document Management

Natural Language Processing (NLP) is revolutionising how financial documents are classified and analysed.

For example, KPMG has developed AI-powered tools for contract analysis, including the Contract Abstraction Tool (KCAT) based on IBM Watson. This tool automates the contract data extraction process, converting image files or PDF files into a machine-readable format and extracting relevant attributes of leasing contracts.

Enhancing Compliance & Risk Management

AI can be used to ensure adherence to evolving regulations while mitigating financial risks.

Ascent Technologies, now rebranded as AscentAI, has launched a new Regulatory Lifecycle Management (RLM) Platform designed to help financial firms navigate compliance with greater speed and accuracy. The platform transforms regulatory data into actionable insights through AI-driven automation, aiming to streamline compliance processes, reduce costs, and improve risk management.¹¹

Similarly, Deloitte has developed an automated document review platform using cognitive technologies to read and automatically identify relevant information within documents. This platform allows teams to process all types of unstructured information faster and with greater accuracy, which can be applied to ensuring adherence to tax laws.¹⁰

Conclusion

As AI continues to evolve, its impact on accounting and finance will only grow. From automating routine tasks to providing deep analytical insights, AI is not just changing how financial professionals work – it’s redefining the entire industry.

Stay tuned for our next edition, in which we explore some further use cases for AI in accounting and finance.

About the Authors –

Nick Abrahams is an AI Strategist and Speaker.

He is the Global Co-leader of Digital Transformation at Norton Rose Fulbright. He is also a successful entrepreneur having co-founded Lawpath, an online legal solution with more than 500,000 customers. He is an Adjunct Professor at Bond University where he teaches the popular online course GenAI Productivity Training for Executives. This short, online course is designed for busy professionals. It shows how to use GenAI immediately and safely to drive personal productivity and organisational transformation.

Ben Kende is an Associate in Nick’s team at Norton Rose Fulbright

References –

1 https://thesciencebrigade.com/JAIR/article/view/166

2 https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240716384638/en/Docyt-AI-Unveils-GARY-the-World%E2%80%99s-First-AI-Bookkeeper

3 https://kpmg.com/au/en/home/media/press-releases/2024/12/kpmg-study-ai-finance-functions-meeting-roi-expectations.html

4 https://www.ccmonet.ai/blog-posts-new/ai-payroll-automation-streamline-your-payment-process

5 https://www.deel.com/blog/how-to-leverage-ai-in-payroll/

6 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4753640

7 https://www.highradius.com/product/cash-flow-forecasting-software/

8 https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2024/04/ai-in-financial-reporting-and-audit-web.pdf

9 https://b2b.mastercard.com/news-and-insights/success-story/worldpay-customer-story/

10 https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/business-innovation-automated-document-review.html