AI in Accountancy: 7 Steps to Success for Firms | Silverfin

The article outlines seven essential steps for accountancy firms to successfully integrate AI, emphasizing the need for cultural readiness, process assessment, data preparation, risk management, collaboration with tech partners, defining success metrics, and engaging stakeholders, while highlighting the importance of change management, team involvement, and continuous learning to maximize AI's benefits without replacing human expertise.

What are the smart steps to moving your AI ambitions forward? 7 steps to understanding and managing AI in your accountancy firm

Embarking on technical transformation doesn’t happen overnight. It takes commitment, strategic planning and a clear path. Discover how to move forward with your accountancy firm in today’s world of digitisation, automation and AI integration – following 7 smart and indispensable steps.

The 7 steps:

1.Prepare your company, mindset and staff
2.Assess your current processes and readiness
3.Get your data ready
4.Evaluate the risks to manage them effectively
5.Team up with forward-thinking technology partners
6.Define how you’ll measure AI success across your firm
7.Engage with clients, stakeholders and partners

Prepare your company, mindset and staff

Implementing AI requires more than just technology; it demands a cultural shift. With the introduction of something new comes a change in operations, culture and team dynamics. Embracing this transformation with a thoughtful approach to change management is paramount to ensure a smooth transition that maximises the benefits AI can bring to your firm.

Tips:

Inform your team about the capabilities and potential of AI in accountancy. Emphasise that AI is not a replacement for human expertise but a tool to enhance efficiency and accuracy.
Foster a culture of adaptability and continuous learning. Emphasise embracing change as an opportunity for growth.
Involve team members in the decision-making process about AI adoption. Solicit input, address concerns, and ensure they feel valued and supported.
Offer training, resources and ongoing support to equip your team with the necessary skills and knowledge to use AI tools effectively and responsibly.
Enable a collaborative environment where team members feel empowered to share thoughts and best practices regarding AI integration.

“The first jobs in AI’s crosshairs were those of the graphic designer but, while a different skillset is becoming the norm, the profession very much still exists. The same rings true for accountants. Accountancy has already been evolving due in part to cloud-based software. But the change AI brings is an even greater acceleration – which also propels the need for accountancy firms to have an AI strategy in place as the resulting changes will invariably affect everyone in the firm.”

Cameron Ford, General Manager UK and Growth Markets at Silverfin

“When we took a step back and objectively assessed our firm, we realised that we were still far too reliant on paper-based processes – and worse, we had inconsistent working practices across our teams. There were even instances where work would be duplicated during different assignments. This was a big no-no, so we needed to level up our internal processes if we wanted to take our business to the next level.

The Silverfin team has been wonderful in this regard; they’ve been on hand at all times to assist with any and all training needs.”

Lynne Walker, Vice-Chair and Head of Business Advisory at Johnston Carmichael

Assess your current processes and readiness

Taking a holistic view of how your accountancy firm works is a crucial step in identifying the best opportunities for AI. Start by understanding your existing processes inside out.

Guiding questions:

Which repetitive tasks take up a lot of your team’s time that could be used more effectively?
Are there any recurrent bottlenecks that prevent your firm from meeting deadlines and delivering added value to customers?
In which areas – from data processing and compliance to internal collaboration and advisory services – is there potentially room for automation?
Is there historical data on the relationships and patterns between different accounts that provides training data to help avoid future issues?

Answering these questions will help you determine where you are as well as where you want to be on the digital and AI maturity scale.

“We recently had an item in an annual statement of around 12,000 euros for a company car. The year before, a similar figure was in the accounts. That seems logical, so you don’t immediately question it. But the Silverfin Assistant signalled something was wrong using AI.

In the first year, 1,000 euros was booked each month, while in the following year, a global invoice of around 12,000 euros was booked. What had happened? In year one, it concerned leasing. In the next year, it concerned the residual value for which the car could be purchased. So not leasing, but a purchase of a used car. And that is not a cost, but something that must be included in the fixed asset.

I wouldn’t have spotted something like that, and certainly not with the same speed as AI.”

Erik Van Looy, Partner at Van Looy Accountants

Where are you on the digital maturity scale – and where do you want to go?

Understanding your position on the digital maturity scale is crucial for charting your course forward. Imagine a spectrum from connection to advisory: each step requires new approaches and tools, representing new opportunities to enhance your performance and deliver additional value and insights to your clients.

Connect: Centralise client data from various systems to enable secure, real-time data flow across your firm.
Standardise: Use tools like AI Mapping to automatically map imported accounting data to a standardised chart of accounts.
Automate: Agree on firm-wide processes and turn them into automated workflows for fast and accurate compliance and reporting.
Optimise: Use AI to continuously scan and check customer data for anomalies, errors or advisory opportunities. Automated alerts notify teams of key benchmarks, risk factors or compliance events.
Advise: Use AI for analytics and reporting to uncover critical insights and trends across clients or your entire firm, enabling more meaningful advice.

Get your data ready

AI is intricately linked to machine learning, which needs data to ‘learn’ from. Your data is a key component in preparing your accountancy firm to leverage the benefits of AI.

Connecting, standardising and automating your data

Before deploying AI, your customer data needs to be automatically available and up to date everywhere. Connecting data requires cloud tools and open APIs. However, merely sharing data isn’t sufficient for seamless integration into automated workflows.

Often, data arrives in a messy, incomplete and customised format, reflecting the diversity of bookkeeping software, general ledgers, reporting periods and naming conventions. The solution lies in harnessing cloud syncs and AI.

Cloud syncs for structuring data

Cloud syncs ensure that, regardless of the software used, data is transformed into a uniform structured data model. Client-specific naming conventions and formats often require interpretation, where AI techniques come in.

AI for enriching data

Modern AI techniques enable informed interpretations through data enrichment, assigning meaning to all imported data such as general ledgers. Users are prompted to confirm the enrichment process once, which takes only a few minutes but yields massive time savings in the long run.

Simplifying your accounting processes

Once your data is standardised through AI enrichment, it’s time to make it flow:

Standardise accounting processes as workflows, allowing the system to apply all process steps automatically.
Link data between steps and leverage AI for enrichment, so you only need to fill in data once and adapt the process for each client.

Enriched data ensures readiness for comparative analysis, advanced analytics and AI assistants. This is only the initial step of preparing your data for AI implementation.

Evaluate the risks to manage them effectively

Harnessing the power of AI for your accountancy firm comes with possible pitfalls. Risk assessment is essential: get a clear view of the risks of AI deployment and draft strategies to manage them.

Example risks and management strategies:

Data security and privacy: AI tools may require access to sensitive financial information, posing risks of data breaches and fraud.
- How to manage? Use secure and trusted AI technologies that comply with data protection regulations. Look for credentials such as ISO 27001 certification, continuous data backups, and strong service-level agreements.
Lack of transparency: The complexity of AI algorithms can make it challenging to understand how outputs are reached.
- How to manage? Balance AI automation with human expertise for critical decision-making and client interactions.
Algorithmic bias: Machine-learning algorithms can introduce bias, affecting decision-making processes.
- How to manage? Partner with technology providers who can help audit and govern AI systems.
Dependency on technology: Over-reliance on AI may erode professional competencies and create stress when human intervention is required.
- How to manage? Enable continuous learning and talent development programs focusing on both technical skills and critical thinking.

The key takeaway is to address risks proactively and implement robust risk management practices to harness AI benefits while mitigating potential pitfalls.

Team up with forward-thinking technology partners

Embracing AI offers unprecedented opportunities, but the journey is better travelled with strategic partners. Forge partnerships with technology innovators to access AI benefits while mitigating implementation complexities.

Main advantages:

Deploy AI solutions rapidly without building internal capabilities from scratch.
Avoid investing heavily in digital infrastructure to benefit from AI.
Tap into the expertise of professionals who understand AI technologies and their applications in accountancy, and who can train your staff.

Checklist for finding the perfect technology partner:

Proven track record of success (case studies, measurable outcomes, positive references)
Shared vision and values
Scalability, support services and flexibility
Active involvement in research and development of emerging AI trends
Willingness to listen to your unique challenges and involve key stakeholders
Capability to guide and train your workforce

Define how you’ll measure AI success across your firm

Before starting your AI journey, determine a clear roadmap toward desired outcomes and define metrics upfront. This provides clarity on objectives and enables you to:

Assess whether AI integration aligns with expectations
Demonstrate the value of AI adoption to stakeholders
Foster a culture of continuous improvement

Examples of success types and related KPIs:

Accuracy and error reduction: Error rates, data quality improvements
Customer satisfaction and experience: Net Promoter Score, client satisfaction, feedback ratings
Time savings and efficiency gains: Processing time, turnaround time, recovery rate
Teamwork and knowledge sharing: Collaboration frequency, team cohesion scores, employee engagement levels
Profitability and competitive fees: Gross profit margins, net profit margins, ROI from AI initiatives

Begin by establishing a baseline measurement for each KPI to track progress.

“Onboarding Silverfin has helped us create a standard process – backed by robust technology – to produce high-quality working papers quicker and more accurately than ever before. This has been invaluable in allowing us to maintain strong governance and provide a first-class client experience.”

Alastair Barlow, CEO and co-founder of flinder

Engage with clients, stakeholders and partners

AI implementation impacts both internal and external stakeholders. A smooth and successful AI implementation is built on trust, which is earned through transparency.

How to build trust:

Be clear about your goals and expectations: Explain why you are adopting AI, what problems you are solving, and how it will improve services and processes. Demonstrate how AI aligns with your firm’s vision, values and strategy.
Address concerns or questions honestly: Be transparent about potential risks and limitations of AI, and the measures taken to ensure responsible and secure use. Invite feedback and suggestions from stakeholders.
Communicate the benefits of AI for customers proactively: Show how AI enables faster, more accurate and personalised services, as well as deeper insights and recommendations. Make AI an integral part of your value proposition.
Keep an open line of communication with partners: Engage regularly with technology providers and consultants to optimise AI usage and train staff. Foster collaboration and transparency through honest discussions.

“In the fast-evolving realm of AI, where developments occur at breakneck speed, the imperative to communicate clearly—spanning from grand visions of future impact to granular details of specific changes—cannot be emphasised enough.”

Rich Webb, Founder of Performance Ninja

Silverfin is the cloud platform that makes accountants successful. Silverfin dramatically improves the efficiency, accuracy and profitability of traditional accounting work. With centralised data, standardised and automated workflows, this work takes hours rather than days.

With more time available and Silverfin’s data, reporting and analytics tools, accountants can also deliver the advisory services their clients value.

Launched last year in the UK, Silverfin Assistant continuously analyses client files to find unusual balances, missing transactions and outliers. Flagging these and suggesting fixes saves hours of manual checking, improves accuracy and improves client service.