NEW data by Intuit QuickBooks has found that 79% of Australian accountants agree that outsourcing is a leading way to maintain business growth and advisory services, with 99.6% using AI over the past 12 months to support client success.
Specifically, Australian accountants have used AI to help clients with data entry and processing (62%), fraud detection and prevention (51%), and real-time financial insights (47%).
80% of those surveyed also admitted that tech skills are just as important as traditional accounting skills in supporting their own business growth as well as their clients’, noting AI and cloud accounting advancements have had the biggest positive impact on the accounting industry.
Alan FitzGerald the founder of technology advisory specialists Practice Connections Advisory says, “the greatest benefit of AI for the accounting industry has been the democratisation of the technology which gives all bookkeepers and accountants access to software, previously only available to larger firms.”
“Sadly the general message is that AI will replace accountants. However, clients demand human interaction. In our role as translators, accountants should leverage AI to streamline processes, so they can focus their time on clients and anxiety transfer.”
Interestingly, 1 in 2 (52%) accountants already describe themselves as ‘early adopters’ of new digital tools, investing in technology such as blockchain (56%), automation tools (53%), and AI and machine learning (50%). In the future they even anticipate a 27% increase in investment in new technologies, worth approximately $30K, in the next 12 months.
