Would you use an AI instead of your human accountant and current software?

[Square_Pencil]

Hey there,
Just a hypothetical question, following a lively discussion at the pub.

If there was an AI service that would replace your accountant/book keeper AND accounting software and did it at about 1/10 of the cost, designed especially for small business/sole traders etc. Would you use it? Would you trust an AI with your accounts/tax?

Assuming it was specifically designed for this and 'hallucinations' weren't an issue.

Being an AI it would be always available (e.g. if you want to do your accounts at 2am and have questions) and would be far more accurate than human accountants that sadly make mistakes often.

I'd appreciate your thoughts,
Thank you.

 

[fisicx]

No.

Mainly because of the complicated way our accounts work. And because there is still a lot of paperwork sifting needs doing.

 

[johndon68]

Not a chance.

When it does, and it inevitably will, make a mistake that costs me money, who is going to be liable for that...

 

[Ozzy]

Personally, no I would not. I like to talk to my accountant and discuss restructuring, financing, and shareholder returns. I don't see how an AI bot could cover these topics for me in a way that knows me, my ambitions and the last 25 years of business ownership and sales that my accountant has built up over years of working with me.

 

[fisicx]

We have a window cleaner that leaves us an invoice each month. I put all these in a plastic folder along with all the other paper receipts and invoices. The accountant reconciles the bank statements with the bits of paper and tells me about any discrepancies. AI can't do that.

And like @Ozzy, we discuss dividends, saving and other financial matters. AI can't do that either.

He also has a very waggy dog who meets us at the door. Not sure a robot dog would be quite the same.

 

[Square_Pencil]

We have a window cleaner that leaves us an invoice each month. I put all these in a plastic folder along with all the other paper receipts and invoices. The accountant reconciles the bank statements with the bits of paper and tells me about any discrepancies. AI can't do that.

And like @Ozzy, we discuss dividends, saving and other financial matters. AI can't do that either.

He also has a very waggy dog who meets us at the door. Not sure a robot dog would be quite the same.

Sorry the AI can absolutely do that (Reconcile accounts, invoices etc), not sure about the dog part

 

[Ozzy]

Not sure a robot dog would be quite the same.

Actually, I would find that so cool!

 

[fisicx]

Actually, I would find that so cool!

You can now mount guns on the robots. Keeps the pesky salesmen away.

 

[Square_Pencil]

Not a chance.

When it does, and it inevitably will, make a mistake that costs me money, who is going to be liable for that...

And human accountants don't make mistakes?
We run a relatively simple business with not many transactions, just a couple of excel sheets to reconcile/submit to VAT - and recently I started looking in detail on QuickBooks and EVERY year there are mistakes, I don't understand how someone can add numbers from a file and get them wrong. Not a huge deal, say they typed £140 instead of £144, but where did they get that figure? If it was an AI we'd say they are hallucinating...

 

[fisicx]

And human accountants don't make mistakes?

Yes they do. But I can call or email and ask them to check.

We run a relatively simple business with not many transactions, just a couple of excel sheets to reconcile/submit to VAT

You do but I like many others have hundreds of transactions spread across multiple platforms and many from overseas. Invoices and receipts come in all shapes and sizes and as I said before many on bits of paper.

The gardener sends me an invoice by email as a word attachment. I copy this to a folder and zip everything up to send to the accountant for reconciliation. Can AI open the zip, find the correct document and record the check? Can the AI then create the year end accounts and upload to docusign for signature (for which a login is required)?

 

[johndon68]

And human accountants don't make mistakes?

I never said that that they don't but if they do then I know that I can speak to them and they will sort it out.

With the AI I can just see:

Me: You've made a mistake with this entry.
AI: No I haven't.
Me: Yes you have.

and so on...

 

[Mark T Jones]

I actually believe that AI will make fewer mistakes than humans.

I also believe that driverless cars will have fewer accidents than human-drivem ones.

However I won't be embracing either because I enjoy human / physical interaction

 

[fantheflames]

I think AI handles data very well but the most data there is, the less accurate it becomes. So with that thought, I do think it wouldn't be adequate for most businesses to tell you truth... unless there was a human on the other end of it to check before submitting.

 

[Square_Pencil]

I think AI handles data very well but the most data there is, the less accurate it becomes. So with that thought, I do think it wouldn't be adequate for most businesses to tell you truth... unless there was a human on the other end of it to check before submitting.

Thank you, actually this is exactly the point, hypothetically, we think AI can make a lot more sense from some random crumpled receipt in Dutch (for exmaple) than a human accountant. That's part of the appeal, what's called unstructured data, vs an organised Excel file.

Also someone asked, yes an AI would absolutely be able to deal with Zip files... what year is this?

 

[Deleted member 359348]

I wouldn't trust AI for this. I can't hold it accountable.

However, I see the benefit in this for very small side-businesses etc. but honestly, the accountability is the issue.

 

[fantheflames]

Thank you, actually this is exactly the point, hypothetically, we think AI can make a lot more sense from some random crumpled receipt in Dutch (for exmaple) than a human accountant. That's part of the appeal, what's called unstructured data, vs an organised Excel file.

Also someone asked, yes an AI would absolutely be able to deal with Zip files... what year is this?

From what I've seen in the last 6 months and what my coordinator shares with me, AI is very powerful and can handle a lot of data, including handling files. I use it mainly for automation. But then there's the question how the accuracy and quality of AI. I don't think there's any chance of replacing humans right now, but I definitely think the future of AI has a lot to offer that we haven't seen it. Scary thought, though. Not sure I'd replace my accountant with AI, though!

 

[Newchodge]

No. I don't know enough to check it hasn't made a mistake.

 

[Square_Pencil]

No. I don't know enough to check it hasn't made a mistake.

And do you know enough to check that a human accountant didn't make a mistake?

 

[Newchodge]

And do you know enough to check that a human accountant didn't make a mistake?

No.

 

[fisicx]

Also someone asked, yes an AI would absolutely be able to deal with Zip files... what year is this?

Have you tested this? Can the AI sort out the documents in the zip and match them to the records? And by records I mean the bank statements. Which require 2FA to access them.

What does the AI do with a plastic folder full of paper receipts?

Can the AI update CH records (which requires a login)?

I'm not suggesting AI won't be useful to help an accountant. It just can't replace the accountant.

 

[Square_Pencil]

Have you tested this? Can the AI sort out the documents in the zip and match them to the records? And by records I mean the bank statements. Which require 2FA to access them.

Yes, and also you'd connect your bank account to the software much like you would today with Quick books.

What does the AI do with a plastic folder full of paper receipts?

You would scan or photograph them with your phone (again, what would a human accountant do?)

Can the AI update CH records (which requires a login)?

Probably not, but it can prepare them for you to log in and upload, how many times a year do you upgrade CH records anyway?

I'm not suggesting AI won't be useful to help an accountant. It just can't replace the accountant.

Well, small business are able to file their own taxes with Quick Books today...

Accountants are a huge cost, make (human) mistakes and frankly add drama and noise to what is essentially a pretty straight forward excel sheet (again for a small business without complicated debt and the like). Also let's not forget that most accountants I worked with may be 'partners' but the actual work is often done by someone far more junior who's overworked and underpaid.

Can a human accountant justify a x10 higher cost compared to an AI?

 

[Deleted member 359348]

And do you know enough to check that a human accountant didn't make a mistake?

No, but if there was a mistake I would hold the accountant accountable.

 

[Newchodge]

Well, small business are able to file their own taxes with Quick Books today

Other accountancy packages are, of course, available.

 

[DontAsk]

No. Hell will freeze over first.

Would an AI accountant be able to join any professional body?

Who's policing it?

What standards would it be held accountable to?

What comeback would there be in the event of a mistake?

Just look at the total s**t show of AI legal representation.

 

[fisicx]

@Square_Pencil - there will of course be some business that can hand everything over to an AI tool. But I think you will find (as evidenced by this thread) that many businesses won’t touch it with a barge pole.

And my accountant isn’t expensive. Saves me far more in tax than he costs.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

You seem hell bent on convincing people this would work.

Call me cynical and all that, but as a new poster opening with a strong push for this.... are you sure this was just "a discussion in the pub" ?

 

[Square_Pencil]

You seem hell bent on convincing people this would work.

Call me cynical and all that, but as a new poster opening with a strong push for this.... are you sure this was just "a discussion in the pub" ?

Yeah, I guess that depends on your friends

Anyway, I personally quite familiar with the state of AI so don't' see any technical issues with the questions posed. Interesting feedback gathered, thank you.

PS
Personally I wouldn't trust an AI lawyer, because texts are complicated and accuracy matters in legal stuff. But numbers? AI can handle that fine, IMO.

 

[IanSuth]

know a company already doing this for tax accounting - headed up by the guy who was behind taxcalc - basically rather than paying a tax accountant to keep and eye on what you are up to an advise, it continually scans and then flags to the tax accountant almost in real time if there is a better way at that particular point in time

So basically making your paid professional advisor more efficient in their advise to you called tax on Demand

As they say
"For those of you who know all 21,000 pages of the UK tax code, this may not be for you. For everyone else, there’s always the nagging doubt “what have I missed”. ToD combines AI and automation technologies to identify what tax advice your clients need, in seconds. Helping you protect your existing client base, maximise fee-income and win new clients"

 

[fisicx]

Personally I wouldn't trust an AI lawyer, because texts are complicated and accuracy matters in legal stuff. But numbers? AI can handle that fine, IMO.

Are you planning to use AI rather than an accountant?

 

[Deleted member 359348]

Are you planning to use AI rather than an accountant?

I have a feeling that he is probably building or using some sort of API to make this happen.

Doesn't seem much of a discussion; has failed to answer questions related to accountability.

 

[DontAsk]

Personally I wouldn't trust an AI lawyer, because texts are complicated and accuracy matters in legal stuff. But numbers? AI can handle that fine, IMO.

This is all about the law, tax law. What happens when your AI hallucinates a new interpretation of some tax rule that takes a client from avoidance to evasion?

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

No The AI machine will only be schooled in standard accounting

I dont believe that they will ever replace an account that specializes in companies selling to multiple countries as much of their knowledge has to cross referenced with other scenarios that are going on in supply and sales in that firm

 

[Paul Carmen]

No

 

[NickZ]

Anyway, I personally quite familiar with the state of AI so don't' see any technical issues with the questions posed. Interesting feedback gathered, thank you.

so why are you asking?

 

[Kerwin]

The accountant reconciles the bank statements with the bits of paper and tells me about any discrepancies. AI can't do that.

Actually it can or at least could do if anyone set up an accountant AI. There is nothing stopping AI from being faster and more accurate than humans.

To answer the question: absolutely! Cheaper, faster, easier.

 

[fisicx]

Actually it can or at least could do if anyone set up an accountant AI. There is nothing stopping AI from being faster and more accurate than humans.

So you drop a box of receipts on the desk and this magical AI can sort them all out with its robotic fingers?

AI will be an invaluable aid in many cases but it’s not a replacement.

 

[Kerwin]

So you drop a box of receipts on the desk and this magical AI can sort them all out with its robotic fingers?

AI will be an invaluable aid in many cases but it’s not a replacement.

Fair point.