{"id":541,"date":"2018-09-18T11:38:36","date_gmt":"2018-09-18T09:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sage-new-clone.local\/en-za\/blog\/?p=425"},"modified":"2026-02-05T11:42:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T09:42:15","slug":"ai-accountants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/ai-accountants\/","title":{"rendered":"How AI will bring out the best in accountants"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/category\/technology-innovation\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Technology &amp; Innovation<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow AI will bring out the best in accountants\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2018-09-18T11:38:36+02:00\">September 18, 2018<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"How AI will bring out the best in accountants\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/ai-accountants\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/author\/kritisharma\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/06\/Kriti-Sharma-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"Kriti Sharma, AI Lead at Sage\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Kriti Sharma<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you remember a time before online and mobile banking? A time when you\u2019d walk into a bank and the manager would greet you by name, ask about your family and what you needed help with? That relationship and personal experience made us loyal to the bank because we felt like someone genuinely cared about us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet the commoditisation of technology has removed that human connection from business interactions \u2013 and, therefore, our loyalty to a brand.\u00a0Technology has changed our behaviour to the point where the\u00a0<strong>human connection has become a premium<\/strong>. Just look around a busy restaurant. There are probably more people looking at their devices than having conversations with those at their tables. And you\u2019re probably not surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-move-with-the-times\"><strong>Move with the times<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now is a good time for accountants to digitise their businesses. As their clients become increasingly digital in their personal lives, they expect the same from businesses. By using the tools available to them today \u2013 like artificial intelligence (AI) \u2013 accountants have an opportunity to leverage our craving for human connection and to start providing real value to their customers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sage\u2019s annual&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/accountants\/practice-of-now\/\">Practice of Now<\/a>&nbsp;research, which surveyed 3,000 accountants globally, found that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>49% of respondents would like to automate number crunching, data entry, and email and diary management,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>66% would invest in AI to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>55% plan to use AI to run their businesses better.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This suggests that accountants see the value of AI in automation, intelligence and client relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Practice of Now<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The 2019 research reveals evidence of a cultural shift within the industry as it prepares for the coming decade. Recruitment, skills and training, business practices, service offerings and technology are all evolving.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/practice-of-now\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tid=\"cta-id-68336\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-button-location=\"cta_box\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download the report<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1064\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-41-1064x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Smiling businessman using tablet\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-41-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Automation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Accountants spend a lot of time doing manual, repetitive tasks, like capturing expense receipts and compiling reports. This leaves little time for them to truly understand their clients\u2019 businesses and to advise them on financial strategy and revenue growth. By automating these mundane tasks with AI, accountants can provide more value to their clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Intelligence<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Traditionally, accountants would look at data retrospectively to build historical reports with little value. Now, with AI\u2019s ability to process millions of transactions a second, accountants can analyse data to find patterns and predict what a business\u2019 cash flow will look like in three, six, twelve months. That\u2019s valuable information to a business owner who wants to know if he\/she can afford to hire more people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we hand over the heavy lifting to AI assistants, like Sage\u2019s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/hellopegg.io\/\">Pegg<\/a>, we\u2019ll have more time to do what we do best, which is building relationships with our clients, adding value and giving them strategic advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Client relationships<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Our clients\u2019 digital behaviour is changing, so we need to change, too. Our research found that 42% of clients expect their accountant to provide business advice. We can only have deeper interactions with our clients and help them run their businesses more efficiently if we reduce our administrative workload.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Back to basics<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While there is a lot that technology and AI is good at,&nbsp;<strong>it will never replace the human connection<\/strong>, which is the foundation of the accounting profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We need to go back to the basics of nurturing relationships and trust and figure out how to use technology to enable those relationships and add more value. The more value we add, the more revenue we\u2019ll make \u2013 that\u2019s the basics of business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Embracing AI is about augmenting humans\u2019 capabilities with different skillsets. For now, AI can only perform narrow tasks \u2013 like processing receipts. As the technology matures, it will be able to multitask and become even more efficient. Throw in human empathy and intelligence and you have a powerful business combination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we\u2019re going to get it right, we need to start diversifying our skillsets and upskilling our teams. University students should explore other areas, like arts, science and humanities, and focus on building their own digital skills so that they will be able to solve the problems of the future. It\u2019s no longer enough to just know the basics of accounting. We need to be ready to advise clients and to support that advice with data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The industry is going through a massive shift and accountants face the perfect opportunity to provide real value to their clients. And in an age of digitisation and technology commoditisation, nothing is more valuable than the human connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>*Listen to Kriti discuss the important role that AI will play for accountants:&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/sagena.libsyn.com\/size\/5\/?search=kriti\"><em>#NextGenAccounting Podcast series<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice enewsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Get a roundup of our best business advice in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-84fe79b5-668d-41f8-a0cc-6229018c4ac9\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1181404518-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1181404518-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\tDo you remember a time before online and mobile banking? A time when you\u2019d walk into a bank and the manager would greet you by name, ask about your family and what you needed help with? That relationship and personal experience made us loyal to the bank because we felt like someone genuinely cared about us.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":830,"featured_media":68325,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,45,29,48],"tags":[161,338],"business_type":[5],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[6,8,13,15],"imagine_tag":[51,62,81],"coauthors":[420],"class_list":["post-541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology-innovation","category-tomorrows-tech","category-trends-insights","category-watercooler-topics","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-opinion-columns","business_type-accountants"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-za","author_name":"Kriti Sharma","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-41.jpg","imagine_tags":{"51":"Accountants","62":"Ambition","81":"Technology and Innovation"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice South Africa","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/830"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/68325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-za\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}