Artificial intelligence
The new light of Gen AI Steve Cox weighs the risks and benefits of what Gen AI might mean for the future of accountancy. Steve Cox Director of Business Intelligence, IRIS Software Group
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s we quickly approach ChatGPT’s first anniversary on 30 November, it is clear that there is no single industry which hasn’t been impacted by Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI). When it comes to the accounting world, AI has been deployed in the audit space for many years, bringing about digital transformation and ensuring fairness and accuracy in financial statements. The recent acceleration in the use of Gen AI has compelled the rest of the industry to take notice and recognise the technology’s potential to rejuvenate their business practices. Indeed, according to the latest report by Forrester, the ‘Big Four’ are heavily pouring funds into AI, with KPMG joining PWC, Deloitte and EY in making multi-billion dollar investments (see tinyurl.com/2sv7t3s7). However, even in this age of digital change, the accounting industry has been slow to embrace cloud technology. Compounded by the media attention focused on the negative aspects of AI, especially after the UK’s recent AI Summit, it’s no wonder many accountants remain wary (see tinyurl.com/t68nbxbp).
An industry cautious of change
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Despite the introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) and cloud-based solutions, only 20% of
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