Using AI in Your Finance Team
AI is everywhere. From summarising documents to taking meeting notes, it has become the go-to life hack for saving time in our busy modern world.
But when it comes to finance and accounting, the stakes are higher. Mistakes can be costly, and accuracy is everything. So how do you use AI in a way that’s smart, safe, and actually helpful?
In this article, we’ll look beyond the hype and show you how AI can make a real difference for your finance team.
Practical AI Uses for Finance Teams
Here’s where AI really shines in the world of finance:
- AP Automation
Think of it as your digital assistant that enters Purchase Invoice details into the system for you and matches with the relevant Purchase Order.
- Anomaly detection
AI keeps an eye on your General Ledger, flagging anything fishy such as mistakes or potentially fraudulent transactions for you to review.
- Bank reconciliation
No more manual reconciliation, AI automatically matches bank transactions, ensuring everything is accurate and up to date.
- Forecasting and planning
AI sifts through your historical data to spot trends and help make detailed predictions for the future.
- Period-end close
Helps you organise the period-close procedure, assign tasks with deadlines to the relevant people and monitor progress.
- General admin
From drafting emails to tidying up procedure documents, AI takes care of the boring bits, so you get to focus on the bigger picture.
Using AI Responsibly
While AI is extremely useful, it’s not perfect and can get things wrong sometimes. Human oversight is key to make sure information is accurate and appropriate for the task at hand.
If you’re considering using public AI tools like ChatGPT in your role, make sure you follow your company’s AI usage policy and never enter sensitive data that you wouldn’t want shared.
Benefits of AI for Finance Teams
Ways that AI technology benefits finance teams:
- Reduce mistakes
AI doesn’t get fatigued by working with large amounts of data like a human would, significantly reducing the risk of mistakes.
- Save time
Processes information faster than you can say “artificial intelligence”, so tasks are completed faster, no more missed deadlines.
- Focus on strategy
While AI takes care of the boring bits, you get to focus on analysing data and refining your financial strategy.
- Better job satisfaction
Less of the long-winded repetitive tasks means less overtime (even at month end!) and happier staff.
- Sharper insights
AI processes data quickly, so you’re always working with up-to-date information, not yesterday’s news.
Sage Intacct With AI
If you want to make the most of AI, you need the right tools.
Sage Intacct is a cloud-based financial management platform for growing businesses. It’s especially powerful for those with multiple entities and trading in multiple currencies.
There are built-in automation features within Sage Intacct, such as: AP automation, General Ledger outlier detection, bank reconciliation and more.
Meet Sage Copilot
Sage Copilot is your AI-powered productivity assistant. It’s built into the platform and helps with a variety of tasks, including period-end close, subledger reconciliation and analysing budget variances.
Currently available for select Sage products, including Sage Intacct.
Need Help Getting Started?
We’ve got dedicated Sage 200 and Sage Intacct experts in-house to help with anything you need. Whether you’re an existing customer looking for ways to utilise AI or you’re completely new to Sage, get in touch with us for help and advice.
For more information about Sage software, complete the enquiry form.
