Accountants beware, some two-thirds (65%) of UK’s business leaders now trust the AI to complete the finance and accounting tasks they need.
This puts accountancy and finance at the top of the list, and means 44% of these business leaders are now looking to implement AI in their department.
The survey, by cloud-based accounting software platform bluQube, asked business leaders about their preferences for human interaction verses talking to the computer. You will be pleased to hear humans won, but only just! When it came to the payroll process 19% of those surveyed opted for automation, against 22% who still preferred human interaction. It was a similar story with tax.
However, there was a disparity when it came to the accounts, Humans came out on top, with a quarter (25%) of senior directors preferring a human touch, compared to 16% opting for the automated solution.
bluQube’s Rob Swan said: “Last year we produced a report on AI, right as the adoption of ChatGPT surged. Some hesitancy was clear throughout the research, largely down to the limited understanding some businesses had. However, one area that did stand out was finance and accounting.
“Respondents noted the benefits they expected to see from AI, with the top being that it could take away many of the repetitive and administrative tasks associated with the role (42%). This was followed by the belief that it would allow professionals to be more strategic (35%) and require them to take on more of an advisory or client-facing role (31%). Much of this has been echoed this year, and refreshingly we have seen an even higher number of businesses welcoming the technology into their financial operations.”
The preference for AI in finance and accounting was highest amongst larger businesses with almost three in five (58%) of businesses with a turnover of £10m-£20m, and 58% of those with a turnover of £20m-£50m planning to implement AI in finance and accounting.
Check out Balancing the human touch in the age of AI at: https://www.bluqube.co.uk/2024-ai-report
