Services provided by accountants can help small business owners better manage cash flow, an Intuit Software research panel said, but the role of accounting is changing as more technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are incorporated into accounting software packages.
The study, carried out by Chris Brower, director of innovation at the Institute of Management Studies (IMS), Goldsmiths University, University of London, Symmetry Research and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), notes that there is a significant opportunity for both SMEs and accountants. achieve significant economic effect.
The study, based on a survey of 4,000 small and medium-sized businesses, found that 71% of businesses surveyed agreed that professional accounting services improve cash flow management, making current and future business decisions smoother. In addition, 73.1% said that using professional accounting services improved their financial reporting, and this alone opened up additional opportunities for obtaining bank loans or government grants.
Around 80% of SME leaders who hired an accountant said it had either a moderate, significant or transformative effect on their financial literacy. Accountants can also play an important role as strategic financial advisors, advising on business planning, tax compliance and financial management. Among the challenges facing the accounting profession is that the trajectory AI will take may well take away much of the work they need to do in terms of how small business owners manage their finances.
Marianne Tressel, executive vice president at Intuit, believes the way AI is changing business is just beginning, adding, “We're just at the beginning, the first few steps in what will be possible with AI and how people use it.”
According to Tressel, AI is accelerating everyone's work: “We've talked to a lot of small businesses about how they're using AI for so many different elements of their work. It's an accelerator, but it's also a disruptor.”
Tressel believes conversational AI is based on specific major model changes human-computer interaction And that's what Intuit has begun doing, creating a custom LLM based on open-source technology that it says can process requests extremely cost-effectively. This potentially impacts the accountant's role.
Aaron Patrick, head of accounts at UK cloud accounting firm Boffix, said: “Accountants and bookkeepers are starting to lose their relevance if we're being really honest.” However, for Patrick, accountants and bookkeepers now have the opportunity to become business consultants and start helping clients by demonstrating value to them.
“Niche expertise is a game changer for accountants. [such as] e-commerce, we can offer personalized advice that directly impacts customer success. Combined with active communication, we are no longer just ticking boxes – we are building long-term relationships where we actively help SMEs make strategic decisions, prosper and grow.”
For Intuit customers, this opportunity is made possible by the $12 billion company. acquisition of MailChimp in 2021. The QuickBooks developer used the acquisition as an opportunity to redesign its applications as a new platform.
In October, Intuit launched Intuit Accountant Suite, an artificial intelligence-powered platform that the company says gives accounting firms the tools they need to scale and manage their clients, firms and teams, all in one place.
Discussing how the technology built into Intuit's new platform is changing the role of the accountant, Patrick said, “We now have the ability to understand why sales are up or why expenses are down.”
According to Patrick, Intuit's new platform provides access to data warehouses: “As accountants, we will be able to not only tell a story based on numbers, but also understand what happened to the CRM system, for example, evaluate how the company is marketing.”
