Introduction
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought about big changes across many fields, Accounting included. While AI initially shook-up blue-collar work, the arrival of ChatGPT now shows its potential impact on white-collar jobs. ChatGPT, a product of OpenAI, is altering how Accountants do their jobs in considerable ways. Let’s explore how ChatGPT influences the Accounting profession, the good and the not-so-good, and what it might mean for the future.
ChatGPT and Accounting: A Perfect Pair?
ChatGPT, standing for Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is an AI language model capable of understanding and generating text that’s pretty human-like, just based on prompts we give it. Its ability to learn and interact has made it a useful companion for Accountants. Here are some key areas where ChatGPT is changing Accounting:
- Boosting Efficiency: With ChatGPT’s knack for handling huge data volumes fast, Accountants can automate things like data entry, financial analysis, and report generation. This lets them focus on bigger tasks, making things more efficient.
- Better Decisions: Using ChatGPT’s analytical skills, Accountants can spot valuable insights and trends in financial data, leading to more informed decisions.
- Custom-Made Apps: Accountants know what they want from Accounting software. But sometimes developers don’t quite get it, leading to mismatched end products. Now, with AI that can write code, Accountants can get what they want. I’ve personally used this code to write Macros in Excel without needing to know how to code.
- Excel Wonders: On the subject of Excel, I’ve used ChatGPT to pull a bank statement table from a PDF and convert it into a CSV format. I could then import this into my Accounting software, all within a minute.
- Client Communication: ChatGPT can serve as a virtual assistant, helping Accountants manage their communications with clients. Whether answering routine queries or drafting emails, ChatGPT saves time and enhances the client experience.
- Learning On The Go: As a constantly evolving model, ChatGPT helps Accountants keep up with the latest industry updates and regulations, ensuring their knowledge stays current and valuable. I’ve used this to review IFRS statements, to give me a summary and applications, including how to explain it to a non-financial person e.g. sales or a lawyer.
- Solving Tax: Accountants have been using AI for simple tax calculation. Remember, though, that the current ChatGPT only knows up until September 2021 and so may not have the latest tax tables and rebates. However, you can input these and other relevant info for it to calculate taxes.
I’ve entered the SARS VAT Vendor guide and ask it questions such as: “What are the documents and requirements to produce a 0 rated tax invoice for an export.” Within seconds I had the answers I needed – without having to run Google and SARS search and still not getting the final answer that I needed!
In doing my presentation at the Johannesburg SAIPA members forum, one member said that he had used it to write a tax opinion for a client.
Potential Pitfalls
Despite the many benefits that ChatGPT offers, there are potential challenges and concerns to consider:
- Security: This is always a risk. AI systems can potentially be manipulated or exploited by malicious actors to bypass security protocols or to launch complex cyber-attacks. For now do not use any personal identifiable information in your prompts e.g. Name and Surname, ID numbers, Tax numbers, bank account numbers, addresses etc.
- Job Displacement: As AI takes over tasks traditionally done by humans, there’s a risk of job loss. But this could also lead to new roles focusing on strategic and value-added tasks. I don’t think that AI will replace Accountants. But, Accountants who use AI will replace those Accountants that don’t.
- Overreliance on AI: Depending solely on ChatGPT for decision-making might not always give the best results. Accountants need to balance AI insights with their professional judgment.
- Information Limits: ChatGPT’s information only goes up to September 2021 and thus lacks any information thereafter. There’s also a limit to how much information you can input into the AI, so it might not be able to review lengthy legal contracts.
- Accuracy: AI can make mistakes and seems to be around 80-90% correct at this development stage. So, humans should always review its outputs for critical tasks, especially when sending documents and emails out to clients.
- Fake News: We’ve already seen fake images of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin being arrested (separately) and a made-up interview with Michael Schumacher. AI can create convincing “fake news” articles, making it hard to tell real from fake.
- Existential Risk: There’s the risk that humans will cease to exist in the near future.
Accounting’s Future with ChatGPT
The growing use of ChatGPT in Accounting hints at a change in how Accountants work. As this tech advances, AI is likely to play a bigger part in shaping the profession’s future. By welcoming these changes, Accountants can not only adapt but redefine their role as strategic partners and advisors.
To wrap up, ChatGPT is indeed revolutionizing the Accounting field, offering benefits like greater efficiency, improved decision-making, and better client communication. But it’s essential to address the challenges and concerns related to its use to ensure AI’s ethical and sustainable integration into Accounting.
Stay tuned, as I’ll be posting more articles, videos, and prompts in the coming weeks to help Accountants use ChatGPT more effectively. Don’t forget to check out www.tbaccountants.co.za/chat-GPT
