NEW
YORK, May 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Could 2024 be
the year that Generative artificial intelligence (AI) sees
accelerated adoption within finance and accounting? According to a
Deloitte Center for ControllershipTM poll, even though
few executives (6.6%) say their organizations have already
implemented Generative AI solutions to support finance and
accounting processes, considerably more indicate they are actively
discussing use cases (15.4%) or have future plans to adopt the
technology (27.8%).
Looking at the next 12 months, responding executives say that
cash flow forecasting (23.7%) presents the biggest opportunity for
Generative AI within their organization's finance and accounting
function, followed closely by scenario planning (21.1%), expense
reporting (18.1%) and financial controls management (14.1%).
"Just as in any industry, there are areas within accounting and
finance that could be ripe for Generative AI experimentation," said
Court Watson, a Deloitte Risk & Financial Advisory, Deloitte
& Touche LLP, who specializes in AI use within controllership
functions. "Processes that depend on estimations for which
organizations have robust, algorithm-ready data sets — such as cash
flow forecasting and scenario planning — might be ideal areas for
finance and accounting teams to begin testing Generative AI
use."
Data, which is the main input for Generative AI models, is the
single greatest pain point according to respondents. Nearly
one-quarter (24.4%) of polled executives say that enhancements to
data quality would improve their trust levels in Generative AI
tools.
"Across the board, we continue to hear from organizations that
the lack of clean, model-ready data is a significant challenge to
incorporating Generative AI into finance and accounting
workstreams. Implementing a robust data strategy and process to
prepare finance and accounting data for use within Generative AI
models – as well as with automation and other technologies – is a
crucial first step to help organizations truly reach actionable
insights and outcomes," said Watson.
As interest in Generative AI solutions within finance and
accounting grows, so are considerations concerning the technology's
implications on governance strategies. More than one-third of
polled leaders (38.7%) say that their organization already has or
will have a Generative AI strategy – protocols to guide its
adoption and use – in place for finance and accounting within the
next 12 months. Yet, a similar number (39%) report no future plans
to develop a strategy.
Dave Stahler, a Deloitte Risk & Financial
Advisory partner and controllership digital finance leader,
Deloitte & Touche LLP, added, "Generative AI is expected to
transform finance and accounting processes, inclusive of actual
financials, making governance a significant piece of the puzzle.
Treating AI governance like any other finance transformation effort
will be key to bringing the technology safely into an
organization's finance operations. For many, that will mean taking
an enterprise-wide approach that includes a well-governed data
strategy, accuracy and reliability safeguards, alignment with
financial regulations and standards, close strategic collaboration
across business functions and — critically — management
support."
About the online poll
Over 1,430 C-suite and other
executives were polled during a Deloitte Center for
Controllership webcast, titled "A new frontier: Exploring
artificial intelligence in finance," on October 26, 2023. Answer rates differed by
question.
About Deloitte
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www.deloitte.com.
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SOURCE Deloitte