RSM UK Audit Data Analytics director Konrad Bukowski-Kruszyna has stated that to guarantee an effective partnership with AI, ongoing reviews of outputs are essential.
In the first part of a mini-guide on partnering effectively with AI, he discussed factors for selecting the right partner to meet the finance function or accounting practice’s needs.
The guide states that reviewing outputs is not a task to be completed during the initial implementation phase.
Bukowski-Kruszyna highlighted two key objectives behind the ongoing reviews.
These are the ability to translate raw outputs into information within an accounting or auditing context and recognising when adjustments to the system are necessary to focus on the correct issues.
Bukowski-Kruszyna cautioned that understanding certain outputs produced by an AI tool can be challenging, making it essential to implement a sense-checking or screening process.
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By GlobalDataFurthermore, he stressed that accountants must rely on their professional judgement, discernment and interpretative skills when reviewing AI-generated results.
He spoke with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) regarding these issues.
An AI tool may generate results with accounting implications that are not immediately evident from the presentation of those outputs.
Thus, he noted that having the expertise of a trained professional to connect the dots and identify underlying meanings is invaluable.
Konrad Bukowski-Kruszyna further said: “Let’s say you have asked the tool to analyse a stack of lease agreements or sales contracts, or standardise a large set of invoices. You will want to have the same level of faith and reliance in the AI’s outputs as you would if you were asking a junior member of staff to carry out the same work.
“Yes, you now have some software that can do in five to ten minutes what your junior may have taken a day or two to complete, and that may enable your team to get through a greater volume of higher-value work as a result – but your professional duty to guarantee relevance and accuracy still exists.”
From a partnering perspective, Bukowski-Kruszyna asserts that it is important to recognise that AI will not complete the entire task independently.
As users become more proficient with AI tools, they will be better positioned to provide informed feedback, which will help refine the tools to meet their specific needs more effectively.
