AI is changing the role technology plays within finance. Rather than simply helping teams complete individual tasks faster, it is beginning to work continuously in the background, surfacing insights, automating workflows and helping finance leaders focus their attention where it matters most.
Anwesha Ghosh, Head of Growth for Sage Intacct UKI, explains how AI is already transforming finance, what businesses should consider when adopting it and where the technology could take finance teams next.
The Changing Role of AI
From finance automation to autonomous finance.
For years, finance technology has focused on making individual processes quicker and more efficient. AI is taking this further by making finance increasingly continuous and autonomous.
Instead of waiting for a finance professional to ask a question or manually search through data, AI can work in the background, carrying out checks and identifying information that may require attention.
This changes the relationship finance teams have with their systems. Rather than spending time searching for the right information, relevant insights can be brought directly to the user, allowing them to investigate, make decisions and take action.
As Anwesha puts it, one of the biggest benefits of AI is that it can “eliminate the hunt.”
A FINANCE ASSISTANT
Making everyday finance simpler.
The value of AI isn’t only in sophisticated analysis. One of the areas users appreciate most is how much easier it can make everyday tasks.
AI can increasingly act like an assistant within the finance function, helping users manage tasks, actions and complete workflows without requiring the same level of manual involvement.
It can also surface the insights most relevant to the individual user. Instead of allocating time to explore different areas of a financial management system, finance teams can be directed towards the information that deserves their attention.
Importantly, automation does not have to mean removing human involvement. AI can support workflows while maintaining appropriate controls, ensuring users retain oversight and approval over what ultimately enters the finance system.
RESPONSIBLE AI
Trust, transparency and control are critical.
The potential of AI in finance is significant, but adopting it requires the right checks and balances.
Businesses need to understand the credibility of the technology they are using, whether it meets the appropriate compliance requirements and, crucially, how their data is being used.
Transparency should be built into the experience. Users should be able to understand what AI is doing with their data rather than simply accepting an answer without knowing where it came from.
This is particularly important in finance, where accuracy and trust are fundamental.
An AI-generated insight is only genuinely useful if a finance professional can understand how it has been calculated. Users need the ability to investigate the detail behind an answer, verify the underlying information and remain confident in the result.
Sage Intacct approaches this through responsible AI, providing users with visibility into how AI is being used within the product and giving finance teams the assurance and control they need.
THE FUTURE OF FINANCE
From insights to recommendations.
As AI develops, its role within finance is likely to expand considerably.
Today, AI can automate workflows and surface valuable insights. The next stage could see it take on increasingly sophisticated analysis.
A finance leader could, for example, ask a question using natural language and receive an accurate forecast without having to manually build the analysis. From there, AI could support more advanced what-if scenarios, helping teams understand the potential impact of different business decisions.
Eventually, AI could go beyond identifying what is happening and begin recommending what a finance team should consider doing next based on the insights it has uncovered.
That evolution could move AI from being primarily an automation tool towards becoming an increasingly valuable decision-support tool for finance leaders.
AI IN ACTION
Transforming the month-end close.
One of the clearest examples of AI’s potential is a process every finance team knows: the month-end close.
Traditionally, closing the books can mean bringing together information from multiple places, coordinating different people and manually identifying issues that could delay completion.
AI can change that experience.
Within a dedicated close workspace, AI can help manage close tasks while identifying issues that require attention. This could include discrepancies between ledgers, unexpected variances against budget or other challenges that need to be addressed before the period can be closed.
Rather than finance teams having to search across multiple areas or chase different people for answers, AI can surface those issues directly.
The result is a finance function that can spend less time searching for information and managing repetitive processes, and more time understanding what the numbers mean and deciding what to do next.
LOOKING AHEAD
A new relationship between finance teams and technology.
One of the clearest examples of AI’s potential is a process every finance team knows: the month-end close.
Traditionally, closing the books can mean bringing together information from multiple places, coordinating different people and manually identifying issues that could delay completion.
AI can change that experience.
Within a dedicated close workspace, AI can help manage close tasks while identifying issues that require attention. This could include discrepancies between ledgers, unexpected variances against budget or other challenges that need to be addressed before the period can be closed.
Rather than finance teams having to search across multiple areas or chase different people for answers, AI can surface those issues directly.
The result is a finance function that can spend less time searching for information and managing repetitive processes, and more time understanding what the numbers mean and deciding what to do next.
HEAR FROM ANWESHA
Watch the Full Conversation.
Hear directly from Anwesha Ghosh, Head of Growth for Sage Intacct UKI, as she explores how AI is transforming finance, the importance of responsible AI and what the future could hold for finance teams.