15th May, 2025
We’ve come a long way from the time when tax meant manually sorting through paper receipts and reconciling bank statements. The shift to cloud technology and real-time data has already transformed the accounting landscape, and now there’s another opportunity up for the taking: AI.
Artificial intelligence is making waves in industries across the world — from enhancing healthcare to improving transportation — and it’s also becoming a powerful tool for accounting and bookkeeping practices. Embracing AI isn’t about replacing expertise; it’s about empowering you to deliver more value to clients with efficiency and precision.
How you choose to do that will play a key role in shaping the future of your business. Here’s how AI is already being used in the industry, and how you can start using it to elevate your practice.
“It wasn’t that long ago that if I were to ask an accountant what the biggest innovation was in our space, I would have been told, ‘Two or more monitors’,” Dale Dixon, GM Practice and Advocacy MYOB, says.
AI works by learning from and recognising patterns in data to make decisions, talk, and respond in a human-like way.
Here’s how ChatGPT defines it: “AI is when computers or machines are designed to think or act like humans – at least in certain ways. If you’ve ever used Google Maps, talked to Siri or Alexa, or gotten movie suggestions on Netflix, you’ve already used AI.”
While many of these tools have quietly infiltrated your daily life, a few more noticeable AI programs have recently captured global attention, including revolutionary AI-powered assistants like ChatGPT, CoPilot and Gemini. If you’re not already familiar with one of these guys, you probably should be.
In much the same way that calculators and Excel helped you work smarter, AI is the next essential tool of the trade for accountants and bookkeepers.
Using an AI assistant for the first time feels like magic — it neatly whips up what you’ve asked for in a matter of seconds. Your knowledge and input shape the final product, and that’s where the real value comes in. And, if you’re not leveraging one yet, you can be certain that your competitors are.
“I wish I could say this is optional, but here’s the truth: to stand still is to fall behind… But for those who embrace it? The future is wide open.” Dale Dixon says.
Now that you’ve got a handle on what AI is, try testing it out — can it create a compelling email or company announcement for you? But more than that, can it turbocharge your accounting or bookkeeping practice?
What else could you be doing if you weren’t transcribing calls and meetings, manually categorising bank feeds, or generating financial reports? AI’s tools can automate these manual tasks and streamline internal and external collaboration — think instant document sharing and real-time data analysis.
AI can also summarise vast volumes of data, legislation and market trends, helping you add more value to clients and even uncover new service offerings. That power also enables you to offer a more personalised service.
“This is the first technology that is happening faster than even the insiders expected,” Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says.
Embracing AI helps you stay ahead of the curve, improve efficiency, and deliver better service to clients and customers. But change is hard, and implementing AI can be overwhelming, so how and where do you start? Here are four fundamentals:
For AI to be effective in your organisation, change has to start from the top. Every leader in your company needs to have a decent understanding of AI and be clear on its potential benefits to your organisation.
From there, you can build a culture of curiosity, innovation and fun. Encourage your team to try new things and experiment within guidelines, and then reward them for their innovative ideas.
It’s likely you already have people under your roof with a solid understanding of this technology and how to use it. Encourage them to champion basic education within your organisation.
Start with something simple, like a weekly learning session hosted by various team members. Record each session to capture that knowledge, then consider building on it with video walkthroughs, cheat sheets, prompt libraries and templates. Host it somewhere accessible, and you’ve essentially created an internal learning academy for your people.
You might be eager to jump on the AI tool that your competitor is using, but rein in that enthusiasm! To get the most out of the tech, you need to clarify your objectives and problems. With that knowledge, start researching, evaluating and testing the solutions available. Think about how these tools will work together, too.
Before you get swept up in adopting different solutions, be sure to research how secure they are so you can be confident that the tools you choose and how you use them will keep confidential information safe.
Despite the best intentions around information security, there are some things that you shouldn’t use AI for. Before you begin, establish a clear set of guidelines and policies for responsible use within your organisation and make sure your team is familiar and comfortable with these.
Clarifying any grey areas will also protect you against the risk of sensitive client information being leaked unintentionally.
| Use AI tools to: | Don’t use AI tools to: |
|---|---|
| Automate repetitive tasks and improve efficiency intent | Share client or employee PII (personally identifiable information) with AI tools |
| Analyse large amounts of data and generate insights | Share sensitive company information or IP with AI tools |
| Process natural language and understand user | Use AI tools to make decisions without human oversight and validation |
| Always use anonymised or non-sensitive data | Rely solely on AI tools for critical business decisions |
For many, the internet has changed how we do everything, from conducting business to shopping and socialising.
AI is the next big change-maker, and every day it’s getting smarter, more capable and more innovative — but all that capacity is only valuable if you learn to use it.
Information provided in this article is of a general nature and does not consider your personal situation. It does not constitute legal, financial, or other professional advice and should not be relied upon as a statement of law, policy or advice. You should consider whether this information is appropriate to your needs and, if necessary, seek independent advice. This information is only accurate at the time of publication. Although every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of the information contained on this webpage, MYOB disclaims, to the extent permitted by law, all liability for the information contained on this webpage or any loss or damage suffered by any person directly or indirectly through relying on this information.