The Rise of AI – Should Tax and Finance Professionals be Concerned? -By Adegunju Stephen

The rise of AI (Artificial Intelligence) dates to the year 1956 when the word was coined to mean science and technology of making intelligent machines. These machines over the years have been developed and equipped with more advancements such that it has been fully incorporated into the present business environment because of their ability to comprehend and understand large and complex information. Contextually, the present situation of AI is such that it is expected to take over routine jobs following its strength in numerical, recording, and repetitive activities which has been a major concern for professionals in the finance field.

A closer view at the rise of AI suggests that it is aimed at enhancing and ensuring efficiency at each profession that relies on technology. A case study on the impact of AI on Ernst & Young (EY) with an insight into how revenue increases, employee reduction, and the costs involved in operating AI. The integration of AI technologies could be said to have boosted EY’s revenue. In 2023, EY Global recorded a revenue of $49.4 billion, a 9.3% increase from the previous year (2022). This growth is attributed to their $1.4 billion investment in AI, which included the launch of EY.ai. The deployment of AI technologies has led to notable efficiency improvements, with tools like EY Document Intelligence reducing processing time by up to 90% and increasing accuracy by 25%.

It was recorded that the cost of implementing AI at EY has been substantial. Investing $1.4 billion on AI in 2023. The AI investment is approximately 2.8% of EY’s annual total revenue. While there are no specific data about the number of personnel the AI deployment has made redundant. However, some routine jobs have been affected following the efficiencies gained through AI and EY is strategically addressing this challenge by upskilling its employee, particularly on AI technologies to ensure that their workforce can adapt to the evolving technological landscape and maintain their relevance in the industry.

The present position of professionals also reveals that they depend on traditional methods of practice and firms like EY recognize the impact of their manpower in revenue generation and service delivery as such, they have committed themselves to improving their employees’ relevant skills that suggest a sense of collaboration with AI to improve efficiency and increase value and not necessarily taking over people’s job. Critically, only a few companies have been able to acquire AI technology due to its high cost of implementation and maintenance which seems too much for many SMEs. Consequently, many tax and finance firms will continue to rely on humans to get their job done while they preach upskilling to their staff for improvement in the quality of their work.

While AI brings many opportunities that will enhance industry growth, it is important to highlight a few areas of improvement. Like we have a regulatory framework for tax and finance standards, but no framework presently to guide AI. Similarly, the risk of data bridge or access to information by aliens could bring about problems of confidentiality with the possibility of losing control over the technology.

Tersely, this concern is predominantly rampant among those with the ambition to become full-time practitioners, as they believe the profession will be overshadowed by rapid technological and software developments. However, this belief is misguided as the reality is quite the opposite, in which the demand for skilled and knowledgeable tax and finance practitioners is at an all-time high, despite the revolutionary changes brought about by advanced technology. The job of a finance and tax consultant is still significant because they will be asked to give financial advice, figure out their clients’ financial situations, and put more emphasis on things like analytics and values

Thus, nothing can replace the emotional intelligence that humans bring to the workplace, and here is where the function of these professionals comes into play. Using their personality traits to turn superior information findings into more successful strategies for the management. Furthermore, professional skepticism and ethical considerations are core areas that set humans apart from machines and they are essential values that have shaped the profession so far. Therefore, about AI taking over the job? That is just a half-cooked story that is better completed by saying “AI has come to collaborate with humans to get their jobs better, faster and more reliably”. However, individuals must be given constant upskilling and development such that, they have the needed skill and knowledge to operate these AI and can comprehend how it works and how it could be used for greater use.

Stephen Adegunju writes from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and can be reached via Adegunju1234@gmail.com