The recent progression of ChatGPT has sparked more discussions about the potential of automation and AI in the workplace. In particular, there are concerns about how new technologies will impact selected industries and replace people, the finance industry included.
While some of these concerns are justified, automation can play an empowering role for employees. AI and automation technologies can transform various jobs, including finance roles, enabling employees to be more efficient with high-value activities.
Why finance professionals can benefit from automation
One of the priorities for automation within finance is how it can enable people to be more strategic with their time. Automation can assume the everyday tasks that can dominate the daily activities of finance professionals. A US study by IMA and Deloitte discovered that financial controllers spend nearly 70% of their time on manual tasks. When automation is added, technology can take over these tasks, giving people over six additional hours each week to focus on high-value activities.
Furthermore, automation can provide businesses with more targeted and accurate insights. Typically, manual activities can include human errors and detecting these faults incurs additional time and costs. When introducing automation, it generates thousands of entries in a short space of time, and ML algorithms can systematically determine errors in data and correct them.
With automation’s capacity to manage tedious tasks and generate valuable data, finance professionals can take a more strategic stance in their position and play a more influential role in overall business operations. Furthermore, another reason why finance professionals should embrace automation is it helps deliver happier and healthier employees. A recent study from Tradeshift discovered that professionals incorporating automation into daily activities are more satisfied in their jobs and optimistic about their careers. Another report from FloQast discovered that individuals who use automation emphasise considerably lower levels of burnout and higher work-life balances.
Finally, studies suggest there aren’t enough people in the industry to handle the work. Automation is in significant demand and without it, the talent situation could be considerably worse.
How can finance professionals and automation collaborate?
As automation becomes more embedded in work, calculated knowledge may seem less important, but businesses will continue to depend on finance professionals for industry knowledge and the associated processes to lead their strategies.
Automation can expand on calculated knowledge, and while it may replace daily activities like data entry, finance professionals are still required to interpret data, determine what’s important and use the right insights to deliver strategic decisions. Ultimately, AI isn’t currently capable of observing outputs and making a calculated decision on how data can drive a business forward – a human is needed for this.
As more businesses embrace automation, finance professionals can ensure they retain their jobs and utilise the potential of automation tools. As long as finance professionals can remain strategic and innovative, automation can become a vital tool, supporting employees to deliver better work, create a better work-life balance and ensure business data is accurate and valuable.
While there is some caution over how automation will impact our jobs, a recent study by ADP found that over half of modern employees feel positive about replacing repetitive tasks with automation. Now is the time to embrace automation as a tool that supports employees and businesses deliver success. Automation shouldn’t be considered a threat but an opportunity.
