Five ways that AI is changing finance

AI tools are changing the focus of finance work. Human roles will change—to varying degrees—but remain important.

Artificial intelligence tools are ready to exceed human capabilities in five key financial disciplines, according to research commissioned by SAP Insights.

The research examined the typical business processes employed by the finance function, and identified the areas where AI is reshaping work to the greatest degree: accounting, data management, planning and strategy, controlling, and analysis.

AI tools achieve these gains largely by automating processes and increasing efficiency. For example, AI tools can rapidly analyze large volumes of data, and they can detect discrepancies in that data more quickly than humans can. They can identify trends and make forecasts, and they can automate budgeting processes with predictive analytics.

For now, other areas are less affected, such as critical thinking and ethics, effective communication, problem-solving, and building domain knowledge/learning. AI tools lack ethical reasoning (for now), along with intuition and creative skills. This limits their ability to solve complex problems, but they can still offer improved support for decisions.

The research reveals where human skills are still needed. It also shows areas in which AI tools will eventually take over tasks that people currently perform, such as improving investment management and asset valuation when managing capital. AI will create new requirements or tasks, as well as shift the focus of financial work.

A closer look at each of the five disciplines facing the biggest changes shows some common strengths and weaknesses of AI, but it also shows some unique traits.