Cognitive Services and Automation: Boosting Efficiency in Accounting Processes
Cognitive Services and Automation: Boosting Efficiency in Accounting Processes
The world of accounting is rapidly changing with the advent of cognitive services, automation, and artificial intelligence. Accountants are leveraging these tools to streamline their processes and reduce the risks associated with manual labor. With the help of these new technologies, accountants can automate tasks such as record keeping, invoice payment, client data entry, and more. This article explores how cognitive services and automated processes can help to improve the efficiency of accounting processes.
What are Cognitive Services?
Cognitive services are algorithms which process natural language—spoken, written or both—and produce automated digital answers or responses. They allow computers to “think” like humans and make decisions on complex problems. A few examples include OCR (Optical Character Recognition)—which converts handwriting into digital text for easier processing—and sentiment analysis—which can evaluate customer reviews and enhance customer service.
How Can Cognitive Services Help with Accounting Processes?
Cognitive services can be used to streamline many aspects of an accountant’s job. For example, they can help with customer onboarding by quickly verifying customer accounts; they can also aid with invoice payments by automatically submitting invoices to the correct bank accounts; and they can even help with data entry by utilizing natural language processing (NLP) to accurately parse customer information. Additionally, cognitive services can be used to detect accounting errors that may have been overlooked otherwise.
What is Automation?
Automation is a process of using programmed machines or computer software applications to perform or control repetitive tasks or operations. It generally eliminates the need for human effort and increases productivity significantly.
How Can Automation Help with Accounting Processes?
Automation can be used to automate many of the day-to-day tasks associated with accounting. This could include activities such as data entry, invoice payment and processing, client management, billing and more. Automated processes can also be used to quickly detect errors in financial statements and alert users about discrepancies. Additionally, automation can also help to reduce paperwork which in turn reduces labor costs.
Conclusion
Given the numerous benefits of cognitive services and automation for accounting processes, there’s no doubt that these technologies are here to stay. By using these tools, accountants can reduce the amount of time spent on mundane tasks, eliminate errors and save money in the long run.
