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Make AI tools work for you
As use of artificial intelligence becomes more commonplace, it’s vital to understand how to get the best out of it
Words Jessica Bown
Unless you’ve been hiding underground for the last few years, you’ll know that artificial intelligence (AI) tools are big news in the accounting world.
Whether working in industry or practice, more and more accountants and finance professionals are using AI technology to save time, reduce the likelihood of errors and provide real-time financial insights by analysing huge swathes of data at the push of a button.
It goes without saying, however, that AI tools are only as good as the data they are given to work with; if there are mistakes in the underlying data provided then the AI analysis of that data will inevitably be wrong too.
Making the most of AI tools in the workplace also means thinking carefully about how best to prompt them to get the results you need.
Here’s how to harness the power of AI tools and make them work for you.
Ask the right questions
The more detail you can give AI tools regarding the outcome you are seeking, the more closely the result of its analysis is likely to fit your requirements.
I carried out a little experiment using ChatGPT to illustrate this.
My first question was: “Can you write an article on how AI tools can help accountants?”
Here is the title and introduction it gave me as a result:
How AI Tools Can Help Accountants: Revolutionising the Accounting Profession
The world of accounting is undergoing a significant transformation, thanks in large part to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Traditionally, accountants have been responsible for ensuring financial records are accurate, complying with regulations, and providing crucial insights into the financial health of businesses. However, with the advent of AI, these tasks are becoming faster, more accurate, and more efficient. In this article, we will explore how AI tools are reshaping the accounting profession and the benefits they offer.
As something of a grammar fanatic, the use of recurring capital letters in the headline makes my skin crawl.
However, I know this is now a common way to write headlines for some types of online content, particularly in the US. We’ll let that one slide for now, although I would be changing it if I were publishing this article for real.
More importantly, however, the tone is also wrong – very business-oriented and rather dry.
I tried again, giving the content generation tool a bit more detail about the article I wanted it to write.
Here’s what it came up with in response to the question: “Can you write an article for accounting students on how AI tools can help accountants?”
Here is the title and introduction it gave me as a result:
How AI Tools Can Help Accountants: A Guide for Accounting Students
As accounting students, you’re likely learning about the core principles of accounting, from financial statements to tax laws. However, as technology advances, the accounting profession is evolving rapidly, and one of the key drivers of this change is artificial intelligence (AI). AI tools are revolutionising how accountants work, making processes faster, more efficient, and more accurate. In this article, we’ll explore how AI can assist accountants in their daily tasks and help you as future professionals prepare for the modern accounting landscape.
Recurring capital letters aside, the title is more explanatory, if somewhat dull.
The tone of the introduction is also better for a student audience; it just lacks a human touch to make it a bit more engaging.
However, it’s clear that adding just a couple of extra details to my prompt improved the result – and that’s the case whatever you want to achieve with AI.
As ChatGPT says: “The more specific you are, the better the AI can tailor its response to your needs. A vague request will likely result in a broad and possibly less useful answer.”
Check the underlying data
Accuracy is essential in accounting as even tiny mistakes can have huge consequences. That’s even more true when you harness the power of AI tools to forecast financial outcomes or flag issues such as fraudulent activity.
Accountants are used to preparing highly accurate datasets, so in this way they are well placed to make good use of AI tools.
However, many AI tools require substantial amounts of data to provide a useful solution. If they don’t have enough, they simply can’t perform the mathematical calculations required to produce an outcome.
Some AI tools also need external as well as internal data to do the job, which is not always possible to access at an appropriate cost.
When collating data to be used by AI tools, other considerations include legal and ethical limitations – for example, when using personal data such as emails sent by employees to detect fraud.
Last, but certainly not least, when using AI-generated concepts and solutions, it’s also vital to check the results against your own interpretations – just to be sure.
SIX TIPS FOR BETTER AI PROMPTS
These pointers come direct from ChatGPT
1
Be clear and specific – the more information you provide about what you need, the better your results.
2
Break complex questions down – use a single question for each element of your request.
3
Use context or background information – explaining why you want the information can help AI to give suggestions that are relevant to your situation.
4
Request specific formats – if you want a series of five bullet points for a presentation then say so. Asking for examples is also a useful tip..
5
Refine your prompts if necessary – you can ask for clarification in a follow-up question if required.
6
Provide constraints or limits – if you need to explain a concept without using financial jargon, specify this in your request.
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