Xero’s Faith Lands In Artificial Intelligence

SME accounting platform Xero has big hopes for artificial intelligence.

A new report by IT-Online featured Xero South Africa Head of Accounting Colin Timmis, who mused on the topic of AI and how it can change accounting.

“AI and smart machine-learning programs will be the next big thing, enabling automation to further disrupt the industry and the role of the accountant,” he said.

Already, noted Timmis, cloud accounting has led to big changes for the profession, leading them to act more like consultants. With AI technology moving further into the market through products like Siri, Amazon Echo and self-driving vehicles, Timmis said, it’s sure to infiltrate accounting.

“Machine learning could advance high-integrity accounting, one of Xero‘s key areas of focus, which is when data is not touched by human hands,” he continued. “Coding work would become completely automated, and data entry would be redundant. Accountants will, therefore, have more time to focus on the business and developing growth strategies.”

Timmis said that this evolution won’t necessarily mean that accountants’ jobs will be replaced but rather evolve to focus on more strategic processes for corporate clients.

Already, Xero has made moves to integrate artificial intelligence into its services. Earlier this year, the company announced an integration with Facebook Messenger, iMessage and Slack, using chatbot technology. The solution, dubbed Hey Xero, allows users to use these messaging apps to access the Xero Advisor Directory and will be released sometime “in the near future,” the company said.

“Connecting the more than 50 million small businesses on Facebook Messenger with accountants and bookkeepers is a huge opportunity for our industry,” said Xero CEO Rod Drury at the time. “We’re opening up access to accounting software, solutions and advisors to help millions of small businesses be more productive and get the advice they need to grow and create jobs.”