Public sector accounting teams adopting AI

There are plenty of positive uses for AI, particularly when it comes to the public sector. For accounting teams, AI-driven tools can analyse financial data quickly and effectively. At the same time they are less susceptible to errors than manual methods of data entry. AI can monitor and analyse spending across a range of departments in seconds, flagging areas of concern, identifying waste and cost-saving opportunities.

When automatically evaluating this data, AI algorithms can detect patterns, anomalies, and potential indicators of fraudulent activities. This ensures potential breaches are spotted much faster than manual checks.

On the whole, AI is brilliant at freeing up vital capacity within accounting teams. However, there are risks that employees should be aware of. AI will only produce results that are as good as the data and algorithmic design it is built on. Therefore if it isn’t trained or maintained to a high standard, answers can be misleading or purely incorrect.

So if using AI, teams should analyse audit trails that explain how the technology got to its outcome. These trails are essential for capturing the who, what, when, where, and why behind every significant outcome created by AI. Providing clear evidence to back up the result  is crucial for governance of the technology, ensuring compliance and building trust across the team. It’s vital that employees take a strategic approach to AI data crunching, interpreting the results and applying human context to the outcome.

Whenever an AI system makes or recommends financial decisions, an accountability gap is created. Public sector finance teams must ensure all accountability stays with a human and is in line with governance, workplace policy and is transparent.

An AI governance framework should include policies on how and when AI can and should be used and who is responsible for maintaining the system.

Increasing AI in the workplace requires cultural change and staff buy-in so it’s important that leaders emphasise the benefits of the transformation project. Employees should understand that a digital transformation, such as AI implementation, removes the time-consuming, transactional jobs. This then frees up more time for creativity and strategic work.

Once this is widely understood, employees should feel more confident and comfortable engaging with new AI systems.

There are both hard and soft skills that are required when implementing AI across public sector finance teams. Subsequently, a carefully considered training programme is key. These skills include data literacy, AI awareness and digital skills. To reap the benefits of AI implementation, employees will need to understand how financial and non-financial data is collected, stored and used to make better data-driven decisions.

Whilst not all skills can be taught, they can be coached. Therefore, it should be the priority of leaders to implement a thorough training programme to ensure technology is used correctly within the organisation.