Since 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic set in, the future of the business market has become unpredictable. It was a moment of great rupture, felt everywhere in the world, both personally and professionally. With so many transformations and uncertainties resulting from an unprecedented global public health crisis, companies needed to review their routines and evolve their practices to remain in the market. Many companies focused on adapting technologies to their advantage, including Artificial Intelligence. The permanence of a company in the market is determined by its ability to adapt to circumstances, optimize processes and modernize services. Artificial Intelligence has impacted these aspects. As the world comes together to combat crises, it's only a matter of time before other innovations in technology emerge. For example, the adaptations required by the pandemic forced organizations to switch to a remote work culture. With this they realized that the advantages of Home office may be relevant to the business, which led to the trend of a more structured remote work implementation in 2021, with clear guidelines and strategies to increase productivity. The same happened with Artificial Intelligence.
In this context, having accurate, real-time data is more crucial than ever. Macro-data analysis, for example, is already a global trend with strong domestic potential that can be useful for any sector. In the area of Human Resources, a People Analytics system will allow us to know the performance of employees and which aspects influence their productivity and motivation. In addition, it will provide powerful insights to empower teams with appropriate technology.
In times of crisis, leaders need to bring together people from different functional specialties to work toward a common goal of business continuity. Therefore, multifunctional work strategies play an essential role in Brainstorming , in the generation of ideas and in the presentation of innovative business solutions. By forming cross-functional teams, employees gain new skills through the sharing of knowledge with various functions, thus increasing employee engagement, introducing new behaviors and creating team spirit in them.
Innovation was already taking many steps when the pandemic hit the market. This change in thinking was accelerated and moved from a sense of consideration to a more urgent and selective direction. Many brands were forced to optimize their product portfolios and found that this reduction could help them reorganize. This continuous shift toward selectivity has helped brands focus on what matters and make smarter bets on products where innovation can make a significant difference.
The pandemic disrupted old methods, and there's no denying that it gave companies challenges that were previously difficult to manage. Facing these challenges required a change in the policies and tools used to manage routines and professionals, but with innovation in digital infrastructure, they found themselves ready to conquer the post-pandemic world.
Acceleration of technologies in the market Focusing more on Artificial Intelligence, its impact on society was already a recurring theme and with the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of technology for the functioning of businesses became even more evident. In the study “Artificial Intelligence in the era of COVID-19: Optimizing the role of Artificial Intelligence in job creation and economic growth in Brazil”, commissioned by Microsoft to FrontierView, the impacts caused by the massive adoption of Artificial Intelligence in our country were surveyed.
Accounting firms, which at the time were considering Artificial Intelligence as a test or internship, noticed development accelerating as companies began creating products for specific service lines. Artificial Intelligence tools provide accountants with the freedom to focus their attention on the highest risks and transform the way they handle them. Accountants have also started using Artificial Intelligence to review risks in Due Diligence, for example.
Artificial Intelligence tools are used to identify problematic clauses and may even be deployed in the future to assess companies likely to fail, based on historical trends. For example, learn from bankrupt company metrics around cash flow, profit margins, and risk exposure and apply them to similarly sized companies in a comparable sector or location.
Another area that was ready for development with AI tools is the area of risk identification and assessment. Artificial Intelligence for auditors helps to observe transactions and identify flaws with a much greater focus on the areas of greatest risk. AI tools are also becoming vital for rethinking risk assessment in an attempt to eradicate money laundering and fraud.
In some organizations, financial functions fear the potential for over-reliance on data. These can be real strengths of the profession, bringing realism to discussions and helping business functions create robust, grounded, and value-oriented data approaches.
Also according to a FrontierView study, two factors could motivate the adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Brazil. The first relates to e-commerce sales. According to the figures, the sector doubled its sales from April to August 2020, compared to the same period in 2019, showing an annual increase of 105%.
Another aspect was the analysis of job creation, since the study predicts that the hours that Brazilians will work in 2030, based on pre-COVID-19 projections, will be automated in 46% of them. However, this impact does not necessarily mean a reduction in employment, since these hours can be used for strategic and intellectual tasks. According to the survey figures, in the maximum benefit scenario, the demand for highly qualified professionals would increase significantly, from 34% of total jobs to 54% by 2030.
It is important to note that, for Brazil to be prepared for these changes, investment in education is necessary, favoring the qualification and requalification of professionals for professions qualified by the adoption of technology.
Use of Artificial Intelligence in recent years Artificial Intelligence, for example, while it has been incredibly useful in studying population density, demographics, and travel patterns to help researchers decide where to send supplies or how to mitigate an outbreak, innovations are focused on how to use technology to eliminate misinformation. Social technology giants Facebook, Google, and Twitter are working on Use of technology to provide checks . To BlueDot Canadian developed an early warning system, which uses artificial intelligence, including natural language processing and machine learning, to track more than 100 infectious diseases, analyzing around 100,000 articles in 65 languages every day.
BioTech startups, HealthTech, will work on developing easier and faster tests and effective masks to identify and stop the spread of COVID-19. The growing possibilities of telemedicine, combined with robotics, have helped patients get the care they need without putting doctors at risk. In the USA, a patient in Washington state was treated for coronavirus by a robot called Vici, through which it communicates with its service team. In China, a robot called Little Peanut transported food for quarantined patients at a hotel.
Drones, on the other hand, were used to deliver goods. The World Economic Forum published a blog post highlighting the contributions of drones in the fight against COVID-19. In China, the drone delivery company JD worked with government stakeholders to dramatically increase service areas and bring supplies to quarantined and isolated areas.
When SARS peaked in late 2002, it took scientists more than a year to sequence the virus's genome. This time, the COVID-19 genome was sequenced less than a month after the first case was identified. Innovations in this area helped provide information about how the virus is transmitted and how it evolves.
AI is already a reality in many companies Artificial Intelligence is already a reality in many companies. With great emphasis in recent years, it has positively impacted sectors such as IT, Marketing and Finance. Artificial Intelligence is believed to have the potential to solve more complex problems, because it goes beyond simple mechanical automation. Artificial Intelligence involves cognitive processes and also allows tasks that involve reasoning and decision-making. Behind these expectations, research sectors are created within organizations for the development of applications for the use of Artificial Intelligence.
Many entrepreneurs have witnessed unprecedented gains in the use of AI-driven technologies and have started to include investments with the technology in their budgets, with the objective of integrating it into their operational routines to increase quality and agility. Artificial Intelligence can help, for example, to transform the time spent on operations into greater productivity and in a strategic way.
The optimization of operational activities is today one of the main gains with the application of AI in companies. In addition to increasing productivity, the application of Artificial Intelligence enables a better understanding of the business, allowing for various improvements in processes. This transformation also raises the fear of replacing employees with machines, but although many functions are undergoing similar processes, most tend to evolve, eventually joining Artificial Intelligence, bringing benefits, such as the cognitive processes already mentioned, that will help with decision-making. On the other hand, the IT professional has a strategic position in this process, since AI requires continuous learning and knowledge of the flow of information. Only then will the applications be correctly inserted into the business, allowing the results sought by the entrepreneur. In addition to the implementation, it is also necessary to manage the impacts of the changes resulting from the automation of tasks by Artificial Intelligence, since these changes will appear in the new workflow.
Whether through the optimization of processes or new processes that challenge the traditional environment, it is already a fact that most companies are changing something related to digital transformations. In this scenario, it is certain that the Artificial Intelligence sector will continue to evolve and more and more entrepreneurs will approach the complexities of the technology, implementing it in their business or expanding into new sectors. If you are a new entrepreneur, Artificial Intelligence is highly recommended and your business is a great setting for technology to develop together with your company.
Artificial Intelligence in Accounting It is believed that Artificial Intelligence is about to transform the accounting sector, as automation and big data already influence the way in which accountants serve clients. Until recently, accounting technology only made certain tasks easier, but it didn't challenge accounting professionals to rethink their business practices. And what does this impact of AI mean for accounting professionals? How can they prepare?
Experts' advice suggests that the accounting sector should keep informed about what is ahead in technology and to specialize quickly, because the tendency of entry-level positions is to become more vulnerable than senior positions. On the other hand, the better the technology, the greater the opportunities in demand for compliance and auditing professionals, forensic accounting, and mergers and acquisitions accounting.
Although routine tasks are the most threatened by innovations, tasks oriented to information and specializations, such as decision-making, will require more expertise from accounting professionals, who will also have more time for strategies, since they do not need to handle data and information. The same experts mentioned point to human experience as an important differential for accounting professionals. Many companies have unique needs that AI will not be able to meet, such as explaining complex forms of taxation.
Accounting professionals today they have the power to define the future of their profession. The sector must develop the capacity to adapt and evolve, in addition to becoming proactive in relation to the needs of future customers. Accounting as a profession it must innovate, providing advice and guidance to help clients in this preparation. Increasingly, automation and AI will assume new responsibilities for routine cognitive tasks, but these technologies still cannot replace human interaction. Accounting professionals must specialize to become strategists, helping to conduct their client's business.
Accounting is currently among the most complex and challenging professional disciplines, and accountants are talented professionals who can adapt to the constantly changing landscape. By focusing their perceptions and knowledge on finding clients who need this demand, an accounting professional can secure their future and define the future of their profession.
With first-generation AI making its mark in the market and increasingly robust automation tools, accounting professionals must be ready to take advantage of new opportunities presented by these technologies, as they become available. It's time to prepare to find a niche and perfect your interpersonal skills, learn more integrative, social, and marketing skills, to better interact with your customers.
Get in touch with TATICCA Allinial Global Brazil , which operates throughout Brazil and globally, with integrated auditing services, accounting , taxes, corporate finance, technology, Risk Advisory , business consulting and training. For more information, visit www.taticca.com.br or email taticca@taticca.com.br and learn more. Our company has professionals with extensive experience in the market and has certified methodologies for carrying out activities.
