The challenge for any accounting firm is retaining current clients and attracting new ones. But it’s actually pretty simple — happy, engaged, and satisfied employees will do their best work resulting in happy clients. If you think having happy employees does not matter, think about the last time you had dinner at a restaurant with a nasty waiter or waitress: did you want to go back even if the food was great? Artificial Intelligence (AI) is helping firms measure and improve employee satisfaction to produce the best possible work.
Accounting firms can increase accountant job satisfaction by utilizing AI, achieving the following outcomes.
Automating mundane tasks
A lot of employee burnout and dissatisfaction comes from having to do mundane, tedious tasks over and over again. Rather than spending their time tackling projects with meaningful outcomes or learning new skills, people may lose interest in their job or want to move on to something more fulfilling.
AI can relieve accountants of that duty by automating tasks such as managing project resources, generating expense reports, and categorizing forms and files. That way, accountants can focus on driving business outcomes, advising clients, and enacting meaningful change.
Improving accuracy and positive outcomes
People make mistakes. But in an industry like accounting where accuracy is expected, not making mistakes is critical to a job well done. When accountants produce error-free work efficiently, they get positive feedback and a sense of intrinsic self-worth which leaves them more satisfied with their job.
Software can free accountants from tedious and potentially error producing tasks like reconciliations and data entry. By completely automating some tasks and assisting with others, things get completed more quickly and accurately. The end result is more positive outcomes for clients that lead to more positive outlooks for accountants.
Creating more specialized roles
Since AI is able to automate many error prone and mundane tasks, accountants can dive deeper into their practice and find their niche. Whether it be consulting, forecasting, or specializing in a certain industry, the time accountants get back in their day because of AI allows them to take on specialized roles.
Specialized roles create a sense of purpose, especially if they are unique roles within the company. When your accountants feel indispensable, their job satisfaction is bound to improve. It also opens the door for a number of professional development paths for your accountants, further increasing specialized roles and a sense of fulfillment.
Implementing AI in your accounting firm
Implementing AI in your accounting firm is no longer a far-off thought of the future. It’s here, and it’s easier than you might think. There are software programs designed specifically to help accounting firms succeed. With features like time tracking, expense tracking, resource management, and more, these programs can seamlessly integrate with existing infrastructure to improve operations.
These precise, data-driven tools unlock the tools accountants need to go above and beyond traditional job functions and find meaningful purpose in their roles. With a little help from Artificial Intelligence, accounting firms can see their employees’ job satisfaction skyrocket.
