Continuous completion could turn accountants into everyday advisors

Continuous closing, where a company’s books are closed every day rather than weeks after the end of the month, could change the way accounting firms serve their clients. As artificial intelligence reduces the delay between a transaction and the advice based on it, year-end cleanup can become an ongoing conversation.

Software makers are targeting their products at the firms that advise businesses, not just the businesses themselves. According to Dixie McCurley (pictured), managing partner in residence at Intuit, Intuit Inc. is driving finance automation with this audience in mind, and trust in the numbers is at the heart of the effort.

“I think it was always difficult to work as an advisor because we always had to wait until the end of the year to make any adjustments that would actually make the financials make sense,” McCurley said. “I’ve had so many clients over the years who couldn’t even come in for an audit in October. The reason for that is because we’ve always been responsive. That’s changing today.”

McCurley spoke with Alison Kosik and Christophe Bertrand at Intuit Connect during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how AI is changing the role of the accountant, why trust in the numbers is important and what continuous closing could mean for client advice. (*Disclosure below.)

Continuous advice on completing moves from the end of the year to every day

Intuit has developed an advanced information platform for accountants, including the Intuit Accountant Suite, designed for companies that manage hundreds or thousands of client ledgers. Accuracy is the first test. McCurley recalled a panel where the same payback table, run through two AI tools, came back correct from one and a complete hallucination from the other.

“I thought of it like this: When AI gives you an answer, it reminds me of when my junior accountants would give me an answer,” she said. “They’re trying so hard to find the right answer, but they may not have the best experience to know that, oh, actually it depends on a lot of context.”

This gap is where accountants make their living. According to McCurley, a $5 million company runs differently than a $50 million company, and judgment fills in what software can’t.

“I don’t think it’s about efficiency. For me, what’s at stake is efficiency,” she said. “It will unlock right brain creativity.”

The biggest win is the continuous closing itself. Having long ago learned how to shorten a month-end close from 21 days to two days, McCurley has had this goal for 20 years.

“How much more can we tell them? It doesn’t have to be 21 days after the close,” McCurley said. “It doesn’t have to happen four months at the end of the year. Now we can do it every single day. Our days are changing with AI.”

Here’s the full video interview, part of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of Intuit Connect:

(*Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Intuit Connect. Neither Intuit, the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over theCUBE or SiliconANGLE content.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE