Leading the charge in artificial intelligence applications in audit, Inflo Ingest was named the best product in the data management tools category.
Obtaining data from a client can at times be overwhelming and not necessarily straightforward for accounting firms. It is a process that accountancy firms deal with on a regular basis, usually at the start of any client engagement. The current practice of obtaining data causes inefficiencies, increased errors, and the risk of working with bad or corrupted data on a more regular basis, ultimately slowing down the other vital processes of the audit.
It is well documented that the process of collecting and cleansing data from a client takes a substantial amount of time in any given project and that data is commonly collected from multiple Provided by Client (PBC) lists and general ledger transactions, leaving room for human error. This is not an ideal scenario but one that many accounting firms find themselves in.
We created Inflo Ingest to change the behavior of getting the data from the client. Rather than the engagement team wrangling the client’s data, we suggest that the client take ownership of uploading the data with Inflo providing the guidance and step by step process to facilitate this.
“Inflo Ingest allows accountants to share information directly from their accounting software to Inflo through a secure interface that requires no human intervention to pull only what’s required. Automatic validation checks are carried out to verify data accuracy, and Inflo supplements that with a real-life data team on hand to cleanse the data as well, blending artificial intelligence with real intelligence. Once ingested, the financial and transactional data feeds into other Inflo modules, which automates data analytics and AI-driven processes. Users never have to rekey data — and this level of hands-off functionality is exactly the promise of AI.” – Accounting Today
It is without a doubt that technology will have a wide-ranging effect on the way accounting firms do business now and in the future. Fostering an effective working relationship with clients through the medium of technology will help drive a culture of accountants moving away from requesting files from clients and requesting data feeds, overcoming the common challenges of low-quality data sets and harmonizing their processes for a more effective audit.
The only question now remains is, will why aren’t all accountancy firms leveraging these technological solutions to overcome their challenges and become more efficient in the long-term?