Ep. 241: Dan DeGolier - Adapting to AI in Accounting

Welcome to the Count Me In podcast with your host Adam Larson and
special guest Dan DeGolier! In this episode, Adam and Dan,
founder and CEO of Ascent CFO Solutions, dive into the
fascinating world of AI and its application in the finance and
accounting sectors. Discover how AI is enhancing efficiency and
reducing errors, while also exploring the potential challenges
and ethical considerations it presents. Join us as we explore the
evolving landscape of AI in fractional leadership. Tune in now
for an engaging discussion you won't want to miss!


Full Episode Transcript:
 


Adam:           
Welcome back for another exciting episode of Count Me In. I'm
your host, Adam Larson, and today we have a special guest joining
us, Dan DeGolier. The founder and CEO of Ascent CFO Solutions. We
start off by exploring current use cases of AI in the industry.
Such as coding transactions and streamlining forecasting
processes. 


 


But as Dan points out, we're only scratching the surface of what
AI can do. The potential for growth and efficiency is immense.
But it's important to proceed with caution and be aware of the
biases and ethical considerations that come along with it. 


 


Throughout this episode we highlight the evolving role of finance
and accounting professionals, in the age of AI, and how they can
adapt to leverage its benefits. From bookkeepers, to CFOs, to
fractional CFOs, AI has the power to enhance efficiency and
transform the way we approach financial management. So grab your
headphones, and join us as we uncover the exciting world of AI in
accounting. Let's dive in.


 


< Music >


 


Well, Dan, we're so excited to have you on the podcast today, as
we're going to talk about AI and fractional leadership. And just
to get started, as we think about AI, how is it currently being
applied to finance and accounting sectors? Obviously, it does
things like enhance efficiency and reduce errors, but how is it
being applied in those areas?


 


 


Dan:             
  Yes, thanks for having me on, Adam. It's a
pleasure to meet you, pleasure to be here. I think we're just
getting started, for one thing. AI, even though it's been around
for a while, ChatGPT, GPT 4, and all those things, are relatively
new to the mainstream. And, so, a lot of this stuff we're just
starting to figure out right now. 


 


Definitely, in the accounting side, we're starting to see some
use cases for coding transactions and things like that. I think
there are a lot of opportunities in our world, in the finance
realm. When it comes to forecasting, to be able to streamline
multiple scenarios and make iterations to financial models and
forecasts. 


 


I think that's an area that we're starting to see develop. And,
then, things like pricing strategy and looking at different ways
to price and run different scenarios around that. Using large
language models, and data, and being able to bring in data and
run multiple scenarios and see what things look like there. I
think those are all some areas that we're starting to see. 


 


But, honestly, because it's so early, what is really going to be
the biggest use cases, two years from now, is probably something
we haven't thought of. Or somebody's thought of but hasn't really
been implemented, yet.


 


Adam:           
Yes, that's a great point, that we're so early in the generative
AI phase that some organizations are adapting quickly, other ones
aren't. And software companies are trying to integrate it into
there but it's still in the early phases. So our traditional
role-


 


Dan:             
  And it's still prone to errors as well.


 


Adam:           
Exactly.


 


Dan:             
  Yes, we've all read the articles about the lawyer
who tried to use it for briefs and got in huge trouble, and the
hallucinations are still rampant. So I think proceed with
caution, but recognize that it has enormous potential and don't
be left behind. 


 


I was going to say, I've heard that it's been compared to if you
look at Web 1.0, the emergence of the Internet, and commercial
use, that this could be a 10x-type of opportunity. From a growth
potential, from an efficiency potential, et cetera, it's just
fascinating to me, just how massive this could be, and how
life-changing this is.


 


Adam:           
Well, and also the bias that's implicit in there, in the AI.
Because there are so many biases among how people think, wording,
that's out there in the Internet and how it's learning. There's
going to be that bias that you have to get over as well. Because
it's going to be embedded in there because of how it is
societally.


 


Dan:             
  Correct, yes, I agree with that. I think one
other ethical consideration that needs to be taken into account,
when you're implementing AI, is things around copyright
infringement, and intellectual property, and protection there. I
think the chatbots aren't necessarily aware of what's IP and
protected and what's not. 


 


And, so, it's important that we take into that, that there's a
human overseeing that, and making sure that there's nothing being
taken out of context or being utilized improperly. And along the
same lines, research is another area. Tax research and other
types of accounting research is a place where there is a lot of
use cases for AI. 


 


But, again, this is where you need to be very careful around
trusting that research and validating that it is accurate. So we
don't end up in a situation, where something that's not valid is
being utilized.


 


Adam:           
It's going to be very difficult to understand what has been
verified and what hasn't, and as you're doing research and as
you're looking at things online. I imagine new tools are going to
have to be developed to verify, "Yes, this is valid." Or "No,
it's not." And how do you trust those as you go forward?


 


Dan:             
  Yes, that's really important, and there are going
to be mistakes made. As we start to adopt this, we're going to
see mistakes being made. And, as humans, we need to learn from
our mistakes and learn from others' mistakes, that's how we
evolve.


 


Adam:           
Mh-hmm. Do you think that the traditional roles in finance and
accounting are going to change because of these? I mean,
obviously, they are. But how can we adapt as we go forward?


 


Dan:             
  Yes, I think, first thing I would suggest is pay
attention to what's going on, see what's evolving, see where
things are taking it. I think it's going to definitely change the
accounting side, the day-to-day transactional stuff. There's a
YouTuber out there, Hector Garcia, who has done some demos of how
you can plug in a ChatGPT tool into QuickBooks Online, and how
...