Artificial intelligence is changing how finance teams manage routine accounting work, analyze financial information and make decisions. AI accounting solutions can help organizations automate repetitive processes, identify patterns in financial data and give finance teams faster access to the information they need.
For CFOs, the opportunity isn't simply to add AI to existing processes. It's to identify where AI can provide meaningful business value while maintaining the controls, oversight and accuracy financial management requires. From invoice processing and transaction matching to financial analysis and Microsoft 365 Copilot, AI can support finance teams in areas where manual work and disconnected information often slow them down.
The key is knowing where to start. In this guide, we'll explore how AI is being used in accounting, where it can provide the greatest value and what CFOs should consider when evaluating AI accounting solutions for their organizations.
Why AI accounting solutions matter to finance teams
Finance teams are under increasing pressure to manage growing transaction volumes, provide timely financial information and support better business decisions without continually adding manual processes. AI accounting solutions can help by reducing repetitive work and making financial information easier to access, analyze and act on.
Reduce repetitive accounting work
Many accounting processes still require significant manual effort, from entering invoice information and matching transactions to reviewing data and researching financial activity. AI can help automate or assist with these repetitive tasks, allowing accounting professionals to spend more time reviewing exceptions, analyzing results and supporting the business.
Improve access to financial information
AI can make it easier for finance teams and business leaders to interact with financial information. Instead of relying solely on traditional reports or navigating through multiple screens, users can increasingly use natural-language tools to ask questions, retrieve information and analyze financial data.
This is particularly relevant as technologies such as Microsoft 365 Copilot bring AI into familiar applications such as Outlook, Teams, Excel and Word.
Support better financial analysis and decision-making
AI can help finance teams identify patterns, analyze larger volumes of information and surface relevant financial insights more efficiently. For CFOs, the value isn't replacing financial judgment. It's giving finance professionals better tools to investigate results, understand trends and make informed decisions.
Help finance teams scale
As organizations add entities, transactions and operational complexity, manual accounting processes can become increasingly difficult to manage. Combining AI with accounting automation can help finance teams handle greater complexity while maintaining appropriate controls and human oversight.
How AI is being used in accounting today
AI is becoming part of everyday accounting workflows, helping finance teams reduce manual work, analyze financial information and focus their attention on transactions and activities that require review. The most valuable applications tend to combine AI with accounting automation and human oversight rather than removing finance professionals from the process.
AI-assisted invoice processing and AP automation
Accounts payable is one of the most practical areas for applying AI. AI-assisted invoice processing can help extract information from vendor invoices and reduce the manual data entry required to prepare transactions for review.
When combined with AP automation and workflow tools, finance teams can also route invoices for approval, maintain appropriate controls and reduce repetitive steps throughout the accounts payable process.
For organizations processing a significant volume of invoices, these capabilities can help improve efficiency while allowing accounting teams to focus their attention on exceptions and approvals.
Learn more about Gravity Software's AI-powered AP automation.
Transaction matching and bank reconciliation
AI-assisted transaction matching can help finance teams identify potential matches between bank activity and accounting transactions, reducing the amount of information that must be reviewed manually.
Rather than replacing the reconciliation process, AI can help accounting teams focus on unmatched transactions and exceptions that require investigation. This can reduce repetitive work and help support a more efficient month-end close.
Financial analysis and reporting
AI can also help finance professionals work with financial information more efficiently. Natural-language capabilities can make it easier to retrieve information, investigate financial activity and analyze results without relying exclusively on predefined reports.
When combined with reporting and business intelligence tools, AI can complement traditional financial reporting by helping users investigate the information behind the numbers and identify areas that may require additional analysis.
Conversational AI with Microsoft 365 Copilot
For organizations using Microsoft technology, AI can increasingly become part of the applications employees already use.
Because Gravity Software is built on Microsoft Power Platform, Microsoft 365 Copilot can help authorized users interact with Gravity accounting information using natural language from familiar Microsoft applications. Depending on the workflow and configuration, users can retrieve financial information, analyze data and complete supported accounting tasks while maintaining appropriate permissions and review processes.
For example, a finance professional could use Copilot to retrieve accounting information while working in Microsoft Teams or Outlook rather than continually switching between applications.
Learn how Microsoft 365 Copilot can help finance teams work with accounting information.
Forecasting and financial planning
AI can assist finance teams with analyzing historical information, identifying patterns and supporting forecasting and scenario analysis. These capabilities can help CFOs spend less time gathering and organizing information and more time evaluating assumptions, potential outcomes and business decisions.
Human judgment remains essential. AI-generated analysis should support the finance team's decision-making process rather than replace the controls, context and professional judgment required for financial management.
AI and accounting automation: What's the difference?
AI and accounting automation can both reduce manual work, but they are not the same thing. Understanding the difference can help CFOs determine which technology is appropriate for a particular financial process.
Accounting automation uses predefined rules and workflows to complete repetitive processes consistently. Examples include routing transactions for approval, generating recurring entries, sending notifications and automating intercompany transactions.
AI can work with information in more flexible ways, such as extracting data from invoices, identifying potential transaction matches, analyzing financial information and responding to natural-language questions. AI-assisted processes may also identify patterns in data rather than relying exclusively on predefined rules.
In practice, finance teams may benefit most when AI and accounting automation work together. AI can help interpret, analyze or surface information, while automation can move transactions and workflows through established business processes.
How AI and automation can support multi-entity accounting
For organizations managing multiple companies, the combination can become particularly valuable. Finance teams may need to process greater transaction volumes, manage intercompany activity, consolidate financial information and maintain visibility across entities.
Gravity Software combines AI-assisted capabilities with multi-entity accounting and workflow automation. AI can assist with processes such as invoice processing and transaction matching, while Gravity can automate intercompany accounting and centralize financial information for multiple entities within a single database.
Momentum Enterprises illustrates the broader value of reducing manual financial processes as an organization grows. The company had been managing accounting across multiple QuickBooks company files for 24 entities, with consolidated reporting requiring data to be exported to Excel and manually combined.
After implementing Gravity Software, Momentum centralized accounting across its 24 entities, improving consolidated reporting, financial visibility and scalability. The finance team can spend less time gathering and processing information and more time analyzing business performance.
“Gravity Software helps us spend less time gathering and processing information and more time analyzing it. Having real-time visibility across our entities allows our leadership team to make better business decisions.”
Daniel Huff, CFO, Momentum Enterprises
Read the Momentum Enterprises customer story.
How to evaluate AI accounting solutions
Not every AI capability will provide the same value to every finance team. Before adopting new technology, CFOs should evaluate where AI can address meaningful accounting challenges, how it fits within existing financial processes and what controls are needed to use it responsibly.
Start with the accounting process, not the technology
Begin by identifying processes that consume significant time, involve repetitive manual work or make it difficult to access and analyze financial information.
Potential areas to evaluate include invoice processing, transaction matching, reconciliations, financial analysis, reporting and researching accounting information.
Rather than implementing AI simply because the technology is available, identify a specific accounting problem and determine what improvement you expect the technology to deliver.
Evaluate how AI fits into your existing technology
AI accounting capabilities shouldn't create another disconnected system for finance teams to manage. Consider how a solution works with your accounting data, reporting tools, workflows and the applications employees already use.
For organizations using Microsoft technology, this can include evaluating how accounting software works with Microsoft 365, Power BI, Power Automate and Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Consider security, permissions and financial controls
Financial information requires appropriate governance. When evaluating AI accounting solutions, understand how users are authenticated, how existing permissions are applied, what financial information users can access and where human review or approval is required.
AI should support established financial controls rather than bypass them.
Look for human review where it matters
AI-generated information and suggested actions should not automatically be treated as correct. Finance teams should understand where users can review information, validate results and confirm transactions or other accounting actions before they are completed.
This becomes particularly important when AI moves beyond retrieving information and begins assisting with financial transactions or workflows.
Measure the business value
Establish what success will look like before expanding AI across additional accounting processes. Depending on the use case, finance teams might evaluate reductions in manual data entry, processing time, reconciliation effort or time spent gathering financial information.
The goal isn't simply greater AI adoption. It's measurable improvement in how the finance team operates.
Start with focused use cases and expand
Organizations don't need to transform every accounting process at once. Starting with a clearly defined use case gives finance teams an opportunity to evaluate the results, establish appropriate controls and learn how employees interact with the technology.
Successful applications can then provide a foundation for expanding AI into additional financial processes.
How to use AI responsibly in accounting
AI can help finance teams work more efficiently, but financial information requires accuracy, appropriate controls and human oversight. Organizations should establish clear guidelines for how AI can be used with accounting data and where review or approval is required.
Maintain appropriate access and permissions
AI should not give employees access to financial information they aren't otherwise authorized to view. Finance and IT teams should understand how an AI solution applies existing user permissions, roles and security controls when accessing accounting data.
This is especially important for organizations managing multiple entities, departments or business units where access to financial information may vary by user responsibility.
Keep people involved in financial decisions
AI can retrieve information, identify patterns and assist with accounting tasks, but finance professionals remain responsible for reviewing results and applying business judgment.
Organizations should determine which AI-assisted activities require review or confirmation before information is relied upon or transactions are completed. Human oversight is particularly important for journal entries, invoices, approvals and other activities that can affect the financial records.
Review AI-generated information
Generative AI can produce incomplete or inaccurate responses. Finance teams should verify AI-generated analysis against the underlying financial information, particularly when the output will be used for reporting, accounting decisions or communication with stakeholders.
AI should make it easier to investigate financial information, not eliminate the controls used to validate it.
Establish clear AI usage policies
Organizations should define how employees may use AI with financial and business information. Policies can address approved tools, appropriate data use, user responsibilities, review requirements and processes for reporting questionable results.
Finance, IT and other appropriate stakeholders should work together to ensure AI usage aligns with the organization's broader security, privacy, governance and internal control requirements.
Educate employees on appropriate AI use
Employees need to understand both what AI can do and where its limitations exist. Training should explain approved use cases, how to review AI-generated information and when human judgment or additional approval is required.
Creating clear expectations can help organizations gain value from AI while maintaining the financial controls and accountability expected from the accounting function.
How Gravity Software brings AI and accounting automation together
Gravity Software combines sophisticated financial management with AI-assisted capabilities and accounting automation to help growing organizations reduce manual work, improve access to financial information and manage increasingly complex accounting processes.
Finance teams can use AI-assisted accounts payable, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Power Automate and Power BI alongside Gravity's multi-entity accounting, financial reporting and workflow capabilities.
AI-assisted accounts payable
Gravity's AI-powered AP automation can help finance teams reduce manual invoice processing by capturing invoice information and supporting more efficient accounts payable workflows.
Combined with approval workflows and accounting controls, these capabilities can help teams spend less time entering information and more time reviewing exceptions and managing the AP process.
Microsoft 365 Copilot and accounting data
Microsoft 365 Copilot can help authorized users interact with Gravity accounting information using natural language from familiar Microsoft applications such as Outlook, Teams, Excel and Word.
Finance professionals can retrieve financial information, analyze data and complete supported accounting tasks while maintaining appropriate permissions and human review.
Workflow automation with Microsoft Power Automate
Gravity's Microsoft foundation also gives organizations access to Microsoft Power Automate to extend and automate financial workflows.
Organizations can use workflow automation to reduce repetitive steps, route information and approvals and connect accounting processes with other business activities. This complements AI by allowing finance teams to automate structured processes while using AI where interpretation, analysis or natural-language interaction provides additional value.
Financial reporting and analysis with Power BI
Gravity works with Microsoft Power BI to provide financial reporting, dashboards and business intelligence using accounting and operational information.
Together, AI and business intelligence can give finance teams different ways to work with financial data: Power BI provides structured reporting and visualization, while AI-assisted tools can help users investigate information and ask questions using natural language.
Multi-entity financial management
For organizations managing multiple businesses or legal entities, AI and automation become part of a broader financial management strategy.
Gravity manages multiple entities within a single database, helping finance teams centralize financial information, automate intercompany accounting, produce consolidated financial reports and maintain entity-level visibility as the organization grows.
See Gravity Software and Microsoft 365 Copilot in action
See how Gravity Software and Microsoft 365 Copilot can help finance teams access accounting information and complete supported accounting tasks from familiar Microsoft applications.
In this video, you'll see examples of how users can work with Gravity accounting data using natural language, including retrieving financial information, reviewing transactions and completing accounting tasks with appropriate review and confirmation.
Ready to explore AI accounting solutions?
AI can help finance teams reduce routine work, improve access to financial information and support better decision-making, but the right approach depends on your organization's accounting processes, technology and business requirements.
Gravity Software combines sophisticated financial management, accounting automation and AI-assisted capabilities to help growing organizations manage financial complexity while maintaining the controls and visibility finance teams need.
Schedule a demo to see how Gravity Software can support your accounting and financial management needs.
Gravity Software
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Updated on September 7, 2026