8 Ways You Can Use ChatGPT in Accounting and Business

Humans are intelligent and can achieve amazing feats with proper training. For instance, professionals in budding careers first go to school and then put in many years of experience to hone their skills. However, technology threatens to change how we are used to doing things. A US-based company, OpenAI, developed an artificial intelligence software, ChatGPT, that responds to queries as a human would.

While we can argue that some of these responses are inaccurate, we can't also dispute how intelligent this chatbot is. Stick around to learn how to leverage technology by using ChatGPT in your accounting business.

8 Tasks ChatGPT Can Do for Accounting

This section of the article will discuss eight (8) essential areas you can use ChatGPT for accounting.

1. Proceed Invoices And Categorize Expenses

Invoicing is one of the critical tasks you must carry out as an accountant. However, a small mistake during manual invoicing might cause one of your vendors or employees to receive the wrong payment.

ChatGPT helps you process invoices faster, with little to no mistakes, so you don't have to worry about making losses or underpaying someone. This software also uses invoice OCR to extract data from invoices and categorize your expenses, so you know where you need to pinch some pennies.

2. Automate Data Analysis

Once you are done collecting essential data, the real work of analyzing it begins. Imagine having to manually comb through thousands of pages, searching for clues that can help you find ways to cut costs or identify potential risks.

Nifty technology like ChatGPT makes your work easier by automating data analysis to have your results within a few minutes. You are also less likely to make mistakes or miss anything when using ChatGPT.

A tool like PDFelement is now integrated with AI Reading Assistant named Lumi, powered by ChatGPT that can help you analyze data easily. You just have to enter the data, and the AI reading assistant will analyze it on the go.

How-To Use PDFelement To Analyze Data

Here is a quick guide on how to use AI Reading Assistant, powered by ChatGPT on PDFelement to analyze data.

Step 1 Download PDFelement and install it on your computer.

Step 2 Next, click on "Open PDF" and upload the document that you are making the analysis on to the tool. Alternatively, you can open an expense report from the Templates icon. From there, open the reading AI assistant and then click on Let's Chat. You can then enter the data you want to analyze on the chatbot.

Step 3 Lastly, copy the analysis and paste it into your document. From there, you can save your document on the "File" menu as preferred.

Learn more about the Best PDF Document Solution for Accounting >>.

3. Proceed With Repetitive Tasks

Accounting is not always fun. Repetitive, commonplace tasks like data entry are tedious and mind-numbing. They also consume much of your precious time that you would have spent taking more important accounting tasks that require lots of concentration. ChatGPT can take the tedium out of repetitive tasks by automating them. You can rest easy knowing you have the time for tasks requiring high expertise.

4. Create Financial Reports

If you enjoy math, generating financial reports might be a no-brainer. However, some accountants find the process of creating income statements and balance sheets quite hectic.

Wouldn't it be nice to know there is software that can generate your financial reports for you while you sip a hot cup of coffee? You could always confirm whether the final draft has any mistakes before you send it to your colleagues and supervisor.

5. Identify Market Trends

Financial markets are highly dynamic and are crucial to the capitalist society we live in. We have seen the devastating effects of a failed financial market, such as mass unemployment and recession.

Therefore, it is a no-brainer on why you should keep up-to-date with trends in the financial market. ChatGPT can provide valuable insights that can help you better understand the current state of the market and predict how it might change based on the trends.

With this information, you can make better financial decisions and choose what investments to pursue.

6. Give Tax Advice

Another key but challenging task you must handle as an accountant is navigating the murky waters of tax laws. Since you can't comply with laws you don't know, you must learn them before applying the principles in your business.

ChatGPT can make your work easier by highlighting the specific tax laws that apply to you and making valuable suggestions on how to adhere to them.

This AI software can also explain laws you are not familiar with, so you can understand them better.

7. Generate Financial Projection

It is not possible to know for sure how the future will unfold. However, you can use your financial statements to create a realistic forecast for your business over the next short-term period. Most financial projections include past data like balance sheets, cash flows, and documents portraying your general income.

You could use ChatGPT to help you make a more accurate projection and help you understand what you can tweak today for a brighter future for your business.

8. Make Audit Reports

As you run your business, having a clear picture of your financial position is essential. Even though you could make an educated guess, you are better off bringing an independent accounting professional to complete your business's financial status.

Fortunately, you don't have to go through all the trouble of hiring a third party when you have ChatGPT. This nifty AI software will help you generate audit reports with little to no mistakes so you can adequately plan for the future of your business.

Limitations of ChatGPT for Accounting Work

So far, we have painted ChatGPT in a very favorable light. The possibilities are endless, and it frees up so much of your time to tackle complex tasks. However, a couple of drawbacks make it unhelpful to accountants hoping to leverage technology.

Here is a list of the limitations of using ChatGPT for accounting.

Inaccurate responses

As nifty as it is, ChatGPT has a knack for making inaccurate information look true. Suppose you ask the chatbot a question and receive a suspicious answer. Upon fact-checking, you might realize the information is not valid. Many users have reported getting humorous responses when correcting the software.

Obsolete information

OpenAI developed and launched ChatGPT in 2021 and used data available at the time to train it. New accounting information has since come up, and the software isn't intelligent enough to teach itself new things.

Therefore, it wouldn't be wise to rely on ChatGPT for accounting information because there is a chance you will receive outdated information.

Incorrect context

Many words or phrases might have different contexts. Human beings have no problem interpreting the context of a phrase. However, an AI chatbot like ChatGPT might experience issues with context, causing it to provide an inaccurate response.

Misinterpretation of the law

Your ability to understand accounting laws and ethics stems from years of training and experience in the field. ChatGPT received training from encyclopedias and books all over the Internet. These materials might contain regulations that don't apply to your region, resulting in a massive misinterpretation of the law.

What Is the Future of Accounting With ChatGPT?

Even though the limitations are hard to ignore, we can all agree that ChatGPT has some redeeming qualities you can use to make your work easier. It would be far-fetched to conclude that the software will replace all accountants in the future, meaning you don't have to worry about losing your job to a robot.

Accounting needs the human touch to interpret context, apply ethical judgment, and cross-check the facts. Other areas of accounting that AI software couldn't possibly replace include communication skills.

Conclusion

AI tools have made a significant mark on almost all industries. Most businesses are trying their best to incorporate technology in their operations to remain competitive and boost efficiency.

We wouldn't advise you to sit back while ChatGPT does all your accounting work. However, you could use your wisdom and judgment to understand where this AI tool can make your work more manageable with the least errors.