What Is an AI Agent? Transforming Accounting with AI-Powered Automation.

AI is leveling up yet again. As we move away from simply throwing our thoughts into ChatGPT and instead, move toward targeted, focused AI solutions, it has become clear that AI agents are the future. The conversation about AI agents is just beginning, particularly when it comes to accounting and finance. After all, what do AI agents actually do? How can your organization use them? What are their capabilities? 

While we can’t speak for all AI agents, FloQast AI Agents are leading AI-powered accounting automation. From reconciliations to journal entries, our agents can be trained by you to work with you — following your lead, and allowing you to turn from a preparer into a reviewer. But let’s back up.

What are AI Agents?

AI agents are software programs or systems designed to autonomously or semi-autonomously perform tasks, specifically by simulating the brain power and reasoning of a human. These agents can perceive their environment, process information, make decisions based on how they’ve been trained, and work toward achieving the goals you ask them to. AI agents are:

• Autonomous: Agents can operate without constant human intervention. They can make decisions and complete tasks based on both their programming and learned knowledge (ie, what they learn from you). 
• Perceptive: These agents learn by gathering data from their environment and what users give them. You can train AI agents to complete tasks the way you want them to — and check their work along the way.
• Interactive: Agents will interact with both humans and other systems. You can communicate with many AI agents using everyday language to tell them what you need to accomplish. No coding necessary. 

How do these agents differ from traditional software or bots? They have a greater capability for decision-making. Agents use advanced algorithms, machine learning, and reasoning to make decisions. On the flip side, traditional software follows pre-defined rules or scripts. It lacks the ability to perform tasks beyond what is explicitly programmed. 

The Role of AI Agents in Accounting

Now that you understand the value of an AI agent over traditional software, it’s time to think about the practical applications for accounting. Accounting AI agents can automate everything from reconciliations to posting journal entries, financial reporting, and beyond. You teach them how to do it once, and they can handle the workflows from there. This allows your team to turn from preparers into reviewers — and save some time in the process. 

These agents can leverage real-time data to enhance accounting by automating tasks like transaction categorization, fraud detection, and financial forecasting. These agents can identify patterns, flag any abnormalities, and give insights you can act on from the start. In short, AI agents are the secret to optimizing your processes as you go while remaining compliant with evolving regulations. 

AI Accounting Agents in Action

FloQast AI Agents are our automation solution to the problems accounting teams face every day. Here are some of the common agents we’ve created to help streamline your workflows:

• Reconciliation Agent: Automatically match and reconcile transactions across multiples sources. This agent will flag any discrepancies for your review.
• Task Agent: Automate a range of communications, from requests for info to reminders, and checklist tasks to make coordinating the close more streamlined.
• Journal Entry Agent: Automate the end-to-end journal entry process, from journal preparation to ERP posting. Improve your accuracy and keep an auditable record. 
• Financial Insight Agent: This agent produces period-over-period explanations on financial statements. It can point out unusual transactions to monitor for risk while helping you understand business performance.
• Data Transformation Agent: This agent can take data from multiple ERPs and source systems to convert data into whatever format you prefer, making the data output easy to analyze and ensures consistency.
• Custom Agent: None of these sound like what you need? Create your own agent. You can automate the workflows of your choosing to meet your business’ unique needs.

The Business Impact of AI Agents 

AI agents make accounting teams more efficient. They do this by automating repetitive tasks (like data entry and transaction categorization) that eat up accountants’ time. While they lighten the load for these employees, these agents also are able to reduce errors by cross-referencing real-time data and finding discrepancies instantly. Their ability to ensure compliance with financial regulations helps minimize risk for the company. When paired with ISO 42001 certification, AI agents make transparent and auditable workflows that protect your data. Track financial processes, generate precise reports, and drive operational excellence while supporting business goals — goals like cutting costs, mitigating risk, and strategically making decisions. 

Want to see how FloQast AI Agents empowered a biopharmaceutical company’s accounting team to lead financial operations for the company? Check out the case study.

Addressing Challenges and Misconceptions 

Let’s address the elephant in the room: AI agents, and AI as a whole, is not coming for accountants’ jobs. With the increasing talent gap and 75% of accountants set to retire in the next decade, AI will be handling a chunk of the workload so accountants don’t burn out after just a few years in the industry. Automation is the solution to this talent crunch, allowing the machines to handle routine, mundane tasks. Accountants can use this time savings to focus on strategy and business growth.  

If you’re not concerned about AI taking your job, you might have concerns around data privacy. Rightly so. Not all AI vendors are created equal, and ensuring you’re working with ethical, auditable AI is critical to keeping your data secure (and your reputation intact). FloQast has proudly achieved ISO 42001 certification, proving that our AI is responsible, ethical, and auditable. 

Finally, your AI agents need to serve a purpose. Simply adopting AI for the sake of sounding good on paper isn’t going to provide the best outcomes. Consider the capabilities of potential AI agents and how they could be implemented into your workflows — as well as how to best use them with your team. Proactive planning can mean the difference between success and failure.

AI Agents are the Future

AI agents are a necessary tool as we move into an increasingly tech-forward and accountant-sparse landscape. Fortunately, FloQast AI Agents were built to handle work that demands a lot of time without offering job satisfaction in return. You can elevate your team from preparers into reviewers, acting as a final sign-off on AI’s work and drawing important conclusions that could shape the financial future of your business.

Take the first step in your AI transformation journey with FloQast. Watch the on-demand demo now to learn more, or explore our AI agents to see what they can do. 

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