Northern Ireland accountancy firm invests £50,000 in artificial intelligence

Belfast-based Chartered Accountancy firm, RBCA, has announced it has made a £50,000 investment in artificial intelligence (AI).

Its founder, Ross Boyd, says that the decision will support his team of 20 to focus more of their time servicing and consulting existing clients, whilst building new relationships. AI will be employed across a range of activities such as automating bookkeeping, and generating reports and forecasts.

The business has partnered with Xero to deliver the technological advancements and will now use various AI techniques such as machine learning and robotic process automation to reduce the administrative burden traditionally associated with accounting.

Ross said: “In my view, when used correctly, automation and AI can transform the professional services sector for the better by removing the focus on the repetitive and routine tasks, such as data entry and document processing, and free up employees to focus on more complex and relationship-led tasks.

"We will help our clients develop more efficient businesses, which in turn are more profitable businesses. At the end of the day, we live in a technologically minded world so it’s time to accept new opportunities, and I’m really pleased that our transition to AI has been embraced by the team. Thus far, it has had the desired effect in allowing us to leverage its benefits, not only for our clients but for our own business performance.

“Whilst technology can learn from data and make predictions, it will never replace the value of human judgement, but by omitting the burden of repetitive and time-consuming activity it leaves us more capacity and care to tackle the challenges only the human condition can master – crucial in today’s unpredictable business environment as we continue to support many owner-managed enterprises across the region to remain profitable.”

Belfast-based Chartered Accountancy firm, RBCA, has announced it has made a £50,000 investment in artificial intelligence (AI). Founder, Ross Boyd, says that the decision will support his team of 20 to focus more of their time servicing and consulting existing clients

As Northern Ireland’s business community navigates unpredictable economic shifts, trusted advice has become a lifeline to the 120,000 SMEs that form the backbone of the local economy. Yet, according to a recent Intuit QuickBooks survey of accountancy firms, 92 per cent have experienced hiring challenges. Interestingly, Ross disagrees that prioritising technology poses threat to jobs in the sector. In fact, he believes it may be a positive force in attracting more talent.

Ross explained: “We must provide the right learning environment for young people that have grown up always using technology to solve tasks. Gen Z, now aged up to 26, are becoming more present in the workforce and will account for 27 percent by 2025. To continue to attract people to this important industry, it’s important that we harness the benefits of technology to position the role as subjective and interesting opposed to monotonous and gruelling.”

RBCA was founded in 2010. It now employs 20 people, and recently invested in a Belfast city centre office to accommodate headcount growth of 25% in the last two years.