AI for Accounting & Advisory: Boost Growth & Compliance
Essential information and practical guidance for leveraging AI in accounting, tax planning, and AASB compliance Talk to an AI‑savvy accounting advisor at Ding Financial
Content reviewed and verified by Graham Chee, with 25+ years in accounting, taxation, investment management, governance, risk & compliance. Last reviewed December 2025. Next review scheduled for March 2026.
Introduction
Why this matters for your business
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how businesses manage finance, tax, and compliance. For small to medium-sized businesses and advisory firms, AI can streamline routine work, improve quality, and strengthen decision-making. This article explains how AI tools apply to accounting operations, tax planning, and AASB compliance, and offers a practical path to adopt them responsibly Explore our AASB‑aligned AI financial and IP strategy guide. You will learn the key concepts, how AI works in real scenarios, steps to get started, and answers to common questions.
Key Considerations
Essential points to understand
Data foundations and governance: AI is only as good as your data. Establish a clean chart of accounts, consistent coding rules, controlled access, and clear retention policies. Maintain audit trails and documentation that align with AASB requirements.
Prioritise high-impact use cases: Start where rules are clear and data is available, such as accounts payable capture, bank reconciliations, expense classification, GST/BAS coding, payroll checks, and cash flow forecasting.
Human-in-the-loop controls: Keep professional judgment at the centre. Define maker-checker reviews, approval thresholds, and exception handling so AI assists rather than replaces accountable decision-makers.
Compliance and assurance by design: Configure tools to reflect your accounting policies and AASB standards (for example AASB 15, 16, 9). Keep version control, calculation support, and evidence files ready for audit.
Security and privacy: Protect sensitive payroll, customer, and supplier data. Assess vendor security, encryption, data residency, access controls, and privacy obligations under Australian law.
Integration and change management: Plan how AI connects to Xero, MYOB, or QuickBooks, and ensure your team has training, standard operating procedures, and clear responsibilities.
Practical Application
How this works in real businesses
Accounting operations: AI-enabled invoice capture reduces manual data entry by reading invoices and matching them to POs and receipts. Automated bank reconciliation suggests matches and flags anomalies for review. Period-end tasks such as variance analysis and accrual suggestions can be pre-populated, with controllers reviewing exceptions.
Tax and compliance: AI can recommend GST/BAS codes based on historical patterns and supplier profiles, highlight potential FBT exposures in expense data, and prepare working schedules for tax returns. AI assistants can surface relevant guidance for complex issues; practitioners still validate positions and maintain sign-off.
AASB compliance: For AASB 15, AI can extract key terms from customer contracts and flag performance obligations and variable consideration for review. For AASB 16, lease extraction can pull payment schedules, options, and indexation to generate right-of-use asset and lease liability schedules with transparent assumptions. For AASB 9, models can help segment receivables and estimate expected credit losses based on ageing and risk factors. For AASB 136, AI can help identify impairment indicators and organise inputs for value-in-use or fair value models, while keeping management responsible for judgments.
Advisory and FP&A: Scenario tools can produce rolling forecasts, sensitivity analyses, and driver-based models to test pricing, staffing, inventory, or capital plans. Narrative generation can draft board packs with KPI commentary and risk highlights, which advisors edit and approve.
Controls and audit readiness: Continuous monitoring can flag unusual postings, duplicate payments, or segregation-of-duties conflicts. Robust logs show who changed a rule, when a suggestion was accepted, and why an exception was raised, supporting internal and external audit.
Recommended Steps
A structured approach
Assess
Map current processes, pain points, and risks. Review data quality, system integrations, and compliance obligations. Define objectives and guardrails, including AASB policy implications.
Plan
Select 2–3 use cases with clear value and low risk. Choose tools that integrate with your ledger, support audit trails, and align with your standards. Design human-in-the-loop controls, data governance, and security requirements.
Implement
Pilot in a sandbox or a contained business unit. Configure rules, connect data, and document assumptions. Train staff on workflows and approvals. Keep compliance owners involved and record evidence for audit.
Review
Monitor quality (exceptions, accuracy of suggestions, rework), gather user feedback, and adjust configurations. Conduct periodic control testing and expand to additional use cases when stable.
Common Questions
What business owners ask us
Q.Will AI replace my accountant or advisor?
No. AI handles repetitive tasks and surfaces insights, while professionals apply judgment, ensure AASB compliance, and make final decisions. Keep clear responsibilities and approval workflows.
Q.What data do we need to start?
A clean chart of accounts, bank feeds, historical transactions, invoices and bills, payroll details, and policy documents. Consistent coding and access control are essential for reliable AI outputs.
Q.Are AI-generated schedules acceptable to auditors and regulators?
They can be, provided you maintain support for assumptions, calculations, and policies. Ensure traceable data sources, version control, and review sign-offs. Compliance responsibility remains with management and directors.
Q.How do we protect sensitive financial and personal data?
Use role-based access, encryption, and secure integrations. Vet vendors for security certifications, incident response, and data residency options. Minimise personal data and apply retention policies aligned with your obligations.
Q.How should we choose an AI tool?
Evaluate integration with your accounting system, audit trails and exportable workpapers, explainability of results, AASB-aware features (for example lease accounting), security posture, and the quality of implementation support and training.
Conclusion
Turn AI into a compliance-strengthened growth driver
AI can elevate your accounting, tax, and advisory workflows while reinforcing AASB compliance. The most successful teams start small, build the right controls, and scale with confidence. If you would like tailored guidance for your business, contact our team to discuss your goals, systems, and risk profile. Speak with an advisor to plan your next step.
About the Author
Graham Chee, FCPA, GRCP, GRCA, IAIP, IRMP, ICEP, IAAP
Principal Advisor & Founder
Graham Chee is a highly qualified business advisor with over 25 years of professional experience spanning accounting, taxation, investment management, governance, risk, and compliance. As a Fellow of CPA Australia (FCPA), Graham brings deep technical expertise combined with practical business acumen. His qualifications include Governance Risk and Compliance Professional (GRCP), Governance Risk and Compliance Auditor (GRCA), Integrated Artificial Intelligence Professional (IAIP), Integrated Risk Management Professional (IRMP), Integrated Compliance and Ethics Professional (ICEP), and Integrated Audit and Assurance Professional (IAAP). Graham has advised hundreds of Australian SMEs on strategic planning, succession, business valuation, and compliance matters, helping business owners build sustainable, valuable enterprises.
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