Editor’s Talk

Editor's Talk (From JAP No. 74)

Dear all readers.      

      Everyone is talking about AI these days. An interesting question is that among the five fields of the accounting profession, namely 1) Financial Accounting, 2) Management Accounting, 3) Auditing, 4) Accounting Information Systems, and 5) Tax Accounting, which field has been affected by AI the most in a comparative way, so that accountants can monitor and prepare to adapt to the situation in a timely manner.

      Accounting information systems and financial accounting are likely to be the two fields most affected by AI because AI has changed the way data is retrieved, recorded, and processed from source to end automatically and quickly. In the future, it is expected that accounting and financial reporting standards will be in the form of guidelines and structure with universal requirements that limit the use of discretion to fit the AI architecture and avoid the abuse of accounting flexibility for earnings management.

      For tax accounting and auditing, it is likely to be affected by AI at a moderate to high level because these two fields still need people for in-depth tax planning, ambiguous interpretation of tax laws or negotiations with tax officials. AI should come to the aid of auditors for scanning and checking all documents (100%) to look for fraudulent or any anomaly transactions. In the end, the decision to trust the information or not and the issuance of the auditor's report still depends on the judgment of people, but the number of employees in the audit firm should be reduced from the current status.

      Finally, management accounting is likely to be less affected because it requires an understanding of the business context. Although AI can help in cost calculation, sales forecasting, or risk model construction, the company's strategic direction or the solution to immediate problems still relies on management accountants’ expertise in behavioral science area to communicate and convince the top management of the enterprise.

Asst.Prof.Somchai Supphatada
Editor

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