AI Is Enabling Digital Transformation Of Finance And Key Business Processes : Analysis

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now becoming a key driver in accounting and is also said to be noticeably changing processes. Over half of companies (53 percent) currently use AI in this area or are “in the process of implementing it.” This is shown by the new study “Digitalization in Accounting 2025/2026” by KPMG in Germany.

Meanwhile, the KPMG research report noted that overall awareness of the strategic importance of the tech is growing: 61 percent of respondents see AI as a “key success factor in finance today or in the future.”

The KPMG update also mentioned that AI has long been part of finance and accounting and is noticeably “changing the way we work.”

According to the report from KPMG, AI algorithms increase “efficiency, especially for standardized tasks such as document processing or bookings. Many companies are using it to improve the quality and speed of their processes.”

As stated in the research report released by KPMG, the majority of companies that use AI in accounting report improvements – “especially in transactional processes such as payment processing.”

More than a third (37 percent) of respondents “observe significant time savings immediately after implementation, and around 70 percent report higher process quality in the short or medium term.”

Cost effects are also becoming apparent: 15 percent achieve “immediate savings, and another 54 percent report positive results over time.”

The research study also revealed that the majority or two-thirds (66 percent) of companies say that their “expectations of AI-based solutions in accounting have been met.”

In contrast, 17 percent report that their “expectations have not yet been met.”

Compared to the previous year, the assessment is “thus more sober – a sign of increasing practical experience and more realistic expectations of current technological capabilities.”

At the same time, the study shows that “progress is not without its hurdles.”

Data protection and data security are “considered the biggest challenges by 65 percent, followed by the traceability and transparency of AI algorithms (59 percent).”

The lack of standardization (46 percent) and the “legal classification of AI systems (40 percent) are also considered significant obstacles.”

In addition to AI, companies are also consistently pushing “ahead with the general digitization of their accounting systems.”

Nearly all organizations have “expanded their digital infrastructure in recent years.”

The focus is on paperless accounting and the standardization of workflows: 26 percent of companies already “operate completely paperless, with another 46 percent doing so at least in some areas.”

The standardization of workflows is also progressing – “13 percent have completed it, while 45 percent are in the process of implementing it.”

As noted in the update from KPMG, new forms of technologies are becoming increasingly important: 28 percent of respondents have firmly “integrated machine learning into their processes – almost twice as many as in 2023.”

Cloud systems are in use at “59 percent, robotic process automation (RPA) at 32 percent.”