Accounting and audit firms are increasingly deploying AI agents to streamline workflows, improve accuracy, and restore trust in financial reporting. For CFOs and CIOs facing mounting pressure to modernise finance operations, the shift marks a critical evolution beyond traditional automation.
Beyond automation: the next phase of digital finance
For years, finance departments relied on robotic process automation (RPA) to handle repetitive tasks such as data entry, reconciliation, and report generation. While RPA delivered efficiency gains, it often lacked adaptability and transparency—two qualities essential for today’s compliance-driven environment.
AI agents, by contrast, are designed to understand context, interpret data, and provide explainable outputs. These systems not only perform tasks but also justify their conclusions, allowing financial professionals to trace how specific figures or risk assessments are derived. This capability has become crucial for firms working under strict regulatory scrutiny, particularly those serving publicly listed companies.
Transparency and explainability take centre stage
According to industry analysts, trust is now the central pillar of financial modernisation. “Automation without explainability creates new risks,” says one audit technology consultant. “If an AI system identifies a discrepancy, auditors and CFOs must understand why.”
New generations of AI tools can produce detailed audit trails and provide plain-language reasoning for each decision. This ensures that AI-driven insights can be challenged, reviewed, and verified—an essential step in maintaining integrity and accountability. Such transparency is proving instrumental in rebuilding public and client confidence in accounting after years of scandals and opaque practices in parts of the industry.
Efficiency gains with human oversight
Accounting firms adopting AI agents report time savings of up to 40 percent across audit and finance functions. Tasks that once took hours—such as verifying transaction data or cross-checking client ledgers—can now be completed in minutes, with AI systems flagging anomalies that humans review for final approval.
This human-in-the-loop model has become the preferred approach, balancing the efficiency of automation with the judgement and ethical oversight that remain uniquely human. The result is a redefined workflow where accountants focus more on analysis and advisory work rather than repetitive data handling.
A strategic imperative for CFOs and CIOs
For finance leaders, the adoption of explainable AI agents is no longer optional but strategic. Firms that fail to modernise risk being left behind in an increasingly data-driven environment. Those that succeed are finding that AI can not only reclaim time but also rebuild confidence—among auditors, regulators, and clients alike.
As the financial sector continues its digital transformation, AI agents are emerging not just as tools for automation, but as partners in trust.
Newshub Editorial in Europe – 23 October 2025
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