Accounting Meets AI
I didn’t envision myself as the CEO of a tech firm when I joined Marcum, but that’s what my role is increasingly morphing into. Marcum Technology just released a commercially available version of AskMarcum.ai, our proprietary AI platform. This comes after 18 months of innovation, investment, and improvement. It all started as an internal tool created in our in-house technology incubator, Marcum Labs.
Many on our team were excited to be on the front lines of testing the new tool, and it went over even better than we expected. Not only did the tool help make our workdays more efficient and our associates more productive, but we also started getting inquiries from other companies that heard about it. We decided to listen to the marketplace and make the technology available to other accounting firms, law firms and other companies that like its data controls, and businesses in general.
This new, commercialized version of AskMarcum.ai will allow companies to customize the name and branding to fit their needs and limit the tool to their unique datasets, maintaining each organization’s control over their data. The tool will be hosted in each company’s pre-existing and secure environment and has built-in reporting capabilities so subscribers can make sure they are supporting responsible AI usage.
AI is still evolving, and AskMarcum.ai will grow with it. Part of what makes our platform so valuable is that we work with our clients on enhancements and upgrades as the technology develops so they are comfortable every step of the way. We’re also guiding other firms on AI readiness and adoption via our AI Accelerator Kit. No doubt it will be intriguing to see what comes out of that effort, where we’ve invited other businesses to join our Early Adopter Program for AskMarcum.ai.
When you talk about AI, the elephant in the room is always the fear that it will put people out of work. My belief is that while it may eliminate some routine tasks, it will mostly free people up to do the things robots can’t do, like make customers feel comfortable or strategize.
No one can put the genie back in the bottle when it comes to AI. But I don’t believe we should. It’s already making life easier for many individuals at our firm, who now have much more time to devote to high-value projects. What’s not to like? It’s possible that AI could one day write the first draft of this weekly column for me and all I would have to do is edit it every Friday morning. Wouldn’t that be a relief?
At Marcum, we prefer to stay ahead of the change curve. The future has arrived faster than many of us thought it would and it’s going to be an exciting one. We want to lead the conversation on what AI can become, and I look forward to reporting back in a future column on what we’re finding out from our team and our partners about how best to use it.
This coming Monday is Earth Day. With all the cleanups and other activities planned in major metro areas around the country, it’s a great opportunity to get outside, enjoy the fresh air, and volunteer. Happy Earth Day, everyone!
Monday night also starts the Jewish holiday of Passover. Passover celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt. A Zissen Pesach.
