Most professionals in the fiscal and financial sector (87%) believe that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) will make their functions more efficient and effective, according to the 2024 EY Tax and Finance Operations (TFO) Survey - EY Global, released on Tuesday.

'The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is undoubtedly becoming one of the most important drivers of transformation, surpassing the idea of a 'technological promise' already becoming an operational reality. In this context, a new concept is gaining ground: agentic artificial intelligence, an advanced form of collaborative AI with the potential to revolutionize how tax teams operate. This is a concept that concerns EY Global experts, being the subject of a recent analysis, whose conclusions emphasize the need for careful integration of AI agents into the tax function with great attention to details - How agentic AI is reshaping the tax function | EY - Global,' according to Alex Milcev, partner and leader of Tax and Law Services at EY Romania

According to the cited source, 83% of top financial decision-makers in global companies believe AI adoption would be faster with a stronger data infrastructure, while 67% admit that a lack of infrastructure slows down AI adoption.

'From my point of view, we are witnessing a turning point in the field of tax consulting and this is not the first time I have said this. It is a change that is not only technological but deeply structural and strategic. Agentic artificial intelligence (which has even gained an official name, Agentic AI) promises to transform the tax function from an operational compliance center into a hub of strategic innovation - provided that tax leaders embrace the new paradigm. They must integrate it into the organization carefully and responsibly, especially since human intelligence remains and will continue to be the one that decides, coordinates, analyzes (using 21st-century tools) and brings order to business and its tax aspects. It is important to understand that this is not just about automating repetitive tasks. Until now, many tax teams have experienced AI in its classic form - through robotic process automation (RPA) or machine learning,' the specialist underscored.

In his view, instead of tax specialists getting lost in hundreds of tables and interfaces, they interact with a single coordinating agent which provides relevant data, already processed and ready for strategic analysis.

'Agentic AI has the ability to contextualize, set objectives, plan and execute actions. It reacts to data but also understands it, makes proactive decisions and manages exceptions. This significantly reduces the need for human intervention. However, professional oversight follows where necessary and where it matters,' Milcev said.

Amid this technological revolution, the EY Romania representative believes that Agentic AI will not replace tax professionals but will free them from repetitive tasks, unnecessary complexities and time wasted on manual data extraction and classification.

EY is one of the largest professional services firms globally, with 395,442 employees across more than 700 offices in 150 countries and revenues of approximately 49.4 billion USD for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023.

Present in Romania since 1992, EY delivers integrated audit, tax, legal, strategy and transaction advisory services with the help of over a thousand employees in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, serving multinational and local companies. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Badea; EN - writing by: Rodica State)