Conquer Digital Debt: Unlocking your practice’s productivity through AI

Digital debt is an ever-present burden that stifles efficiency, productivity, and innovation. The term "digital debt" refers to the overwhelming volume of data, emails, and chats that employees must handle daily, which has far exceeded our capacity to manage effectively. Every moment spent wrestling with this digital overload is a moment not dedicated to the endeavours that drives the success of a practice.

The Cost of Digital Debt

Microsoft's trend work index sheds light on the reality of digital debt. A staggering 64% of employees report not having enough time and energy to complete their work. For accountants this time crunch has significant repercussions, as these employees are 3.5 times more likely to struggle with innovation, daily tasks and strategic thinking. The consequences of digital debt are not lost on leadership either, with nearly 60% of leaders expressing concern over their teams' lack of breakthrough ideas.

More importantly though are the billable hours that are gradually eaten up throughout the year. If you lost an hour a day to digital debt over the course of the working year you could be looking at 250 hours. Imagine that for every employee and partner, the financial loss from this could be the decider on the practice’s future success.

Introducing Microsoft Copilot: Your AI Ally

Microsoft Copilot is designed to alleviate the burden of digital debt by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline and automate routine tasks. From summarising emails and meetings to producing reports and creating presentations, Copilot allows employees to reclaim their time and focus on the strategic, innovative work that impacts the practice.

The proof is in the pudding already:  “EY professionals are seeing productivity gains of up to 14 hours per week using an AI digital assistant to automate routine tasks, freeing up time for more strategic work. The initial rollout of Copilot was so positive that EY is now scaling it to 150,000 of its employees.”, Judson Althoff, Looking back on FY24.

Unlocking the Full Potential of Microsoft Copilot

The true potential of Microsoft Copilot can only be realised when your team is fully equipped to leverage AI effectively. It's not just about having access to advanced tools; it's about understanding how to use them to their fullest extent. This is where comprehensive AI training comes into play. By investing in your team's AI education, you can ensure they are well-versed in utilising Copilot to its maximum potential, thereby reducing digital debt and fostering a culture of innovation.

Those who are extremely familiar with AI are saving more than 30 minutes a day. In fact, those who were surveyed in Microsoft’s work trend index said AI makes their overwhelming workload more manageable (92%), boosts their creativity (92%), and helps them focus on the most important work (93%)—and it helps them feel more motivated (91%) and enjoy work more (91%).

Empower Your Team with Our AI Academy

Our research reveals that the existing AI curriculum is lacking in two key areas. Firstly, it fails to consider the varying degrees of familiarity that accountants have with emerging technologies. Secondly, it tends to merely offer dictionary-like explanations of AI terms, without providing any context for their real-world application.

The research also told us that this is probably the reason only a small percentage of people are likely to have received training. Only 37% of employees are being trained on prompt writing, 35% on how to use AI for their role, and 32% on writing or analysing data.

If you or your practice is ready to conquer digital debt, join our AI Academy, where we provide the training and resources necessary to master Microsoft Copilot and other AI tools. The course is made up of 4 x 1.5 hour webinars and 4 x 30 min drop in sessions. To discover what you’ll expect from the course, visit the link below.

Register for our AI Academy

By embracing AI and equipping your team with the skills to use it effectively, you can turn the tide on digital debt and pave the way for a more innovative and productive future.