Mountain View, CA: October 15, 2024
Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to transform how teams approach financial reporting and decision-making. Forest Systems sees AI as a powerful tool in streamlining complex financial processes and enhancing accuracy. But our team's perspective on AI is about more than automation. It's also about critically looking at this technology from all sides to see where it can help, where are the gaps, and where we can make the lives of clients easier.
The Daily User: Dylan McArthur
Dylan McArthur, Customer Service Engineer, wants clients to understand that AI is inevitably going to be involved in most facets of life, especially in the workplace.
“I feel like AI scares people because they do not fully understand how they work,” Dylan explained. “All it does is quickly pull together a bunch of thoughts that real humans posted online and combine it into some kind of conglomeration. AI can only be as smart as us, but it can ‘think’ much faster.”
For Dylan, AI is a tool that can be used to improve efficiency. That’s why he uses it daily – personally and professionally: “If I have a specific question, a lot of times ChatGPT is my go-to. Then, in my work, I use it to write rough drafts. It does a great job at writing the bulk of what I need and formatting it professionally. Then, all I need to do is fix the details and add specifics to cater to us.”
Problem Solving with AI: David Campbell
As Chief Technology Officer, David Campbell uses AI on a regular basis to increase efficiency: “I write powershell scripts somewhat often and will need to go back and remember the commands. Now, I just ask ChatGPT to write a script that performs this function, and it’s done in 20 seconds.”
But David’s also found uses for AI in his personal life, including helping his daughter with her AP homework. This has helped to show him the potential of the technology to solve major problems.
“At Forest Systems, our initial approach to AI is to help our customers be more efficient,” David said. “One way we do this is by providing a simple interface and hiding the AI tool, so they only need to worry about the problem in their domain. They do not need to use or learn an AI tool. We do that for them.”
Looking to the Future: Maris Thompson
Forest Systems Implementation Consultant Maris Thompson admits: “I have used AI very little except to understand how powerful it is.”
Yet, in her experience, she’s excited about the potential for AI and the speed at which it delivers results. She sees many potential use cases for Forest Systems and their customers, especially in terms of communicating data in meaningful ways.
Responsibility is Key: Daniel Serrano
At Forest Systems, Senior Client Service Engineer Daniel Serrano understands that with reward often comes risk.
“If I have learned anything from double-entry accounting, it’s that you cannot have a debit without a credit,” Daniel explained.
He uses this mindset when he thinks about the future of AI and stresses the importance to learning to be responsible users as the technology evolves.
As it evolves, Daniel wants to make sure that Forest System clients have a positive experience with the company’s AI platform:
“One of our main goals is to make generative AI as user-friendly as possible. We are asking it to complete complex tasks that involve multiple subtasks to reach the desired outcome. We include preset prompts to eliminate the need for users to know and request those subtasks, and it leads to more consistent outcomes.”
To learn more about Forest Systems’ approach to AI and how the Forest Financial Academy (FFA) can support you and your family office or CPA firm with using AI, you’re invited to set up a 15 minute demo with a member of our team. Schedule at a convenient time for you.