Airbus Harnessing AI in Bid to Save Millions on Finance Tasks

Airbus SE is using artificial intelligence to squeeze cost out of its finance function, an experiment launched in the aircraft maker's Americas division that could save the corporation millions of dollars annually if rolled out in other regions. It's one of the latest examples of how companies across sectors are digitizing operations to increase efficiency, reduce human error and free up employees for tasks that require more human judgment, such as strategic planning, analysis and audits. "Companies can now automate highly repetitive activity at a lower cost with a higher degree of accuracy," said David Axson, head of the CFO consulting practice at Accenture Strategy, a unit of consulting firm Accenture PLC. "This especially applies to high-volume-use cases like accounts payable." Less than half of companies' accounts-payable activity worldwide is currently automated, Accenture Strategy says.