Artificial Intelligence in Finance and Accounting of Small and Medium-Sized and Family-Owned Companies—Use Cases, Opportunities, and Risks

Since the introduction of ChatGPT in 2022, artificial intelligence has become a real fashionable topic, also in the field of finance and accounting. In fact, the approach fulfills all the criteria of a management fashion or fad. Even in the academic debate, the presentation of AI use cases in business practice often remains abstract and vague. Especially in SME and family businesses, the use of AI could leverage considerable potential. This paper is identifying specific use cases of AI in finance and accounting and evaluating their opportunities and risks on the basis of existing literature, current studies, explorative expert interviews and generative AI models. A structured survey of experts is used to validate the findings and assess their specific potential applications, opportunities and risks. As a result, those responsible in departments will be shown which specific options for action in the field of AI exist for their areas in the near future.