An accounting operation rebuilt around what AI should and shouldn't do

The department's month ran on repetitive manual processing: categorizing, reconciling, preparing. There was no AI anywhere in it. It consumed serious time, reviewers were stretched thin, and the handoffs between preparation and review were where hours and confidence leaked away.

We mapped the operation step by step and sorted it honestly: which work is repetitive and verifiable enough for AI to prepare, and which calls need an accountant's judgment. Then we rebuilt the process around that line. AI handles preparation and first-pass categorization; accountants review and approve, with the system showing exactly what was done and why.

The same team gets more done, and review is easier than it was before the change. Just as valuable, the accountants now understand which parts of their process are worth automating, so they keep finding the next candidate themselves. They own the line between AI and human work.