New AI agent helps finance professionals go from crunching numbers to making decisions more quickly

Exact launches Financial Agent

Delft, 3 September - Financial professionals and accountants have more data at their fingertips than ever before. Although many companies have their financial records well organised, it remains a challenge to quickly extract the right insights from the figures and translate these into concrete actions. This is why Exact is introducing the Financial Agent: an AI solution that helps financial teams analyse financial data, identify trends and make informed decisions.

“For many financial professionals, the main challenge no longer lies in obtaining figures, but in understanding what those figures mean for the company”, states Joep Hoeks, Chief Product Officer at Exact. “They must constantly adapt to changes in costs, turnover and margins, while the volume of available data continues to grow. With the Financial Agent, we help users of our software gain insight more quickly into what is happening, understand why it is this way and what actions they could take.”

From insight to action

The Financial Agent understands financial context, such as a balance sheet or profit and loss account, and analyses performance based on more than 60 financial KPIs, including liquidity, solvency and profitability. The AI solution helps SME finance professionals identify direct links between costs, revenue and margin, as well as highlighting trends, risks and opportunities. Users can then ask in-depth questions to understand the underlying causes and receive tailored recommendations straight away. In short, the Financial Agent is a digital colleague who is constantly monitoring the user’s activities and contributing ideas. Joep goes on to say the following: “We’re not talking about a dashboard or chatbot. This is a solution that understands the financial context and can apply reason to it. This allows the Financial Agent to help in the decision-making process and gives financial professionals more time to spend on providing advice.”

AI use in SMEs is growing; the next step is decision-making

The introduction of the Financial Agent follows a broader development in which the use of AI in SME workplaces is growing exponentially: from 6% in 2024 to 70% in 2026. This insight was obtained through the SME Barometer. The research also reveals that AI is currently used primarily for straightforward applications, such as generating text. Strategic deployment is still lagging behind. “There are significant opportunities out there”, states Joep Hoeks. “The next step is to incorporate AI into a company’s financial processes. This is a technology that actively works alongside you, identifying opportunities, risks and deviations exactly when finance teams need those insights. We are transitioning from software that carries out work to software that actively thinks with us”, states Hoeks. “From finance professionals to accountants, this fundamentally changes how we work with technology: it is evolving from a tool for productivity to a strategic partner in the decision-making process.”