This debate has been coming up a lot in my team lately: when it comes to financial reporting, who actually performs better — AI or humans? After working with several AI-driven tools, including platforms similar to Questa AI, I think the answer is more nuanced than just picking a side.
In terms of speed, AI absolutely wins. There’s no question. Modern AI for finance systems can process thousands of rows of transactional data in minutes, generate draft summaries, and highlight anomalies long before a human analyst could even finish the initial review. For routine reports, especially the ones that follow a predictable structure, AI feels almost unbeatable.
But accuracy is where things get interesting. AI is incredibly accurate with calculations, pattern detection, and consistency. It won’t misplace a decimal or forget a footnote. However, human analysts still excel at interpreting the story behind the numbers. We understand market context, business strategy, and the subtle things that automated systems might misread or ignore.
Where AI really shines is when Secure AI features kick in — things like automated Data Redaction and privacy-safe processing. These reduce the risk of human error in handling sensitive information, which indirectly boosts accuracy and compliance at the same time.
Still, humans outperform AI when it comes to judgment-heavy sections: explaining why a metric changed, how external events influenced trends, or what a variance actually means for the business.
So my take? AI is faster and great for the mechanical parts, but accuracy becomes a shared responsibility. Humans bring logic, context, and narrative; AI brings speed and precision.
Curious to hear your perspective — who do you think comes out on top right now?