Synder, the AI-powered accounting automation platform trusted by 5,000+ businesses and 200 accounting firms, has officially published the results from its industry report named 2025 Emerging Trends in Accounting AI: Progress, Pitfalls, and the Path Ahead.
Going by the available details, this particular survey took into account the opinion of around 424 US-based senior finance leaders working across mid-market and enterprise ecommerce, as well as SaaS. Over the course of its duration, the study eventually revealed how AI is transforming accounting, and where teams are still falling short.
To be more specific, the results claim that, despite 97% of respondents’ acknowledgement of AI’s measurable impact, no more than 62% have actually implemented it at scale so far. The reason behind this lack of action has been fragmented systems, skill gaps, and limited integration cited.
Having said so, those who did manage to overcome the stated barriers would reap substantial rewards, as they reported faster closes, improved forecast accuracy, and stronger decision-making.
Talk about the published report on a slightly deeper level, we begin from the prospect of time savings, where automation was found to save more than 8 hours per employee monthly, but even with that, nearly 25% of teams were deemed to not reinvest the saved time into strategic work.
Next up, we must cover faster closes, considering well over 50% of accounting teams have reduced their month-end cycle by 3–5 days, whereas on the other hand, 65% report improved forecasting accuracy.
On the flipside, though, an estimated 62% also reported facing friction when it came down to connecting tools, thus highlighting the need for seamless ecosystems over isolated platforms. Making the situation more challenging would be the fact that only 25% invest in training.
Another area where firms were found to be falling short of leveraging the available potential was automating strategic tasks. You see, no more than 19% respondents said they automate strategic tasks like financial trend analysis.
To extend this trend of underutilization, the given survey also got to know that, even though 50% use LLMs for reporting, fewer than 20% apply them to forecasting or decision-making.
Rounding up highlights would be a piece of data showcasing how 91% of SaaS teams use tools that can’t fully support revenue recognition for subscriptions.
Founded in 2019, Synder’s rise up the ranks stems from supporting modern accounting infrastructure for retail, ecommerce, and SaaS businesses. The company’s proprietary platform is presently focused on automating transaction sync, simplifying reconciliation, speeding up the month-end close, and powering GAAP-compliant subscription revenue recognition.
Synder’s excellence in what it does can also be understood once you consider, as a YCombinator S21 and AICPA Startup Accelerator alum, the company is connecting various heavyweights, such as QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero, and Sage Intacct with 30+ payment and sales platforms.
“AI in accounting has moved from theory to practice,” said Michael Astreiko, CEO of Synder. “But implementation alone doesn’t drive ROI. Teams that treat automation as infrastructure, and invest in integration and training, are the ones getting ahead. There are aspects of work, like reconciliation, where you need surgery-level accuracy, and neither manual workflows nor AI alone can achieve that today, but software can. There are many areas where AI and technology already have solid traction, and that momentum will only accelerate as we continue to explore and refine this path.”
