Gone are the days when a company's tax agenda had to rely solely on human activity. According to expert Jana Fuksová, today's tax departments must combine their know-how with technology. In an interview, she introduces DG GenAI, KPMG's new secure AI-based tool that works with text, tables, graphs and images and automates routine tasks. What can it do? What will it look like in a few years? And what are the personas that make it more than just a smart chatbot?
What lies behind the name Digital Gateway GenAI?
Digital Gateway GenAI is an artificial intelligence-based tool developed by KPMG. It is an application that simplifies and streamlines the work of our clients, especially when it comes to repetitive tasks. It automates these routine duties, saving time and team capacity. It has been specially adapted for use in the tax and financial areas.
DG GenAI uses various language models from Open AI. However, we plan to add other language models in the future, such as Gemini.
What are the main differences between DG GenAI and ChatGPT?
The key difference is that our system is secure. All data is stored on the KPMG cloud in Microsoft Azure, which means we have full control over where the information is stored and who has access to it. This is extremely important from the client's compliance perspective.
Another difference is in its functionality. DG GenAI enables team collaboration. Users can create personas, which can then be used by anyone across the company.
How should we imagine these personas?
As an assistant who has been trained to work with a specific type of document or to perform a repetitive task. From a technical point of view, it is a complex pre-prepared prompt.
What can such a persona do?
At KPMG, we have been using DG GenAI internally for over 15 months. For example, we have a persona that serves as an assistant for navigating internal processes. We have uploaded internal manuals and rules to it. The persona then functions as a chat where we can type in a question, such as how to fill out a travel expense report or request holiday leave, and we receive an answer based on the uploaded documents.
This eliminates the risk of artificial intelligence offering misleading information from the internet, and through persona settings, we prevent it from making things up. However, if necessary, we can also connect the persona to the internet and enable web searches.
Does DG GenAI support formats other than text?
Yes. It can work with images, tables, and graphs. What's more, it's constantly evolving, which I personally find most fascinating. We're still working on its development and already have a plan for what it should be able to do within the next two years. We're looking forward to connecting it with Copilot and Microsoft Teams, for example.
What are your plans for DG GenAI further development?
Among other things, we are preparing a marketplace with various personas designed for specific tax tasks, from simple contract analyses to complex personas or even chains of personas. Those could then, for example, read an invoice from an image, analyse it, verify its compliance with VAT law, determine the method of accounting and create a data record for the accounting system.
Will legislative changes be continuously updated?
Yes. Although it depends on how the persona is set up, updating input documents is a normal part of its management. In practice, we also have an overview of upcoming legislative changes in advance, so it will not be a problem to ensure that the persona remains in compliance with current laws. We even have a persona that helps to automatically update internal tax guidelines to comply with new regulations. No manual rewriting needed.
We guide the client through the entire process
Can clients create personas based on their own needs?
Absolutely. Anyone who has access to DG GenAI within the company can create a persona and share it with their colleagues. It's quite simple. You can ask DG GenAI itself for help with creating a persona. However, clients can also contact KPMG, and we can guide clients through the entire process or create a completely new, tailor-made persona for them. The third option is to purchase a pre-made persona on the marketplace.
What kind of companies is DG GenAI intended for?
It is essentially for anyone who handles tax matters and has recurring tasks. For such situations, using a persona is an excellent choice.
Does this tool have any limitations?
It is important to have realistic expectations. Like any generative artificial intelligence, DG GenAI cannot replace humans. Its purpose is not to function as a substitute for the tax department, but to assist it with routine tasks. Of course, its outputs must be checked.
Once a company purchases the tool, will it receive assistance with setting up the system?
It depends on the service package we agree on. Of course, we can just provide the tool itself, but we don't usually recommend that. We've found that when we show future users how they can use DG GenAI in their work, the transition is easier.
We can guide the client through the entire process, from deployment to the design of specific tasks, not only in the tax agenda. DG GenAI can do more than just summarise a document. For example, this tool can be used to process an invoice or create an error-free data set for submission to the tax office.
How long does its implementation usually take?
It is good to plan on about three months for the initial package. We start with a workshop, show clients what DG GenAI can do, and, most importantly, try to find situations where DG GenAI could help specific team members in their agenda and overall process settings (we look for use cases). Then, after a month, we get back together and go over what is working and what needs to be fine-tuned. And we remain available after that.
In our experience, for any artificial intelligence tool to be deployed effectively, it is necessary to work primarily with the people who will be using it. If the team already has experience with generative artificial intelligence, then training can be faster.
How affordable is this tool?
In this respect, it is comparable to other tools. And if a company is interested but not 100% sure whether it is the right solution for them, we offer the option to try the tool for free. However, we recommend attending a workshop so that you can make the most of the trial period.
What do you personally find most interesting about GenAI?
I am fascinated by how quickly it is advancing. We are currently testing more advanced Excel functions, and I am very pleasantly surprised by the results. The dynamic nature of its development is truly inspiring.
