AI can help organize contract evidence and prepare recognition schedules. It should not turn an uncertain accounting judgment into an automatic posting. The useful distinction is between extracting information, proposing a treatment and approving the entries that reach the ledger.
This guide describes a review process. Examples of possible automation are design patterns, not a claim that ARTIFI independently determines every ASC 606 treatment. The previous unsourced error-rate and staffing-reduction figures have been removed.
Anchor the policy in the applicable standard
FASB's revenue recognition project and implementation resources describe Topic 606 and its supporting guidance. The IFRS Foundation's IFRS 15 overview describes the related framework for revenue from customer contracts. They share a five-step approach, but a company must apply its own reporting framework and the relevant detailed requirements.
Use these sources to establish the policy; do not rely on a model's recollection of a standard. A general explanation cannot settle every question about a contract's enforceability, promised services or local legal context.
Build a contract evidence pack
Collect the signed agreement, amendments, order forms and evidence of delivery. Record the reporting entity and the policy version used. An assistant can help locate relevant terms and flag missing documents, but extracted facts need to be checked against the original.
Keep the evidence alongside the conclusion. A reviewer needs to understand which clause supports an assessment, not just see a confidence score. If documents disagree, preserve the conflict and request a decision.
Review obligations and consideration
Assess the promised goods or services and whether they should be accounted for separately. Where a contract includes implementation, support, usage components or incentives, avoid assuming that a label alone determines the accounting treatment.
The amount billed is not automatically the amount recognized in the same period. Variable consideration, allocation and subsequent contract changes may require additional analysis. A statistical forecast of usage does not by itself establish the permitted recognition amount. Relevant constraints, exceptions and the company's documented policy still matter.
An assistant can assemble questions for the revenue accountant, compare the contract with approved examples and prepare alternative schedules. It should distinguish assumptions from verified facts. Judgment-dependent cases should remain reviewable before posting.
Use a simple schedule only when its assumptions fit
Consider an illustrative service arrangement with consideration of 12,000 and a twelve-month service period. If the approved treatment is even recognition over those twelve months, the schedule allocates 1,000 to each month.
That arithmetic does not determine whether even recognition is appropriate. It assumes that the relevant obligation, allocation, service period and recognition pattern have already been established. A modification, refund or change in delivery may require revisiting the schedule.
For a controlled implementation, preserve the approved schedule, amounts already recognized, remaining deferred balance and supporting journal entries. Reconcile these totals after each run and make corrections through the established accounting workflow.
Separate proposals, approvals and posting
A proposed schedule is useful even when it needs human judgment. It can expose missing dates, inconsistent contract totals or an unexplained difference from a previous treatment.
Before approval, show the source terms, the method, the assumptions and the resulting period amounts. After posting, retain the author, approval evidence and links to the affected records. A retry should not generate the same recognition entry twice, and a closed period should not be silently rewritten.
These are implementation controls to evaluate, not guarantees that any product meets every accounting requirement. ARTIFI's billing and revenue page and recognition documentation describe its workflow and schedule support. Confirm the scope against your actual contracts and configuration.
Measure a pilot with representative cases
Start with an established policy and a small set of contracts whose treatment is already understood. Include an amendment, an early termination and an exception that requires a reviewer. Compare proposed schedules and resulting balances with the approved baseline.
Track unexplained differences, review time, missing evidence and reconciliation failures. Expand the scope only when the team can explain the results. There is no universal automation percentage or error-rate reduction that can substitute for those checks.
Related reading
Written by the Artifi team about finance workflow design. Standard-setter resources were checked on 25 September 2026. Recognition conclusions remain the responsibility of the organization applying its reporting framework.
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