How AI Will Transform Property Accounting: Insights from SDP 2025 Conference
ATLANTA — October 2025 — At the recent Society of Depreciation Professionals Annual Conference in Kansas City, attendees listened in as Aaron Smith, Director, Product Management, PowerPlan, shared ways AI is transforming utility property accounting. Smith’s presentation, titled “Revolutionizing Utility Property Accounting with Artificial Intelligence,” highlighted ways AI can support utility accounting teams as their organizations experience a time of unprecedented growth.
“The utility industry stands at a critical juncture where traditional approaches to property accounting face new challenges,” said Smith. “AI can present compelling solutions to manual processes, regulatory compliance complexity, and data integration challenges.”
AI Use Cases for Fixed Asset Accounting Challenges
Smith discussed an AI application use case, with a $2.3 million distribution system upgrade as the case study. Examples of how AI could enhance multiple business processes in the project include:
- Automating work order analysis and asset classification across FERC accounts.
- Providing confidence scoring with machine learning models trained on 10+ years of utility property records.
- Streamlining cost allocation using OCR technology and historical validation.
- Ensuring regulatory compliance across FERC’s Uniform System of Accounts requirements and jurisdiction-specific rules.
During the presentation, Smith also highlighted tips for getting started, emphasized the importance of human oversight, and outlined best practices including methodology transparency, validation, and sensitivity analysis.
Learn More About AI-Powered Property Accounting
To talk with PowerPlan about how we’re incorporating the latest technological advancements into our asset accounting solutions, contact us to schedule a discussion today.
