April 28, 2026
This work is sponsored by Eide Bailly LLP.
Principal Brad Mendel
A version of this article originally appeared on eidebailly.com.
Artificial intelligence has quickly become a part of everyday work. Despite the attention AI is gaining, many organizations still approach it as a technology decision rather than a business decision.
Organizations deploy AI before aligning it with their goals, preparing their teams, and establishing the controls needed to responsibly manage risk. It’s no wonder, then, that 57% of executives feel their companies are not fully prepared for AI adoption, and only 36% say they have expanded their generative AI solutions.
The real question is not whether to use AI or not. What matters is how you use it in a way that delivers real business value.
Business problems haven’t changed
AI does not change the core problem that companies are trying to solve. Rather, AI offers new ways to approach familiar challenges. This lowers the barrier to entry for advanced analytics, accelerates workflows, and helps teams extract more value from the data they already have.
But the outcomes companies value remain the same: performance, protection, and growth.
Additionally you need to:
- Make better and faster decisions.
- Reduce manual labor and inefficiency.
- Manage risk and maintain compliance.
- Expand your business and increase your profits.
What AI will change is how effectively we can address these problems.
Practical AI focuses on results, not tools
There is no shortage of new AI tools entering the market, but adopting technology for its own sake rarely yields meaningful results.
The most successful organizations take a different approach. They start by identifying specific, achievable use cases tied to business outcomes. Only then can you determine how AI can contribute to achieving measurable ROI.
- Automate the right tasks.
- Improved accuracy and speed.
- Free up people to focus on higher-value work.
what to do next
For leaders, the next step with AI is not just choosing a tool or starting a pilot. It’s becoming clear.
Before investing further, organizations need to be able to answer some basic questions.
- Is AI already impacting decision-making, workflow, and risk?
- Which of efficiency, risk mitigation, and growth is most important to you right now?
- What constraints exist regarding data quality, governance, and responsiveness to change?
- What capabilities need to mature together for AI to scale responsibly?
Organizations that take the time to establish this clarity move forward with confidence. Unconnected pilots, underused tools, and unmanaged risks that don’t accumulate.
Structure: Productivity, Margin Protection, Risk Visibility
Construction industry leaders face persistent challenges such as labor shortages, project delays, cost overruns, and risk exposure. AI is increasingly being incorporated into project management, scheduling, and finance systems, but its value depends on how intentionally it is applied.
In fact, AI provides construction companies with the following benefits:
- Reduce manual administrative tasks associated with job costing, billing, and reporting.
- Improve forecast accuracy by analyzing past project data.
- Identify risks early through automated monitoring of budget, schedule, and compliance requirements.
Healthcare: Achieving efficiency without compromising trust and compliance
Healthcare organizations operate under intense regulatory oversight while under constant pressure to accomplish more with less. AI is often deployed to improve efficiency, reduce administrative burden, and enhance decision-making, but the risks are very high. Nearly half of hospital executives have implemented AI, but many feel unprepared for the changes these tools require.
When applied carefully, AI can:
- Streamline your revenue cycle and back-office processes.
- Improve your data accessibility and make faster, more informed decisions.
- Reduce manual errors and repetitive tasks.
Manufacturing: Expanding efficiency and insight across operations
Manufacturers have long relied on automation and data to increase efficiency. AI builds on that foundation by:
- Enhance demand forecasting and inventory planning.
- Improve operational visibility across systems and locations.
- Supports faster analysis of performance, quality and cost factors.
Why the right partner matters
Organizations that succeed with AI understand not only what they want to achieve, but also where they are today and what capabilities they need to mature together to responsibly move forward.
For a manufacturing customer, quoting was time-consuming, manual, and error-prone, creating friction with the sales team and limiting scale. By rethinking processes and incorporating AI into existing workflows, organizations reduced manual input, improved accuracy, and created more scalable estimation models.
At Eide Bailly, we understand that AI is impacting every part of your organization. Therefore, rather than treating AI as a separate initiative, integrating the technology with business processes is key to success. Please let me help you Leverage AI responsibly and align technology with strategy, data integrity, and human oversight.
