The adoption of artificial intelligence technologies in the accounting services and profession was recently introduced in the market, forcing professionals to work with data management and shift to a new paradigm. The research analyses the capabilities and benefits of artificial intelligence in accounting in SMEs. A qualitative approach was used, with the analysis of 20 interviews. Among the various conclusions of this work, we highlight the premise of replacing the human element in the execution of accounting operations and the lack of capacity of SMEs in being able to incorporate AI systems into their accounting departments due to their reduced financial capacity. However, our recommendations propose to academic institutions and training programs a lot of initiatives to prepare the future of this important field and adopt the AI paradigm.