What is Show the Working?
Show the working is the principle that every answer an AI accountant gives should be traceable back to specific journal entries, transactions, and source documents, so you can verify any figure rather than trusting a black box.
Example
You ask 'how much did I spend on software this quarter?' The AI returns £2,340, along with a link to the 12 transactions that make up that total, each connected to the relevant receipt or invoice.
How Show the Working Works in Practice
Traditional accounting has always valued the audit trail: the ability to trace any number in a report back to its source documents. Show the working extends this principle to AI-generated answers and actions.
When an AI accountant tells you a number, you should be able to see how it was calculated: which transactions were included, which accounts were summed, what time period was covered, and what source documents support each entry. This is not optional transparency; it is the foundation of trust in an AI-powered system.
The principle applies equally to actions. When the AI reconciles a bank account, you should be able to see which transactions it matched, why it matched them, and which items it could not resolve. When it prepares a VAT return, you should be able to drill into each box to see the underlying transactions. Show the working turns the AI from a black box into a transparent tool.
Step by Step
Every AI action in the system is logged with a trail that connects the output to its inputs. When the AI categorises a transaction, the log shows the transaction details, the category assigned, the confidence level, and the reasoning. When it matches a payment to an invoice, the log shows both records and the matching criteria.
Financial reports and answers to questions include references to the underlying data. A profit figure links to the revenue and expense entries. A VAT box total links to the transactions included. A balance links to the relevant journal entries.
This traceability is built into the data model, not added as an afterthought. Every journal entry references its source, every match references both sides, and every filing references the supporting calculations.
Practical Tips
- When the AI gives you a financial figure, get into the habit of clicking through to the supporting transactions at least once to build confidence
- Use the working trail to identify categorisation patterns you want to adjust early on
- Before filing any return, review the breakdown of the key figures to catch any unexpected inclusions or omissions
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating transparency as an optional feature: in accounting, the audit trail is a legal requirement, not a nice-to-have
- Accepting a total without checking how it was calculated, especially in the early weeks of using a new AI system
- Assuming show the working only matters for external audits: internal decision-making also benefits from verifiable numbers
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check the working behind an AI answer?
Ask the AI to break down any figure. In AccountsOS, Finn shows you the transactions, journal entries, and source documents behind any number. You can drill into a VAT return box to see every included transaction.
Is show the working the same as an audit trail?
It builds on the audit trail. The audit trail records what happened. Show the working also explains why: why this category, why this match, why this amount. It makes the AI's reasoning visible, not just its actions.
Related Terms
A deterministic ledger is a general ledger where the AI handles classification and matching but the actual posting logic (double-entry maths, VAT calculations, foreign exchange conversions) is exact and rule-based, never probabilistic.
An AI ledger is a general ledger that is continuously maintained by an AI agent, with human review on exceptions and sign-off on filings, rather than being updated in periodic manual batches.
AI-native accounting is an accounting platform built from the ground up around AI agents and a living ledger, rather than adding a chatbot to traditional accounting software.
Human-in-the-loop filing is a workflow where an AI agent prepares regulatory filings (VAT returns, annual accounts, confirmation statements) and the human reviews and confirms before electronic submission. The agent never files silently.
Confused by accounting jargon?
AccountsOS explains everything in plain English. Ask any question about your books and get a clear, jargon-free answer.