NetSuite’s newest development set to transform finance functions worldwide

With the AI transition very much in motion and rapidly evolving, some businesses are concerned that it is moving at a rate that will be too difficult to leverage and utilise effectively.

On the first day of the Oracle NetSuite SuiteWorld 2025 event in Las Vegas on 7 October, Evan Goldberg, Oracle NetSuite founder and executive vice president, said the past two years of technological evolution were the beginning of a new chapter of growth for businesses worldwide.

In his keynote presentation to over 8,000 attendees, Goldberg said it was easy for businesses to feel left behind in AI’s rapid transformation and the way it was changing and streamlining workflows, but that they needed to be ahead of the curve to take full advantage.

During the keynote, Goldberg revealed multiple updates to the NetSuite platform, such as the launch of ‘NetSuite Next’, coined as the biggest development within the software platform to date, to continue the transformation and bolstering of the business community worldwide.

The development unveiled to attendees was set to build on AI capabilities such as conversational intelligence, agent workflows and natural language search capabilities to complete repetitive and complex tasks so that businesses could achieve outcomes “faster, more intuitively, and with greater confidence”.

According to Goldberg, NetSuite Next would put AI to work for businesses by making it more of a natural extension of the way they already work, rather than a “bolted-on” development.

This would help businesses leverage their workflow, cash flow and efficiencies as the technology would enhance and streamline all existing data, Goldberg said.

“With the latest AI innovations built in, NetSuite Next can deliver powerful insights as well as autonomously complete repetitive and complex tasks, all with enterprise-level reliability.”

“Every insight and action is rooted in data and governed by the existing roles, permissions, and policies our customers depend on. It enables users to discover patterns in their business and engage with NetSuite in their own words, all while understanding an individual user’s context, so it can deliver answers and actions that provide immediate value.”

A major feature of the NetSuite Next development was the ‘Ask Oracle’ function, which had been designed to enable users to ask an AI assistant questions, search, and navigate across the entire data set using simple, common language.

Goldberg said within his demonstration that the Ask Oracle function would find all the data and answer the user's needs based on just one or two simple keywords, even with incorrect spelling.

Like other software platforms introducing similar functions, Goldberg said the chat function would provide a “transparency link” to where its answers and data came from within the system to ensure no mistakes or inaccuracies could be made.

Interestingly, one of the most notable announcements made within the keynote address was the ability for Ask Oracle to be able to connect to ChatGPT to directly sell a business product, following ChatGPT’s ‘Buy it in ChatGPT’ announcement at the end of September.

Goldberg said that with the evolution of AI and how it changed the way businesses and consumers operated, businesses would be able to leverage the platform to boost their visibility to customers, which would help their sales and profits.

What this update means for the accounting industry

In conversation with Accountants Daily and Accounting Times, Craig Sullivan, NetSuite group vice president of product management, said NetSuite Next had been designed to change and elevate the finance function of business.

When asked if the platform had been designed to entirely replace accountants and their role within a business’s data, Sullivan said the new suite had been designed to make everyone’s life easier, specifically accountants.

“The news that we have announced today with its building in of AI capabilities from the foundation up is a huge change in how users and accountants approach business applications as it is now more approachable and consumer based,” he said.

“The accounting team is at the core of every business. The finance function is required to, in essence, know everything about the past and have a foresight into what’s happening in the future.”

“The way that we’re applying AI into the entire suite will allow the finance function and team the opportunity for them to be confident in what’s happening and also provide the business with the confidence about what’s happening in the future.”

Sullivan added that NetSuite Next would be an opportunity for accountants to delve further into the world of AI with streamlined processes and easier access to crucial data, saving them valuable time and allowing them to hone their advisory skills and role.

Questions from the community

Overall, attendees of the conference noted the announcement and development of the platform was welcome, yet Goldberg divulged the detail the development would only be rolled out to North American customers in or over the next 12 months, before it was followed by other regions.

Given the time period, concern was flagged amongst numerous media attendees who questioned how effective and useful the software and AI updates would be in 12 months, given the rapid evolution rate of the technology.

During a press conference following Goldberg’s keynote address, Oracle NetSuite senior vice president of technology and AI, Brian Chess, and Oracle NetSuite senior vice president of NetSuite application development, Gary Wiessinger, were questioned by numerous journalists from around the world on the notable announcement.

When asked about the somewhat prolonged release date of NetSuite Next when compared to the rate of change in AI developments, both Chess and Wiessinger said they were valid concerns and questions, but reassured that updates would be made as the landscape continued to shift.

Sullivan added to this discussion in his interview with Accountants Daily and Accounting Times, and said the entire NetSuite team would work to stay ahead of the curve and up to date on all AI developments and effectively build these into the existing foundations within NetSuite Next.

“It’s a valid question to raise, but we, as the technology does, move quickly and efficiently with updates and developments. We will look to make necessary updates as they come along every three to four months before we launch the initiative with North America in 12 months, followed by other regions.”