Artificial Intelligence in Management Control as a Solution to the Business Crisis.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a branch of computer science that deals with building intelligent machines that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. Its benefits will also occur if validly applied to management control mechanisms. It is an interdisciplinary science with multiple approaches, which are leading to a paradigm shift in every sector. It plays a fundamental role in streamlining and improving decision-making processes, increasing organizational efficiency and optimizing management control mechanisms, helping companies to prevent crises. The Italian legislator with Legislative Decree n.14/2019 introduced the New Code of Business Crisis and Insolvency considering the crisis as a physiological phenomenon of the life of the company. The purpose of this contribution is to demonstrate that the tools provided by the AI and used in the Management Control mechanisms seem to be those which, more than others currently, allow the CFO through the use of predictive models and techniques, to make forecasts future state of company assets avoiding financial crisis. Management control becomes "smart" thanks to artificial intelligence. Through these techniques it is possible to hypothesize the impact of the scenario analysis and evaluate the effects of any critical issues that lead to a business crisis. The first part discusses the state of the art. Subsequently, AI is defined as a tool that promotes digitization especially in its application to management control. The contribution focuses on the description of the "Utilius" platform, an algorithm with dashboard for financial management, dedicated to small and micro enterprises. An analysis tool, which initiates the entrepreneur to financial management control, as a "Salvazienda" method that uses digital technologies to create "a Smart control". Finally, the conclusions are presented.