Money management is what makes the world go around. But are accounting jobs on the verge of a radical makeover? Here's how professionals can thrive in an economy that has changed drastically over just two short years. Gone are the days when accounting tasks revolved solely around manual bookkeeping and ledger reconciliation. The industry has transformed rapidly over recent years — and it is about to evolve even more. Accountancy is now a field fuelled by advanced systems to interpret data for well-informed, actionable business insights. With digital transformation and data analytics becoming integral parts of the process, accountancy is now revolutionised by advancements in technology that change the nature of the profession and skills required.
Here are the top six trends to shake up the world of accountancy in the year to come, and how accounting professionals of tomorrow can thrive in the digital economy:
1. Increase productivity with software solutions
According to recent forecasts, the accounting software market, valued at $16.2 billion back in 2020, will reach a whopping $26.4 billion by 2026. The latest software solutions have made it possible to provide greater insights into a company’s financial health, automating data gathering from across the organisation, while simplifying menial tasks so accountants can focus on what they do best: analysing data and spotting opportunities for growth.
Apart from automating menial tasks, software solutions also expand an accountant’s productivity and competencies by providing near-instantaneous reports of financial transactions. The demand for computerised accounting will also continue to grow, driving the need for robust software solutions with multiple functionalities.
2. Embrace blockchain technology
Blockchain’s immutable and synchronised record of transactions across locations greatly benefits auditing processes: The technology allows accounting professionals to gain both a macro and micro view of their organisation’s available resources and obligations; obtain real-time data; lower the costs of reconciling ledgers while providing accurate ownership and history of assets; and eliminate the need to manually input information in several databases, eventually removing the need for auditors to reconcile disparate ledgers.
The Big Four firms have already implemented blockchain technology to monitor accounting transactions. With this, all parties are recording the same information and data can be reconciled easily — making analysis more efficient.
3. Widespread use of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA)
Today, blockchain technology can be combined with artificial intelligence to screen discrepancies in real-time — while minimising human errors. Add accounting automation to the mix, and it’s a powerhouse system that combines optimum data accuracy and speed.
AI and RPAs are undoubtedly transforming the industry, saving time and increasing the quality of outputs. They are the solution for reducing transactional data processes, compliance with professional standards, and creating a streamlined structure for a higher level of workflow efficiency.
In fact, a recent study reports that one-third of the job roles in the country’s finance workforce will change due to AI and RPAs in the next three to five years. This new development, however, may increase the risks of digital fraud and compromised security, and therefore lead to new demand for forensic accountants and professionals well-versed in mitigating risks due to cyber transactions.
4. Shift to data-driven advisories
With digital transformation permeating the accounting world, the roles of accounting professionals will also pivot towards data-driven financial advice, cloud-based strategies and in-depth insights analysis.
Accountants can now increase the quality of advice they provide for risk management, auditing, tax, and other needs. They are strategic advisors with a skill set that can provide business growth strategies and intelligence.
Analytics isn’t new, but digital transformation provides the tools to present more accurate financial performance insights. The availability of big data — extensive sets of unstructured data that traditional services cannot process — allows specialists to transform datasets into comprehensive analyses for data-backed business advice, and provide expanded risk identification, data visualisation, and other assessment methods.
In other words, accountancy is shifting from being reactive to being more proactive. By harnessing the potential of big data, accountants can now focus on planning, controlling, analysing and anticipating problems before they even appear.
5. Go on the cloud
Cloud-based accounting is a major leap in the industry for more effective and comprehensive analytics and financial reporting. Hosted on a remote server, users send data to the cloud where it is processed and returned to the user, enabling accountants to access data at all times without the need to physically be in an office — a trait that was especially useful when the pandemic hit, and working from home became the new normal.
The benefits of cloud accounting are manifold. Besides increasing accessibility and collaboration to access information and complete tasks anywhere, it also allows for the automation of transactions, account reconciliations, matching bank statements, and even payment to vendors and sending of invoices to clients on user-defined dates. They provide higher data security than on-premises systems, as the cloud can regularly back up data to multiple servers to reduce the risk of compromising systems and information, as well as scalability just by adding more server space or new adjustments for additional functions. Research shows that 67 per cent of accountants prefer cloud accounting rather than locally-installed software options, and cloud software can also halve labour costs.
6. Trend of outsourcing and shared services
The main purpose of outsourcing is to take advantage of the economies of scale, potentially saving 20 to 65 per cent in terms of employment costs for payroll, taxation, salaries, and other benefits. Outsourcing accountancy jobs also means taking advantage of service providers' expertise, skill sets, and technology — not easily attained by hiring new headcount or investing in new infrastructure.
Companies that aren’t ready to embrace automation are either moving their accounting capabilities out through business processing outsourcing (BPO) companies or implementing a “shared services” structure within their company. The latter allows a firm to focus on its core competencies, as its structure can streamline, centralise and standardise invoice processing and supplier payments. Both of these strategies will give rise to opportunities for accountancy and advisory firms to leverage technological advancements in the industry, and focus on delivering value-added service to their clients.
Accountancy as a profession is not going anywhere. But digital transformation has changed the game; it's all about new technology and how this will transform accounting practices in ways we have never thought possible before. Whether it’s through the use of advanced systems to interpret data for well-informed, actionable business insights or digital transformation and data analytics becoming integral parts of the process, accountants must prepare by getting ahead of changes we can expect from an ever-changing industry landscape.
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