The 5 Technology Trends Set To Impact Accounting
The development in accounting software, online communication, mobility and the cloud, has changed the typical activities of an accountant. And these 5 Technology Trends Set To Impact Accounting.
There’s no doubt that the impact and pace of technology will only increase in the future too. The accountant of tomorrow may look very different to the accountant of today and that’s not to mention the technology that has still yet to be developed.
If we just look ahead a few years, we can start to see some of the impact that technology is likely to have on the accounting industry.
1. The Cloud
Many of today’s accountants already embrace the cloud and this is likely to continue to expand with a larger number of business operations and applications being hosted in the cloud. This continued expansion is being driven by cost, mobility, flexibility and simpler technical infrastructures.
There is also a greater choice in cloud platforms. Public cloud has naturally been the fastest growing cloud segment and, as we all know, is dominated by providers such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Public cloud services provided are standard and offered to many clients who all share the same or similar infrastructure.
This is the 1st of the 5 Technology Trends Set To Impact Accounting
2. Data Security
As accountants hold sensitive client data – as well as the increasing regulations around the security of customer data – maintaining data security will remain a priority and focus for accountancy firms.
The accounting industry needs to look at maintaining and improving procedures around data security, as well as keeping up with changing regulations in order to manage data security risks. A key element is assessing how critical information is stored – whether it’s in data centres or on site servers with regards to security, reliability and accessibility.
This is the 2nd of the 5 Technology Trends Set To Impact Accounting
3. Automation
Automation of processes has begun to reshape accounting and bookkeeping disciplines. The result of more business processes becoming automated will be improved productivity and efficiency, particularly in data collection and data processing.
Because of this, Accountants are starting to take more of a consultative role to clients, expanding to add value in new ways, such as, providing crucial financial and business advice.
Automation and Integration allows accountants to see more of their clients’ financials and financial activities. Whether it is information from integrated services from banks or cloud-based order processing, this additional super-fast data can help an accountant get a better picture of a client’s business and therefore deliver the best advice and solutions.
This is the 3rd of the 5 Technology Trends Set To Impact Accounting
4. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Tools
OCR tools have been around for quite some time, allowing people to easily scan and upload receipts using their mobile device straight to accounting software. As these benefits become more widely adopted, this technology will become more of a mainstream client process.
Accountants have been leaning towards paperless processes for some time, and this is the next step within that process. The benefit is it results in less human error, with records that are easily filed, stored and searched, and less time spent on data entry and an overall, more efficient practise.
This is the 4th of the 5 Technology Trends Set To Impact Accounting
5. Blockchain Technology
There are still many who are not familiar with Blockchain Technology but this recently launched technology shows promising potential for the accounting industry. it will enable sharing of a common infrastructure for database retention.
Instead of companies keeping and reconciling records of the same transaction in their separate ledgers, both sides of the transaction can be recorded simultaneously in a shared ledger. Again, it’s a process that is less prone to human error and fraudulent behaviour as it makes falsifying or destroying financial records practically impossible, which is good news.
The benefits include standard and increased auditing efficiency, allowing auditors to automatically verify a large portion of the most important data relating to financial statements.
While technology’s disruption to the accounting practice may not be as advanced as in other industries, its future impact cannot be avoided. These are just some of the ways technology is likely to impact the accounting industry.
And it will certainly be an important space to keep an eye on. So these are the 5 Technology Trends Set To Impact Accounting.
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