How Technology Enables The Future Of Finance And Accounting

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If you read the jobs of the future report from 2018 by the World Economic Forum you will get the following impression. Data entry clerks, bookkeeping, and accountants are in the top 10 of declining job roles. If you look at declining skills it does not get better. Management of financial resources is also in the top 10 of declining skills in demand. The reason is simple though. Technology. 

You need only to look at the top 10 emerging jobs to have the answer confirmed. Although they might not all work in finance and accounting, they confirm the trend. Analytics, AI/ML, software and application development, Big Data, digital transformation, new technology, and IT services.

Does that mean technology will replace accountants? No. It will change the role though, but the key is to view technology as an opportunity rather than a threat. Technology should enable accountants and finance professionals to take on more complex work and focus on building human relations. 

In this new series “Tech in Finance” we will dig into how different technologies are impacting the finance function. More importantly, we will look at which new opportunities this gives to all of us. If we can grab these opportunities, it will be a win-win for everyone. 

It is time to develop new skills 

Technology will inevitably take over some of the tasks that humans do today. The question is what skills should accountants develop instead to take on more complex work in the future? Again, we can revert to WEF and see what skills are trending and which are not.

The list indeed holds some good news for all of us. Analytical thinking, critical thinking and analysis, and systems analysis and evaluation are all skills accountants have in abundance. It also provides a clear list of skills to start developing. 

• Problem-solving
• Leadership
• Ideation
• Creativity
• Learning
• Emotional intelligence 

Develop these skills and you are guaranteed to build stronger human relations AND become much better at solving highly complex tasks. That means when we look at how technology can enable the future of finance and accounting, we should have this in mind. Technology must either free up time for finance and accounting professionals to learn and put these new skills into play or enable us to solve complex problems better. 

Here is what we will explore 

The series is still in the making so more topics can be added. However, I have now teamed up with experts to explore the following topics. 

• The Proper Way To Do A Tech Implementation in Finance
• Take An Experimental Approach To Discover The Impact Of Tech In Finance
• Meet Your New AI-Powered Auditor
• The RPA-driven Month-End Closing Process
• Why Process Mining Is A Must-Have In Your Finance
• The Future Of Finance And Accounting Is In The Cloud 

If you have ideas for other topics to explore and you have expert knowledge in this domain then reach out and let us talk. It is critical that demystify what Tech in Finance means. This is not all doom and gloom but a real opportunity for finance and accounting professionals to have more exciting careers. The question is, how are you going to leverage this opportunity and how will you start developing the new skills needed for the future?

Continue reading below for more articles about how technology is impacting Finance.

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Anders Liu-Lindberg is the co-founder, COO (Chief Operating Officer), and CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) at the Business Partnering Institute and owner of the largest group dedicated to Finance Business Partnering on LinkedIn with close to 9,000 members. I have ten years of experience as a business partner at the global transport and logistics company Maersk. I am the co-author of the book “Create Value as a Finance Business Partner” and a long-time Finance Blogger on LinkedIn with 49.000+ followers.