In life, everything changes, and so in business. And the change in business would also become the change in accounting. The only thing constant is change. The accounting profession has evolved; now, it is much more than just bookkeeping and making entries. Accountants now have more responsibilities, such as thinking about legal strategies to grow the business.
There is another word about how the digital era would replace accountants because, with technologies, there would be very efficient accounting software. But the truth is, the digital world will not replace accountants but will support them in reaching new heights.
Accounting software to the rescue
With common accounting problems being solved with accounting software, accountants have enough opportunities to think outside the box and use creative problem-solving techniques.
Moreover, accountants should not fear that they will get replaced in the future, but they should be ready to adapt to any situation, just like the pandemic, and find some leverage so their company may profit from it.
The digital world is all about artificial intelligence, automation, and the cloud. The cloud is the most useful as it has all the data you need at some point and gives it to you whenever you want it. Because there is accounting software that uses cloud-based data centralisation, with the large quantity of data available for analysing, accountants can make the most out of it.
On the other hand, automation reduces time by automating manual tasks, such as data entry or three-way matching. Additional to saving time, it also saves money and labour and reduces the chance of human error. Although humans still need to perfect AI, we have found a way to make it worthwhile. To this day, AI is mainly used to render raw data into a manageable and well-organised format for humans to identify and extract high-quality data and use for effective financial planning or leverage for their business.
Role of accountants in a digital world
With the technology change, the role of accountants will also be significantly expanded. And they would be even more valuable and accurate. Because the data collection and organisation are done digitally, there is less chance of error than when humans did it manually.
As discussed above, accounting is no longer limited just to bookkeeping. It now deals with other business units besides the financial situation. The accounting department now has a more diverse skillset and more expertise. And after the whole pandemic situation, they have been moulded into people who can be helpful from anywhere at any time.
More change will come in the business world, and the accounting department will have to change along with it to stay relevant. They would need more skill development and knowledge of the technological advancements of the digital era. Moreover, businesses now know the importance of automation a, and they are more than ready to invest in it to increase business. Still, they know that accounting is necessary to have anyone available to take full advantage of such valuable data.
