What does technology mean for the future of accountants?

It’s hard to deny that finance is a changing industry, and accountants need to be adaptable to keep up. It seems that the the days of punching numbers into calculators and scribbling down sums are a far-distant memory. Instead, we need a sound technological insight and a fast computer to keep us ahead of the game.

In recent years, technology has gifted us ways of making working practices more efficient than ever. From cloud-based accounting software to cryptocurrencies to the promise of Making Tax Digital, new innovations are shaking up our working practices. But just what do they mean for the accountancy world in the long-term?

With an industry so susceptible to change, it’s natural to wonder just what’s around the corner and what the changing nature of accountants means for the industry in the future.

What technological advancements are on the horizon?

This year saw the biggest industry shakeup in the form of GDPR, which modernised the practices of handling client data in our digital age, but there are still changes on the horizon. 2019 marks the beginning of Making Tax Digital’, the government’s initiative to streamline the tax return process for businesses. With this is expected to follow a greater degree of automation – spreadsheets could be redundant, VAT returns will be digitised and all administration will instead need to be processed through HMRC’s bespoke, cloud-based software.

Looking further into the future, research has been made into the evolving sophistication of artificial intelligence, with some sources suggesting that a number of jobs could become obsolete at the hands of robots. Machine Learning, automation and chatbots will eventually replace the roles of humans in some industries, according to some.

What could this mean for the future of accountants?

The focus is shifting heavily to automation which has the potential to revolutionise the industry. This technology can make the processes that we do faster, more cost effective and can reduce the margin of error.

As accountants, our greatest asset lies not only with our number skills, but our communication and ability to personally assess any situation presented to us by a client. Fundamentally, accountancy is a profession and strengths often lie with the ability to build rapport with clients and develop a relationship based on trust. Though these innovations are important, the support and professional insight of an accountant is something which cannot easily be replaced and any measures which can help to improve our efficiency should be celebrated and certainly not feared.

With the implementation of technology helping to streamline our processes, this does not make work less worthwhile, but saves us time on the things which we would otherwise have needed to do manually. Saving time on repetitive admin-heavy tasks like bookkeeping and running payroll could grant accountants the access to diversify their roles and to learn new skills.

In addition, cloud and mobile-based accounting platforms could allow accountants the ability to work flexibly and assist the demands of clients more readily. The shift to cloud-based solutions also means having financial information on demand and presented to us in real-time which could present the opportunity for us to make better decisions. Freedom and flexibility are aspects of the career to be embraced and due to the relationship clients seek from their accountants, it doesn’t appear likely that technology will find a way to replicate this in the near future.

This article was written by SJD Accountancy, the the UK’s largest specialist provider of accountancy services to contractors. We have more qualified accountants than any other firm on the market and have been providing industry advice since 1992.