Let’s face it, technology has been fast changing the pace at which we work. Computers revolutionized every industry and continue to do so. Last week speaking at a Document Management & Strategy Conference in Boston. I could not help but sympathize with many of the organizations attending that a large portion of our modern workforce is still using paper. Yes, printed paper for transactions, general business, to keep track of things and so on. I personally do not have anything against paper but fail to understand that why in today’s era of technology and a tremendous amount savings through technology do companies still consume more paper than necessary.
The accounting industry on the other hand has largely remained unchanged for the last 500 years. When Luca Pacioli, the inventor of modern day accounting, created the ledger system he changed accounting forever, well actually for the next 500 years or so. Numbers were now more accurate, trackable and so on. Every penny was accounted for. Fast forward almost 500 years to the present day world. Nothing significant has changed since the days of Luca Pacioli except computers have created electronic ledgers, accounting software has become better and yes in fact accounting is better, faster and more accurate than before. While this is good news, I must say to my accounting industry friends that some of the newer technologies are set reset the entire industry. This will happen through automation and the enablement of trust through technology. I know that probably makes no sense. Let me explain.
Two emerging technologies of today and of course of the future that I bank upon to change the world are Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain. Why ? Well, let’s see. Artificial intelligence is about automating all the talks that people hate. Repetitive, mundane tasks that are error prone, need high attention to detail and yet are necessary. Today while we are still in the era of what is called the era of Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI), which is not as advanced as you may have seen in some of Hollywood’s past Blockbusters. AI is still in its infancy and yet many companies, big and small are investing a lot of time, effort and resources in taking this forward. Today every large company is heavily vested for a reason and that is the promise that AI holds. This includes automation with accuracy, accurate feedback, accurate calculations, and in fact accuracy across the board. Within Accounting, accuracy through Artificial Intelligence will reshape your hiring strategy and who performs what functions. Many of the entry level tasks may be automated opening the way for job descriptions to be significantly changed. Think automation through computers multiplied by 1000.
Blockchain, another technology that I can highly recommend worth checking out, on the other hand will create trust behind every transaction by ensuring accuracy and an irreversible and unchangeable timestamp. In a very primitive way, Blockchain probably is better for the world as we do not need to worry about trusting people as Blockchain guarantees the accuracy of anything that it secures. Will that makes us better people? Probably yes because no we will not have any trust issues with anyone, every !
My guidance to accounting firms is to start thinking about emerging technology seriously. Plan the future of your firm by analyzing current market trends, emerging tech and what some of the more established or say large accounting firms are focusing on. If you look deeply and carefully, you will find that all the larger accounting firms are heavily focused on emerging tech and have sizeable investments in shaping the industry in a way that would probably have a lot of firms close their doors forever. As newer startups create new technologies and platforms to simplify accounting, use technologies such as Blockchain & Artificial Intelligence to create new products, better, simpler and more accounting systems, it goes without saying that watching industry trends is a must.
Skeptics will always say that well we have seen all of this happen before and this is a wave of technology that will pass. If you are part of that club then you are prepping yourself for failure by not taking action and ignoring what the global industry is indicating. Please do not become a casualty of war by being a stander by. At least try, make an effort, create a shakeup in your organization or seek external help. Its all worth it !
Author Bio
Ian Khan — Technology Futurist, Author & Filmmaker
CNN Featured Technology Futurist, Inspirational Realist, Forbes contributor,, 3x TEDx Speaker and Author, Ian Khan is a highly sought after thought leader. An advocate of emerging technologies, Ian helps organizations & people gain a competitive advantage in today’s era of disruption and rapid change through his insightful keynotes, and masterclasses. With an international speaking and masterclass portfolio in Dubai, Sweden, Finland, Germany, United States, Canada and 35 other countries, Ian is an unconventional idea instigator who can help you with adapting to change with his “7 Axioms of Value Creation” methodology.
Ian is also shooting a documentary film “Blockchain City” that captures the growth of Blockchain technology across the world and how various governments and cities plan to use Blockchain to step into the new era of technology.
