Assimilating information is a never-ending battle for your accounting firms. From keeping up with the constant flood of client data, compliance and regulatory trends, as well as emerging trends in technology and other innovations, the struggle is real.
While no one will argue that investing time and energy into constant monitoring and responding to changes in client data, compliance, and regulatory information isn’t vital, the importance of understanding and responding to technology trends can sometimes be overlooked. However, it is information from emerging solutions that can give your firm the edge when it comes to effectively streamlining and better leveraging the data that is coming into your firm.
There are two key tech trends which, by now, should be on the radar and minds of every accounting leader: migration to cloud-based technology and the adoption of solutions utilizing artificial intelligence (AI). This is because they both, more than any other recent technology have had—and continue to have—profoundly positive and far-reaching effects on the accounting profession.
While much has been written about “getting into the cloud” and a large percentage of accounting firms are working at least partially in it, using web-based platforms to run part of their practice operations. They do so, in tandem or perhaps ahead of their business clients, many of whom are transitioning to the cloud.
The research and consulting firm Gartner names cloud computing “one of the most disruptive forces of IT spending” and attributes its influence through 2020 on more than $1 trillion in technology spending. This trend is expected to continue for at least the next decade.
In contrast, AI is still a term which seems foreign to many accounting professionals, even though the technologies that it encompasses such as machine learning and OCR have been widely used for years. If the idea of AI still conjures up images of futuristic applications which may never become practical for your firm, it is important to shift your mindset in order to be prepared for the future benefit these technologies can bring your firm.
For example, AI technologies can eliminate many of your firm’s administrative and repetitive task workflows given its ability to make it possible for machines to learn from experience, adjust to new information, and use it to accomplish human-like tasks. Some applications you may already be using which incorporate AI include expense management and accounts payable platforms.
AI also makes it possible for large volumes of data to be processed and analyzed quickly, freeing up staff to do more value-added engagements. A recent study by Big Four firm PwC reported that 72 percent of business decision-makers believe that using technologies with AI lets their employees focus on more meaningful and creative work.
In addition to speed and agility when processing information, and increasing the availability of strategic insights from the information extracted, AI also adds additional security for the storage of sensitive financial data. This is another significant reason that this particular development will continue to grow in importance across the profession.
Discover how artificial intelligence will impact your firm and the accounting profession in 2022 and beyond. Register now for the 9 Developments Shaping Accounting’s Future webinar on November 18, 2021, at 2 p.m. ET. to see how AI and other technologies, along with key practice management developments, are shaping the future of accounting.