Technological innovations often result in new companies and therefore in a lot of new jobs. Just think of the thousands of people working at companies like Apple, Google and Facebook. But unfortunately this is not always the case. In the industrialization period hundreds of thousands of people worldwide lost their job as a result of automation in factories and nowadays, robots are threatening the jobs of thousands of people in the banking and the healthcare sector. New however, is the threat Big Data can prove to be for the accountancy sector. Or is it an opportunity?
A job as accountant is often not considered as a very interesting and adventurous job. This maybe correct. Checking financial statements, especially of large companies, used to involve a lot of paperwork checking. Digitalization however, already changed accountancy big-time. And now there is something new: Big Data. Instead of checking inventories and transactions through sampling, accountants nowadays can make use of all the data a company has of their transactions. The only problem is that the pile of data is huge and can contain hundreds of millions of transactions a year.
Different experts have spoken their mind about this recent development. Some say it will be the end of accountancy. They say it is only a matter of time before software will be developed that, not only will be able to go through all transactional data in seconds, but will be able to analyze this data and check financial statements as well.
Other experts say it is an opportunity and that the accountant of the future will be able to help companies navigate through the jungle of data, show organizations the limitations of certain forecasts and that he/she will be able position himself/herself as the guardian of responsible use of data.
It will be interesting to see what will happen to this huge sector in the future. Will the occupation of accountant vanish just like the lamplighter and many others before, or are we just going to call them data analysts from now on?
Sources:
http://accountantweek.nl/artikel/big-data-het-domein-van-de-accountant-van-de-toekomst
http://www.rtlnieuws.nl/economie/schaduw/deze-9-banen-verdwenen-dankzij-technologie
https://www.accountant.nl/nieuws/2015/5/steeds-meer-accountants-in-big-data/
Hi Johannes, thanks for your post! You are addressing a very modern issue. Many sources state that half of the current jobs will disappear within 30 years from now. The use of ICT can make sure that current work not only runs more efficiently, but that it sometimes even becomes redundant. These developments will not disregard the accountancy sector. However, time will tell how big the influence on this sector will be.
We cannot longer ignore big data, it will definitely take a big role in the accountancy sector. But I do think that people will always be necessary in these jobs. Hence, in my opinion the occupation of accountant will not disappear. They should make use of the ICT developments and see it as an opportunity. For example, the following article describes four ways in which accountants can use big data in their work. I do not think they will become just data analysts and that their name will change. They will become accountants who embrace big data analytics and use it to develop their own and their client’s business.
http://www.unit4.com/blog/2016/01/four-ways-to-make-use-of-big-data-as-an-accountant
Dear Johannes, thank you for your blog! While I do not think the accounting job will dissapear anytime soon due to laws and regulations in place that force companies to have their finances checked, I do believe that the nature of the job / work to be done will change. I searched a bit more into the subject. One accountant stated that she believes repetitive tasks will be replaced, which are the majority of accounting tasks, but not all the accountants will be replaced. I think what this means is that there will still be accountants, but not as many, and that the ones who learn software and data analyzation will stay in the field. Another article stated that accounts give advise, something software cannot yet or cannot do as well. Thus, what I think is that there will be less accountants doing repetitive tasks, and that the remaining accountants will focus on data analyzation and providing recommendations and advice.
https://www.quora.com/Will-accountants-be-replaced-by-computers
http://www.accountingweb.com/technology/accounting-software/can-software-really-replace-accountants
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/94-probability-accountants-become-jobless-think-again-olumayowa
Hi Johannes,
Thanks for your post! I don’t think that the accountant’s role will be completely replaced by automation. Having a human direction will still be needed for essential tasks, as a mistake in this area could cost the firm millions. The article below gives an interesting perspective on this matter – it also gives the two main points one should consider for finding an accounting position in the future. Firstly, an individual should specialize in those tasks that cannot easily be automated (such as the advisory function). He or she should also learn how to work next to specialized software, as this will likely become a big part of their daily routine in the future.
– http://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2016/10/07/big-data-ai-and-the-uncertain-future-for-accountants/2/#2c36be2f12b3