With the rise of globalization and technological advancements, every profession has changed over time. The accounting profession is no exception. This profession is expected to face significant changes over time, and the educational institutes, professionals, organizations its members would be needed to respond as well. The main reasons which have been root of these changes are the continued evolution of digital and smart technology, with continued globalization and the formation of new regulations for reporting and disclosures. These have provided some major challenges for the profession (Roxburgh, 2017).
The accountants are not expected to have increased use of sophisticated and smart technologies for the enhancement of the traditional ways of doing work. These technologies are even expected to erase the old ways of doing work. Smarter software like cloud computing is now supporting the new trend of outsourcing the services also including the outbound outsourcing (Needles, 2010). The new trend of greater use of social media through the use of smart technology has also contributed to the improvement of disclosure, collaboration, and engagement with the key stakeholders and other members. Social media is now used for the revealing of data as compared to other corporate assurance reports. The trend towards the utilization and interpretation of the Big Data by using tools is also showing its first steps (Nixon, 2016).
Other than this, the technologies, including marketing automation, firm improvement, and lead generation and collaborative learning communities have continued to raise the standard for the accounting professionals (Praxity.com, 2015). Innovation has long remained away from this profession. Whatever was used to be done on paper was started to be done on the computer, and that’s where it stopped. However, the newest trends brought by technology have finally innovated the world of record keeping as well. Faster, smarter and more accessible accountants are the ones who are in demand (Chua, 2013). The new model which is now being tested for adopting is the Uber model which provides numerous opportunities for accounting professionals to get real-time information and use it in real-time decision making. Technology is aiding the accountants to play a much important role in the ongoing operations of their clients now. Cloud storage is still considered just an online backup by some people. However, it is not the case anymore. The power of this technology has increased tremendously over the years, affecting office work to become quicker, and efficient. It allows access to better and more informative for the members at anytime and anywhere. Having real-time insights into the key performance indicators at your fingertips is no more a dream. It has led the accounting profession to be seen as more of a valuable information provider as compared to the number Cruncher.
Big Data or Data Analytics is another big trend which is being followed by companies as a top priority. With this modern technology, companies and professionals can crunch new insights from the existing data. This new information can be crucial for businesses to get a competitive advantage. These analytics also help in assessing the risks and trends and brings the anomalies to sight in a much faster time as compared to traditional inquiries. This tool provides the company with the wealth of information which is also easily actionable (Vistacollege.edu, 2015).
Another major factor has been the rise of globalization. As more and more firms are incorporating the global operating model for long-term success across countries, the professions are affected as well (Zainuddin & Sulaiman, 2016). Over 91 percent of the senior executives are looking for better use of the information provided to them by financial professionals for effective decision making. All communication in the multicultural and multi-location enterprise has to be more insightful, relevant, and influential. By broadening the knowledge base on international issues, accounting professionals can play an important role in the globalization plans of a company. Accounting professionals can use many indicators for the assessment of the possible country of globalization (NBA, 2016). The assessment of the level of FDI gives a glimpse into the level of growth of the country. The continued globalization, where offers more opportunities, also offers more risks, can challenge the accounting profession. With the encouragement of free flow of capital from one country to another Transfer of professional and technical skills and outsourcing of the activities pose threats to the resolution of local problems like different tax systems, financial and cultural regulations (Best Accounting Degrees, 2017). Countries like Australia, EU, and the US prefer the outsourcing of services to the developing countries like China and India. The current negative impact of the globalization from BREXIT and the wining of Trump in the US have shown that the accounting professionals will also contribute to the transformation. The level of increase in the regulations and linked disclosure standards has had a great impact on the accounting profession and will continue in years to come. Because of motives like massive tax avoidance, money laundering, and transfer pricing exposed by the Panama Papers the increase in regulations is expected. It will affect the tax accounting professionals to limit the profit sharing and tax erosion (Islam, 2017).
Other than these, it is evident that future accounting professionals would also need education in globalization, digital technology, and on the evolving regulations for better decision making and reporting. Knowledge of digital technology has been found to have a key impact on the competency gap. Research on big data analytics, cloud computing, and the new forms of corruption and fraud regarding the accounting profession is expected to be done in future.
References:
Best Accounting Degrees. (2017). How has Cloud Accounting Changed the Accounting Industry? Retrieved from https://www.bestaccountingdegrees.net/faq/how-has-cloud-accounting-changed-the-accounting-industry/
Chua, F. (2013, May). Technology trends: their impact on the global accountancy profession. Retrieved from http://www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/acca/global/PDF-technical/futures/pol-af-ttti.pdf
Islam, M. A. (2017, February 10). Future of Accounting Profession: Three Major Changes and Implications for Teaching and Research. Retrieved from https://www.ifac.org/global-knowledge-gateway/business-reporting/discussion/future-accounting-profession-three-major
NBA. (2016, June). Professional Accountants – The future. Retrieved from https://www.nba.nl/globalassets/projecten/visie/professional-accountants—the-future.pdf
Needles, B. E. (2010). Accounting Education: The Impact of Globalization. Accounting Education: An International Journal, 19(6), 601-605.
Nixon, R. (2016, June 17). 3 Trends Happening Now That Will Impact the Future of Accounting. Retrieved from https://www.accountingweb.com/technology/trends/3-trends-happening-now-that-will-impact-the-future-of-accounting
Praxity.com. (2015). The future of the Accounting Profession: 5 Key Trends. Retrieved from http://www.praxity.com/Documents/The%20future%20of%20the%20accountancy%20profession.pdf
Roxburgh, H. (2017, October 9). The future of the profession. Retrieved from https://economia.icaew.com/en/features/october-2017/the-future-of-the-profession
Vistacollege.edu. (2015, April 13). The Effect of Globalization on Accounting Programs. Retrieved from https://www.vistacollege.edu/blog/careers/the-effect-of-globalization-on-accounting-programs/
Zainuddin, Z. N., & Sulaiman, S. (2016). Challenges Faced by Management Accountants in The 21st Century. Procedia Economics and Finance, 37(2016), 466-470.
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