Automated Intelligence (AI) has been a hot-button issue for the accounting and bookkeeping industry. The rapid increase in technology has led to fears that an increase in AI machine learning will effectively eliminate bookkeeper and accountancy positions.
And, indeed, technology will change accounting and bookkeeping in immeasurable ways.
It would be false to suggest that an accountant job in 10 years will be the same as an accountants job 10 years ago. The job, however, will still be there. It will simply require slightly different skills.
Get Ahead of The Technology Revolution
To stay relevant in the bookkeeping and accounting world, firms must embrace the machine technology that can accomplish some of the more menial tasks more quickly than what was possible before in the days on pen-and-paper ledger books or even Quickbooks Desktop for that matter.
The time that is freed up by these technological innovations gives the gift of genuine engagement with the numbers.
We always say that a business’ numbers should tell a story and should indicate how to move forward. It is now possible to run multitudinous reports, to have to pinpoint accurate numbers and to isolate minute variables in a business’ strategies in order to more effectively streamline processes and maximize growth.
The Human Place in the World of AI
It takes a human, though, to identify which variables are the most important to your clients.
Clients come to an accounting service provider because they feel a need to free up some of their own time, to better understand their business, to prepare effectively for tax season, and because, often, they want quality advice from someone who has taken the time to understand business.
With accountants and bookkeepers spending less time on account reconciliation and auditing, on analytics calculations, etc. they can now spend more time providing invaluable business advisory services. They can more effectively understand any business because of the wealth of analytics at their fingertips, and they can be altogether more precise.
The Birth of a New Industry
The advent of AI is less the death of accounting than the rebirth of a service-driven white collar job.
The client of a bookkeeping firm that is at the forefront of technology gets an ROI unlike one has ever seen before in the accounting industry.
To stay relevant in this new world of accounting firms must ensure that their employees are trained to reliably analyze data and to utilize technology effectively. Once this happens, they are able to provide a great service to the customer and, hopefully, take part in an engaging and dynamic workplace.