This text is part of the special Accounting Profession section
The introduction of numerous technological and digital tools over the past few decades has allowed accountants to save time and increase precision. But the transformations brought about by the dazzling advances of recent years will be even more profound.
“It doesn’t just change the way we work, but what we do,” says Marc-André Paquette, chartered professional accountant (CPA) and project director at CPA Canada. He notes that the arrival of multiple technologies in recent years is changing the situation. “The technologies add up to each other and create a complex environment. We are not talking about bubbles that develop in isolation (blockchaincryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, etc.), but rather which are added one on top of the other,” he describes.
If the change of media (from paper to Excel, for example) replicated the manual way of working by accelerating it, artificial intelligence is changing the very nature of accountants’ tasks.
Hyperpersonalization and agility
“AI has evolved a lot in recent years, and particularly with the arrival of generative AI, which offers the opportunity to give more personalized advice, based on financial needs, life stages of a person or company, etc. “, explains Krish Banerjee, managing director and head of data, analytics and applied intelligence at Accenture in Canada, a consulting firm specializing in information technology. If the use by professionals of general public tools like ChatGPT is delicate – since it is not required to be accurate -, companies (like Bloomberg) have already started working on personalized models adjusted to needs of the accounting profession.
Additionally, with many automated processes and transactions, CPAs can be more agile. “AI makes it possible to build forecasts and models with all available information, almost in real time,” continues Mr. Banerjee. We are no longer talking about historical financial statements, but prospective ones, which makes it possible to predict the months to come. “Traditionally, CPAs will seek information on what has happened in recent years to construct a financial statement. But the value of this type of document is starting to falter,” says Mr. Paquette.
Beyond financial data
CPAs are also called upon to go beyond financial data. “It’s an opportunity for them to come up with figures,” says Mr. Paquette. Thus, financial decisions today take into consideration a host of other criteria, beyond the budgetary question. ” THE big data allows us to collect non-financial information — for example on environmental impacts — to add to financial data to make decisions,” he explains.
This expansion of roles could allow accountants to be involved in the company’s strategic planning, in decision-making processes as well as in problem solving, wrote Steve Jacob, professor at Laval University, and his colleagues. , in a report on the issue dating from 2020.
However, the challenges of adapting to these new technologies remain numerous. “Many professionals work hourly. But if tools can do the same job in much less time, what am I charging? There is some reflection to be made,” points out Mr. Paquette. The development of AI is also going faster than its supervision, and CPAs will have to use it ethically while respecting the rules of different jurisdictions. “Professionals must ensure they use validated data, which does not lead to bias,” Mr. Banerjee gives as an example.
With the multitude of tools and fields of specialization, it is impossible to be up to date on everything and to understand how they work. CPAs will therefore have to identify what is interesting and relevant for them, according to their fields of action and expertise. Someone who works in the banking sector will, for example, need to be familiar with cryptocurrency, which is less relevant for a financial analyst in SMEs. “This is one of the challenges of the profession and its members,” summarizes Mr. Paquette. And in this new environment, CPAs will have to learn to work collaboratively. “CPAs are used to being at the center of the table. But in the world of technology, they’re just one piece of the puzzle. We have to work collaboratively,” he concludes.
Productivity gains
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