In recent years, the explosion of new Technology in Accounting and software has shifted the way many businesses and industries operate.
Technology is at the forefront of making business processes and operations more efficient and cost-effective, while also improving productivity.
And, the accounting and finance industries are no exception in this regard.
But, what emerging and existing technologies should accounting professionals pay attention to, how will they affect business and make a difference to your company or career.
Keep reading to see some of the tech trends and technologies, and comprehensive accounting
Table of Contents
Cloud-Accounting Software
While cloud technology has existed for some years now, many companies still fail to take full advantage of the internet and all its resources.
Before business tax accountants were blessed with computers and modern-day technology, they manually had to keep track of all financial transactions, keep physical ledgers and prepare many documents by hand.
Cloud-accounting software now automates many of these accounting processes, accurately maintains records, produces financial information, and provides management with critical data to make informed decisions.
Applied Artificial Intelligence (AI)
While we are a long way away from understanding the full potential of what Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be capable of, AI is already rapidly becoming part of many businesses’ daily operations.
Despite not yet reaching the surface of what AI will be capable of, experts predict AI is set to take over more arduous and repetitive tasks and improve customer satisfaction through new customer interfaces and interaction methods.
In the accounting world, AI is already used for:
- Recording data
- Auto completing documents from scanned receipts
- Auto generating invoices
- Auto-Retrieval of statements
- Sorting transactions
- Reconciling accounts
- Accurate robotic bookkeeping
- Secured encrypted data storage
- Expense tracking and comparison
- Data matching and auto cross-referencing
As technology continues to advance and extends the capacities of AI, software and machines will be able to interpret and act on real-world data to perform more accounting and bookkeeping tasks.
Online Bookkeeping Services
The roles of a bookkeeper and accountant often go hand in hand.
Bookkeepers are tasked with keeping track of a business’s financial transactions and recording all data, which may include business expenses, sales revenue, accounts payable, accounts receivable, purchases, payroll and petty cash.
The data a bookkeeper records and manages is then filled into ledgers and used to produce necessary financial documents such as:
- Balance sheet
- Cash flow statement
- Income statement
- Profit and loss
- Statement of changes in equity
While traditional bookkeeping methods meant much of this work needed to be done by hand, manually tracked and physically entered into ledgers, bookkeeping software automates and streamlines many of these bookkeeping tasks.
Bookkeeping software can also auto-produce a variety of financial statements and reports, including income statements and balance sheets.
Benefits of Accounting Technology
Accounting technology plays a role in making the accountants job a little easier but also increasing their capabilities and reach.
Cloud computing and improved connectivity give clients greater access to their accountant without needing to travel to the accountant’s firm. Additionally, cloud-accounting services provide businesses with a streamlined management system that automates many repetitive and time-consuming tasks.
These improvements in technology also allow accountants to interpret data more efficiently and effectively, make more accurate financial forecasts, and provide more in-depth strategies.
Technology is changing the way accounting is done. At the forefront of this technology is the growth of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, bookkeeping software and other technologies.