How Financial Technology Transforms the Role of Accountants
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With the increase in technology over the past decade, there have been rumors floating around that accountants would be obsolete, their jobs taken over by software at a fraction of the cost. In reality, that software has given accountants faster access to more accurate data and analysis to do their jobs.
Instead of eliminating accountants’ jobs, it’s made them much more interesting and empowered them to take a more strategic role. Along the way, it’s changed the way accountants work and the skill set needed to succeed. Here are a few of the skills modern accountants need to make the most of fintech tools and thrive in this new environment.
Analysis and strategy
Long gone are the days when accountants simply ruled over the chart of accounts and crunched numbers all day. As fintech tools evolve, the numbers often crunch themselves, giving accountants an opportunity to move up the food chain. Instead of being the ones who spit out strings of numbers, accountants have to step up and be the ones who understand those numbers and what they mean.
One example of this is flux analysis. Each month’s profit and loss statement offers a view of income and expenses for the period. When those numbers change from one month to the next, it can be either an indicator of progress or a red flag that something is wrong. Analyzing that flux to identify the cause of what (if anything) needs to be done requires accountants who understand the flow of money in the business. Fortunately, modern fintech and accounting tools also make that process easier, identifying trends and highlighting material changes for the accounting team to analyze (so they don’t have to spend hours combing through the data).
It’s easy to forget just how technology has impacted us, and how it will continue to impact the future, but all you have to do is think back 10-15 years and picture an accountant hunched over a calculator crunching numbers. While this may seem low-tech, before the features of that calculator became commonplace, accountants had to excel (no pun intended) in doing long-form math by hand. Calculators, computers, and yes Excel, made it possible to bypass several manual steps to focus on more strategic things. Fintech takes this to another level and is growing exponentially faster. Fintech tools allow accountants to not only calculate those numbers but also pull them directly from bank accounts and POS systems with no manual entry and then analyze them in seconds using advanced AI and machine learning technology.
Once the analysis has been done, decisions need to be made and folded into the company’s financial strategy. In the past, accountants handed off the number like couriers and let the C-suite handle the strategy. But, increasingly, accounting experts are helping shape strategic decisions.
Teamwork and communication
As accountants become more involved with other departments, communication becomes a much more important skill to master. More strategic accountants involved across more departments means accountants need communication skills more than ever before. It’s no longer enough to understand the numbers, you also need to be able to explain their significance to non-accountants in a way that’s clear and actionable.
Moving into the fintech era actually impacts teamwork and communications on multiple levels. As we’ve mentioned, accountants need to build communication and cross-functional teamwork skills to step into a more strategic role. At the same time, many companies are now operating on completely or partially work-from-home protocols, which ramps up the need for clear, precise communications even more.
Fortunately, fintech tools also play a role in making that remote communication easier, from syncing with messaging platforms to streamlining reports and checklists for remote teams, to easier ways to share data with outside stakeholders.
Tech savvy
Regardless of what kind of fintech tools you’re talking about, technology is obviously becoming a big part of the accounting and finance functions in most companies. That means your comfort level with technology and how fast you learn new tools and software will be an important part of your skill set as a successful accountant moving forward.
While accounting was once a very siloed department, these recent developments mean it’s more integrated than ever. To thrive in any modern company, accountants must be able to use new fintech tools effectively, comfortably communicate and collaborate through other software tools, and learn fast when something new is added to the tech stack. Tech-phobic accountants will be left behind by many companies that need everyone to be on the same page.
Getting a head start on the future
Technology is always changing and that change is only going to keep accelerating. But whether you’re talking about the latest fintech, an Excel spreadsheet, a calculator, or an abacus, the tools have always been there to make the job easier for financial experts who understand what’s really going on beneath the surface.
As an accounting expert, the best way to get ahead of the game is to keep current on the tools and technology being used in your industry, while also staying sharp on the financial skill set that makes you uniquely valuable. Your company doesn’t need another IT expert, they need an accountant who’s comfortable utilizing tech.
And don’t forget that no man (or woman) is an island. No amount of financial acumen will help you if you can’t communicate and collaborate with the people who need to act on that knowledge. The so-called “soft skills” allow you to add tremendous value to your company by translating numbers into understandable information that the rest of the team can then translate into action. The accountants of the not-so-distant future will use all of these skills to leverage fintech for optimal results.
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