THE NEXT FRONTIER
The paradox of new technology is that
it offers the chance to replace the value
lost as it commoditises traditional
skills. Advances in automation, such as
self-service data retrieval, are freeing
accountants and the finance function
from the more routine aspects of internal
reporting and compliance work – and
creating opportunities for them to alter
their profile in business radically.
Finance professionals and accountants
can provide a new and critical service:
making big data smaller, ‘distilling’ vast
amounts of information into actionable
insights. Accountants are responsible for
the ‘integrity’ of reports and accounts,
they can help act as custodians of nonfinancial
datasets and set quality and
ethical standards for the information
used in making strategic decisions. This
role will become increasingly important
as more companies look for ways of
developing new products and services
from data they generate and own,