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With artificial intelligence making headway in Australia’s accounting industry, new research has revealed how another jurisdiction is adapting to such change.
What do UK accountants think about AI?
14 January 2020
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7 minute read
A new report released by Caseware, Understanding Technology Attitudes Within UK Finance Professionals, has shed light on the perceptions accountants have when it comes to digital disruption.
“Technology is affecting finance professionals — both within corporate finance departments and accountancy practices of every size,” the report noted.
“From cloud computing to mobile accounting, artificial intelligence to blockchain, technology is having a fundamental impact not only on day-to-day activity but client relationships and revenue streams.
“Questions still arise, however, not only regarding the speed of technology-led change, but also surrounding the attitudes of finance professionals. Are individuals embracing the automation and ease of information sharing enabled by cloud computing? Is there a fear of AI-inspired job loss or delight at the opportunity to move away from manual tasks and embrace client-facing activity?”
According to the research, of those surveyed, 34 per cent thought AI will have the most impact on their working life over the next five years. Meanwhile, 31 per cent said they believe cloud computing will have the strongest impact.
This was followed by mobile accounting (26 per cent), business intelligence (25 per cent), big data analytics/advanced analytics (23 per cent), business process management (21 per cent) and workflow automation (20 per cent).
A further 17 per cent said robot processing automation (RPA) would have the most impact on their working life over the next five years, 16 per cent said intelligent processing automation, 13 per cent said machine learning and 7 per cent said blockchain.
“Cloud computing has already made a significant impact on working life, with 38 per cent of fee earning engagements — including tax returns, audits and filing accounts — already conducted on a cloud-based system,” the report said.
“Delve down into the detail and almost a third (31 per cent) of firms are doing half or more of their fee-earning engagements in cloud systems, which is a huge endorsement for the value of this way of working.”
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- Be interested to know if all the online/replace humans with AI is affecting the numbers of people entering this profession? According to information from the ATO (a little dated now), the average age for tax agents is getting older faster than average. Younger people are not becoming tax agents. Is the writing on the wall? The ATO can push technology forward, but the blacksmith factor cannot currently be replaced and it takes years to hone.0
- I think you'll find that the increase in average age of tax agents is also a consequence of business owners working longer and retiring later. Additionally, many senior agents also have little trust and respect for the younger generations, in part thanks to the (unfair and unsubstantiated) media representation of millennials.
I don't think there are less young people entering the profession, there are just less older people handing over the reins or beginning succession planning (at least until at a much later stage than in the past)0
- You have to adapt to survive.
But the blacksmith trade of accounting underlying it all still prevails and from my observation has been a godsend for clients who just blindly follow the algorithms leading to incorrect outcomes.0
