Cathy Engelbert, Deloitte’s Chief Executive Officer, stated “the next 5 or 6 years… [for the] accounting and auditing profession will change more than it has in 30 years.”  

The world as we know it is driven by wireless connectivity and the seamless integration of machines, humans, and data. This describes the impending 4th industrial revolution (or Industry 4.0) which will account for the largest disruption facing the accounting profession in recent history.

Industry 4.0 represents a new wave of innovation that will reduce costs by integrating machines, products, and customers to accelerate business processes. As technology evolves, mundane tasks will be automated and data analysis will be completed by machine learning algorithms, leading to a plethora of future opportunities.

In relation to these waves of change, the accounting industry will see a positive financial impact as firms adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning technologies into their business models. Currently, the Big 4 Accounting Firms are caught in a quagmire of data duplication and inaccuracy that creates a delay in the automation process. AI and Machine Learning targets inefficiency by eliminating time-intensive documentation and data entry, detecting spam faster, and improving regulatory maintenance. Therefore, these algorithms will eradicate virtually all of these issues and enable highly skilled workers to focus more on value-added activities. The biggest advantage to the accounting profession will be the drastically redefined method for detecting fraud. Ernst & Young produced a report that showcased how these fraud detection methods were made possible through real-time data assessment that dissected and analyzed any financial anomalies.

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change” – Stephen Hawking

Preparing British Columbia’s accountants for Industry 4.0 will be CPABC’s largest focus. Major accounting changes are predicted to arise in auditing, payroll, accounts receivable and accounts payable protocols. As a regulatory and educational body, CPABC needs to be at the forefront of these changes so that this technological shift becomes a comparative advantage for the accounting profession.

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