Digital technology

Not only have they changed the way we communicate but they’ve changed the way we run business, spend our free time and understand the world too.

In 2014, GSMA Intelligence reported that mobile phones devices had officially surpassed the number of people in the world, and this number is multiplying five times faster than we are. Mobiles are now the most common digital gadget in the world.

Today’s organisations are increasingly dependent on technology. And it is this dependency that accountants and finance professionals can use to their advantage.

The digital evolution in society has expanded the role of accountants.

Today, finance professionals are not just enthusiastic adopters of emerging technologies. For many organisations, they are the first point for call when the firm is looking for advice on their use and implementation for their strategic goals and decision-making processes.

Knowledge of digital technology is an area in which professional accountants need to possess skill and competency. Knowledge of new mobile and cloud business models, block chain, digital currencies and payment mechanisms, and new routes to investment such as crowd funding are increasingly needed in the industry.

Additionally, finance professionals need to possess the ability to apply technology to analysing, interpreting and presenting financial and nonfinancial data (including ‘big data’).

For example, as technology enables more visual reporting, professional accountants will need to use video and other innovative digital tools to produce better and more informative reports, faster.

The way individual accountants respond to emerging technologies will shape the future of their careers and those with and for whom they work. The profession can take a more proactive than reactive approach to digital technologies by thinking ahead.

By embracing the ‘new normal’, the profession can actively reshape it, rather than simply being reshaped by it.

As organisations continue to integrate digital technologies into their practices, they must be aware of cybercrime. Cybercrime is a very broad category that’s used to describe any crime committed using a computer or network. Criminals make extensive use digital evolutions such as e-mail, Internet banking, online systems and mobile technology just like everyone else. Cybercrime can damage both individuals and organisations as criminals commit financial or identity theft. The quick, invisible and often remote manner of these crimes occur often means that individuals or organisations can easily put themselves at an increased risk simply by ignoring a warning sign or having inadequate controls to protect their own systems.

It is inevitable that as technology continues to evolve, the cost and complexity of cybersecurity will also continue to increase. This will create an increasing role for internal audit and for the growing number of accountants who have chosen to develop expertise in this area.

As gatekeepers of financial data security, all finance professionals will need to ensure that: • the growing threat to individual users and small and mediumsized entities is recognised • the workforce is educated/aware of existing and emerging risks and the need for vigilance • constant monitoring identifies and assesses technology-related business risks • defences are updated as necessary to mitigate and reduce risks, and • the value of specialist tools and expertise is recognised from board level down.

The profession has always been a force for good, influencing the evolution of business ethics and values, the development and setting of standards, and prioritising financial stewardship and integrity. It is this force for good that also needs to be applied to digital technologies as they evolve in organisations’ processed.

They need to understand these well enough to gauge their potential impact on business, on the profession, and the relationships between them.

There are common challenges, such as the need to maintain constant awareness, and to consider factors such as affordability, regulation and risk. Many of them also create common opportunities, such as the potential to reduce costs or to develop new and improved business processes or products.

Another area where evolution of technology causes concern is social media. It is becoming progressively more difficult to constrain and control the amount of internal company information that seeps into the public domain. But similarly, social media is increasingly accepted as outlets for formal company announcements.

For example in the US, regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allows companies to use social media outlets such as Facebook or Twitter to announce key information, in compliance with Regulation Fair Disclosure, as long as investors have been notified as to which social media will be used to disseminate such information.

Ultimately the business environment is being made increasingly fast-paced by many factors including the new business models and processes enabled by digital technologies. The world needs for forward-thinking professionals that use technology to their advantage, combining technical excellence with high ethical standards and management skills, to ensure organisations thrive on a global stage.

Leaders—in business as well as in operations—are going to have to prepare their organisations by investing in new skills and by thinking hard about how they want to restructure the way the company works. That means they will have to become students of technology, not just passive observers, and advocates for change, not just consumers of tools and software. This may bring confusion and uncertainty for business leaders who are not prepared to change. But for those who are ready to adapt, it is going to be a very exciting next few years.