The Changing Accounting Landscape

It should come as no small surprise, especially to those of you reading this book, that the business landscape at large is in the midst of a technological paradigm shift. That phrase may appear to be to be excessive or perhaps a little buzzworthy, but it is difficult to think of a word or phrase that would be equally appropriate. In addition to the underlying trends that are redefining society and business at large, namely demographic changes, the machinations of global trade, and the increased digitization of information, there are who new areas of business and science being developed as we speak. Even the new technology tools that are the focus of this text, however, it is important to note that the evolution, iterations, and developments of accounting and financial services is not necessarily new; the tools have continued to change rather than the goal of the tools themselves (Winsen and Ng 1976). With every new development, however, comes the proverbial push and pull of innovation and regulation; blockchain and artificial intelligence are not exempt from this market reality. These dynamics, specifically as the relate to the accounting profession, represent forces and changes that must acknowledged and addressed in a proactive manner. Accounting professionals seem to be aware of, from the number of articles and discussions focused around the emerging technology space itself, but action steps still seem to be a work in progress. Specifically, as of this writing, there is no authoritative or definitive guidance issued by any accounting institutions or bodies that have entered into the marketplace. To kick things off and to help frame the conversation, Fig. 2.1 presents a summary and highlight of trends that are changing the accounting profession from its current position to where many experts predict it will end up.