| | AUGUST 20209role based on their strengths as an accountant and the tasks that motivate them. According to the Meaningful work for the digital professional, a report by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Cer-tified Accountants) and EY based on a global survey, the future of work for accountancy and finance professionals is only going to get better owing to an increase in the adoption of digital technologies. To ascertain what creates signifi-cant work for the accountants in this digital world, it is vital to in-spect how finance professionals engage with technology and not just focus on what it does.Accountancy and finance pro-fessionals must understand the technology relating to delivery models for their services, chang-ing consumer demands and needs, technological guidelines as well as ethics and the public interest. While technology might seem striking from a product de-velopment standpoint - it solves a problem - it may be unbecoming when it comes to other aspects mentioned above.The ACCA & EY report, based on 4,281 respondents and 55 in-terviews, shows that there is room to increase levels of digital adop-tion. Universally, community technologies (55%) such as social media and messaging saw the highest adoption rates followed by `next-generation' computing (Cloud, Server-less, Edge) at 36% and data technologies (big data, analytics, visualisation) at 30%. The major gaps in adoption rates between leaders and the rest of respondents were within the data technologies category. By the next few years, respondents expect en-gagement with digital and tech-nology to approach 90%. Digital transformation has moved the attention of the account-ing and finance firms at every level. There is a greater emphasis on pro-cess optimisation and handling ex-emptions because the data coming in is being synthesised through au-tomation. Less time is being spent on building reports so the results can be analysed more meticulously, and accountants and finance pro-fessionals can focus more on advis-ing the businesses. The main thing is that accountants will be able to focus more on creating value mak-ing them feel more appreciated, engaged, and content.The blueprint for the finance professionals starts with constant skimming of the digital backdrop that goes past comprehending how an individual technology works. This provides a basis for under-standing the purpose and for re-flecting profoundly on why it is im-portant to embrace technology and work with developing components of digital skills.Once there is transparency on this, accountants need to assess strategic fit with the organisation and to set a tone that supports learning and development. This includes looking beyond instant deliverables and understanding how the work fits into the overall picture, for example, the value cre-ated for stakeholders and career paths in sync with the agenda of those stakeholders.Role of the professionalThe disruption by technology has been steered by the accountancy profession through business cycles for a long time now and this will continue ­ indeed, over the years, the profession has been some-thing of an early tech adopter. The COVID-19 pandemic has, actu-ally, augmented digital adoption in areas such as e-commerce (for reaching clients) and remote work-ing (for reaching staff) that relay directly to upholding operations.Additionally, accountants will need to partner efficiently with other professionals and specialists like data engineers or cybersecurity specialists. Given the specific nature of technology and the briskness of technological change, this will be crucial as it is not possible to obtain a deep knowledge of everything. So, it is imperative to consider whether the organisation model permits ac-cess to multidisciplinary proficien-cies in a swift, smooth manner.Jeff Bezos said, "There is no al-ternative to digital transformation. Visionary companies will carve out new strategic options for them-selves -- those that don't adapt, will fail." True to this, while a fast-chang-ing and increasingly systematis-ing world presents challenges, for those eager to get involved, there are always chances of gains. The digital backdrop presents substan-tial prospects for accountancy and finance professionals to accomplish significant work experiences ­ ones that are compelled by tenacity and which have the prospective to ex-pand in new and gratifying ways. IT IS NOW A FACT THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED THE ROLE OF ACCOUNTANTS AND FINANCE PROFESSIONALS
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