While the rapidly evolving digital sector has been changing what the tech sector looks like with each passing month, the finance and accounting industry is the one outside tech that has arguably been impacted the most. Advancements in technology and data are changing the way the finance industry works, from payment solutions to accountancy.
RECRUITERS’ principal consultant in accounting and finance recruitment Garrett O’Gorman believes the future of finance might mean accountants, as we know them in the traditional sense, may no longer exist. “There is a trend towards the use of data analytics and specifically dashboards such as Tableau, Datapine and Sisense to name a few,” he said. “As technology gets more advanced and automation becomes the norm, I can see some of the traditional roles that are performed by accountants becoming redundant.” However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that accountants will be replaced by robots.
The future of work has been a hot topic for a number of years now and the conversation has thankfully evolved beyond the simplistic view that humans will be replaced by robots. As with most things, the future of work and the age of automation is much more nuanced than that and has a lot more to do with using automation in the best way possible to take over certain tasks so that humans can free up more of their own time to focus on tasks that are critically human-centric, such as business solutions, creative ideas an advancing innovation.
Accountants are one of the professions most discussed when it comes to automation, and it’s true that many traditional elements of their current role could be automated, but the same developments still apply. They won’t disappear, they will evolve. No matter how proficient automation can become at transactional accounting tasks, it will never be able to match the true value of an accountant, which is their human judgment. According to Gartner, AI is set to create more jobs than it will replace, which means human workers, will always have options, and that includes accountants.
Interestingly, while technology is turning most of the financial sector upside down, O’Gorman has noticed one area that is not as far along as others. “Technology advancements in the regulatory/compliance world have been a bit slower to advance,” he said. “I can see this area as one that is crying out for technology advancements and candidates with good risk and compliance skills coupled with technology will be in demand in 2020.”
Our 2020 Salary Predictions Guide predicts that these skills will become particularly important in Ireland next year due to the uncertainty of Brexit. Britain’s departure from the EU will lead to an extremely high demand for regulatory professionals as risk and compliance will continue to be of paramount importance due to legislation in relation to financial services, money services and AML and corporate governance, with demand far exceeding supply.
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Additionally, finance business partners, commercial accountants and commercial finance analysts will continue to be sought after in 2020 because, now that we are firmly in the data analytics age, financial analysis and forecasting has never been more important.
O’Gorman added that no matter what happens with Brexit in 2020, he expects qualified accountants with between one and three years’ experience will still be in great demand and short supply. “The engine room of any finance team tends to see a lot of staff turnover and competition when we have a market that is hot. I don’t see that changing in 2020 and employers need to be aware of this.”
Looking for your next move in accounting and finance? Talk to Gar O’Gorman by email at garrett.ogorman@recruiters.ie or on the phone at 353 1 632 5028. Short on time? Simply register your CV here and Gar will receive it directly.
Brian McFadden is the client services director at RECRUITERS
Piggy bank sign photo by Vanessa Lee on Unsplash
