AAT hosts global roundtable and shows impact of technology on the accounting profession

AAT along with IFAC (International Federation of Accountants) has hosted its fifth annual roundtable with leading accounting technician bodies from around the world, to discuss the growth and professionalism of the accountancy industry.

The roundtable, held on Tuesday 13 November in Vancouver, Canada, attracted senior representatives from organisations including:

• AAT
• AAT Sri Lanka
• ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)
• CAANZ (Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand)
• CAPA (Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants)
• CIIPA (Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants)
• CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy)
• CPA Australia
• IFAC
• IPA (Institute of Public Accountants)
• PAFA (Pan African Federation of Accountants)

A major highlight of the roundtable was a presentation of academic research AAT conducted during 2019 with Nottingham Business School and Warwick Economics & Development Ltd, focusing on the impact that technology would have on accounting technicians and bookkeepers. This research quantified the extent that technology was already playing in the accounting industry, revealing:

• Cloud technology – which was disruptive just a few years back – is now mainstream for accountants. Around 85% said this would have a significant or moderate impact on the role of the accountant.
• Nearly as many (83%) said that regulatory developments will have a significant or moderate impact on accountants in the future.
• Existing technology could automate activities in the financial sector that currently takes up 43% of its workers’ time.
• 81% of accountants believe some tasks currently performed by accounting technicians and bookkeepers will be automated, but there will still be the need for human intervention.

Rob Alder, head of business development, AAT, said:

“This year’s meeting of minds in Vancouver gave us an opportunity to present and discuss our findings around the impact of technology on current accountants, along with accountants of the future. There’s little doubt that an accounting technician’s role is evolving, but we believe our research underlines how technology should be seen as an enabler for them to add value, and not as a threat.

Technological advances mean accountants can now report on real-time financial information, and frees them up from mundane tasks such as data entry to being able to advise on what these figures mean for their clients.

The roundtable also discussed a CAPA publication, Accounting Technicians – Exploring Opportunities for the Profession, along with a joint IFAC/AAT publication, An Illustrative Competency Framework for Accounting Technicians.