3 major accounting technology trends of 2016

The evolution of technology has impacted all industries, and the accounting industry is no exception. As a CPA, you will agree that it has ensured more mobility and connectivity for accountants. Fifteen years ago, could you even imagine liaising with clients across the globe from the comfort of your home?

We guess not.

From retrieving real-time analytics and performing advanced computations on-the-fly to remotely accessing data from varied devices, technology has indeed made tedious tasks easier. Of course, there are moments when the workload is too much and you need a breather, but we will address that some other day.

More or less, accounting technology has made a positive difference and it holds a lot of promise this year as well. Now that the tax season is over, it is necessary to know which new technologies will affect your business plans and how. Read on:

1. Cloud Technology

The term mind sound scary but it is not. In simple words, cloud technology is basically a server that holds information that is accessible from anywhere. The server is completely secure and provides the user with the convenience of mobility. According to a survey by web service provider Capterra, four out of 10 businesses opt for the cloud-based accounting software – and this number is only expected to increase in the coming months.

There are three major benefits of using the cloud service:

• It reduces system maintenance and administration cost of the organization.
• It lets multiple users edit data and view real-time information anytime, anywhere.
• It provides a backup service that reduces the likelihood to lose important data.

2. Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

It refers to the technology that converts images into a readable and editable text message. This means that if you take a picture of the whiteboard post a meeting, you will be able to convert the image into a document with all the handwritten notes typed out thanks to OCR.

With this innovation, you can upload the hand-written receipts on an online accounting platform and weed out irrelevant information and other content along the way. This makes way for improved efficiency and productivity. For an accountant, OCR is certainly a boon!

3. Big Data

Believe it or not, “big data” is the buzzword of the decade and the accounting industry has finally taken note of it. With plenty of information and statistics in hand, you accountants can make good use of it to increase the value they bring to the organization.

Besides ensuring effective financial decision making, big data can also help them fight fraud. It can help you spot gaps in the work processes and identify fraudulent activities that can be detrimental to the organization’s growth.

What do you think will shape the accounting industry in 2016?