There are a lot of articles out there about "future proofing" your accounting practice. What this really means is finding ways to stay relevant in an ever-evolving landscape.

While the roots of accounting are long and deeply embedded, the tree that has sprung from them is gargantuan, with branches extending in diverse directions across the sky. Given the unanticipated complexities of the modern era and the latest technology, the future accountant looks decidedly different from good old Luca Pacioli and different too from the stereotypical man in a suit. Different enough that I'm going to compare him to a cheetah, but probably not in the way you think.

The future accountant looks decidedly different from good old Luca Pacioli.

Tomorrow's accountant will continue to be successful not by following precisely in the footsteps of his predecessors but by forging his own path. She will use the knowledge of her profession alongside other complementary types of knowledge to help her clients through uncertain and challenging times.

In this article, I'll break down this abstract idea of tree branches and forest paths to examine the obstacles today's accountants face and how you can overcome them moving into the future. And, if you stick around to the end, I'll let you know the most important quality you can possess as tomorrow's accountant - the one that cheetahs possess too.

It should come as no surprise that technology is one of the biggest disruptors of the accounting profession. Almost half of the 400 firms interviewed for the MY FIRM. MY FUTURE. report published by CPA Australia last year said that new technology and digital disruption were the greatest business challenges for their accounting practice. Technology got more votes as a business challenge than any other category.

And the thing with technology is that it's not exclusive to accounting. Technology is as pervasive as the pandemic, wheedling its way into every nook and cranny. Computers went from being a novelty to being something in every office to being something in every person's pocket! As Alan FitzGerald of Practice Connections says:

“Today with the mobile phone as the great technology democratiser, you can set up and run a business from the palm of your hand. [So] there’s this repositioning happening now around how the accountant liaises and works with the client to offer more holistic services.”

Today's tech-savvy entrepreneurs are more likely to have tried out the latest tech than their accountants who have more established systems in place. However, because they've tried out the latest tech, they'll expect those they work with to do the same. If someone is running their business from their cell phone, they might not be keen on physical paperwork or collecting all their receipts in a shoebox...

For some accountants, the prospect of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) is daunting and appears to pose a risk to their profession. But this doesn't mean the end for accountants or what Accenture Strategy's white paper back in 2015 called "Death by digital". Accounting isn't a dying profession doomed to be overtaken by AI or automation. Rather, it's a profession that needs a mindset shift.

Accounting isn't a dying profession doomed to be overtaken by AI or automation.

Everyone has seen at least one movie in which an intelligent robot overpowers a human or tries to take control of the world. (If you haven't, where have you been?) There's always a big problem when this happens: namely, the robot is far too rational to act as a human would and just doesn't feel things in the same way - if at all. And this is exactly why tech could never replace an accountant.

Bear with me.

Accounting isn't typically associated with feeling, but, rational and mathematical as you may be, the human touch of emotion and concern for others is there too. How do you automate the conversations you have with clients? The connections you build with them over years? The investment you have in wanting their businesses to succeed? It's these so-called "soft skills" that keep you relevant in a time of increasingly clever tech.

The software that you choose to use should take the monotonous, labor-intensive, repeatable tasks off your hands, giving you more time to focus on what computers can't do. As one Forbes article on the future of accounting notes, today's technology supports accountants; it doesn't replace them.

"While some pundits say accounting has a dim future in the digital world of tomorrow, technologies such as cloud-based data management, process automation and advanced analytics are actually poised to further elevate accountants in new and empowering ways." - Michael Higgins, Forbes Technology Council

The key is to take the seeming threat or tech and turn it into an opportunity.

The key is to take the seeming threat or tech and turn it into an opportunity.

Today, there are a plethora of tools at your disposal to make your processes simpler and more efficient, without detracting from the value that you provide to your clients. As one study on the impact of emerging technologies on accountants' role and skills notes:

"Emerging technologies may have the potential to dramatically change and disrupt the work of accountants and accounting researchers, but it is not enough to evolve new technologies if there is no parallel development of new paradigms that allow the understanding of new data or ways of working." - Nanja Kroon, et. al

One of the crucial things that accountants will need to do in the future is to adapt their ways of operating, to create new paradigms that work alongside the latest advances in technology.

Implementing new technology into your work day isn't just a matter of finding the best software; it necessitates using the software to its full potential and in conjunction with the rest of your process.

How many times have you tried out a new software and made a call about it one way or the other without trying half of its features? How do you know what you're missing if you haven't tried it? This is why it's important to find out as much as you can about a new software when trying it out. Attend demos and webinars, ask questions. The only way you can find out if something works for you is to ask questions, try it out, and retry it. Or as the techies would say, "iterate" and "reiterate".

How do you know what you're missing if you haven't tried it?

Big data is a rich resource that accountants of tomorrow can tap into. By centralizing data management through cloud technology, you:

In one study, Huerta and Jensen call data analytics an "opportunity for accountants to move from the role of watchdog within an organization to being a business partner", fulfilling a strategic role by helping organizations to become more driven by data.

Automation further reduces costs and improves efficiency, while cutting down on human error. And by automating processes with software like Syft Analytics, you free up time that can be better spent on interpreting data and helping your clients to make better business decisions.

According to the 2022 Salary Guide from Robert Half, accounting firms with a traditional face-time culture found that reporting, auditing, and other financial processes could be completed remotely just as effectively as in the office. Moreover, putting faith in employees to work from home led to a happier, more motivated workforce. 75% of workers surveyed by Robert Half said that they wanted to be able to work remotely at least part of the time.

Firms who don't take on flexible or hybrid work options could risk losing some of their best staff, a real concern during the so-called Great Resignation.

If you've gathered anything from this article so far, it should be that the one constant expected of the future is change. New technologies disrupt the ways we currently operate, as do new expectations from clients and new policies from government.

An important aspect of disruption lies in the disruption of a complacent mindset. As Suran Moodley explained in a recent case study, his business, Ariston Global was suffering from a pervasive mindset of viewing management accounts as an end result rather than the means through which to provide valuable insights. Once the business was able to change their perspective, however, they could add more value by giving their clients actionable insights using Syft's reports as a tool.

New technologies disrupt the ways we currently operate.

Technology enables the crucial disruptions to happen, removing extraneous steps in the process, along with extra costs and time. With technology like Syft, you can move from acknowledging you have a mindset problem, as Ariston Global did, to acting on it and changing the way you operate.

Disruption sounds scary, but it can oftentimes be a very positive and necessary occurrence. Without disruption and re-evaluation, how do you grow? As Chartered Accountants Worldwide write:

"The term “disruption” is used because new technologies, products, services and even whole new business sectors make re-evaluating the way we do business unavoidable. Some old patterns will have to change, but this can be positive if we embrace it and allow it to contribute to our success."

Change is as good as a holiday and it appears that the only way forward is by embracing it.

The primary disruption taking place in the accounting world isn't really to do with technology, helpful though it might be. It's to do with mindset.

To prepare yourself and your firm for what 2022 has in store, you need to be able to shift yourself away from any old stereotypical notions you had of what an accountant may look or act like, and you need to remember that vital human element - that feeling - that I mentioned earlier.

Time has shown that developing soft skills is crucial to continued success in the accounting profession. Soft skills are far more difficult to replicate in machine form, and they're crucial to roles that are becoming more about providing business advice than compliance on its own.

You need to be able to shift away from any stereotypical notions of what an accountant may act like.

Up-skilling your employees is also both great for your practice and for employee retention, helping to solve the persistent skills gap issue that's been facing the profession for some time.

To add a creative spin to your skills development, consider yourself as an artist. As I wrote in previous article about the accountant as an artist:

"By adopting artistic practices such as visualization, curation, performance, and disruption, accountants can improve the accounting space alongside the latest technology. And accounting can continue to adapt to a speedily changing world."

Using this kind of lateral thinking can help you re-conceptualize what exactly it means to be an accountant now and moving forward.

Creativity helps you solve problems and make connections between different ideas. Interpreting data requires experience, knowledge, and also critical thinking.

Worried that you aren't a creative person? It doesn't matter. As Anslee Wolfe wrote in the Journal of Accountancy, creativity is not just a personality trait. Creativity is a skill that you can develop and nurture over time. You can nurture this skill by:

All the things I've listed so far can be grouped under the large umbrella term of the cheetah-like quality you really should be striving for as an accountant moving forward with all these disruptions.

Well, I did promise you this. The one key quality that you should add to your arsenal as tomorrow's accountant is: AGILITY.

Agility is the ability to move quickly and easily or the ability to think and understand quickly. Being agile is similar to being adaptable, but with an emphasis on movement.

Agile animals are fast animals, animals who can quickly accelerate. For instance, a cheetah can increase its speed by up to 6.7 mph in a single stride! This means that when they hunt, they rely more on their agility, their ability to rapidly accelerate and maneuver, than their overall speed.

This is what tomorrow's accountant needs: the capacity to quickly maneuver, reposition, accelerate, twist, and turn. The agility of a cheetah on the hunt.

The pace of change is fast but inconsistent. To be able to make the most of the latest technologies and stay abreast of trends, you need to be quick on your feet. You need to be nimble, never static, always ready for the next disruption be it technological or economic. And you need to be able to see that disruption as an opportunity, not an obstacle.

Stay agile as a cheetah and you will be able to pivot, iterate, and reiterate to ensure that your practice continues to grow in whatever direction the branches of the large accounting tree are heading - or, you can be the disruptive branch that goes the other way.