--- title: The near future of accounting brings new opportunities date: 2012-12-10T08:19:39Z modified: 2012-12-10T08:19:39Z permalink: "https://grow.ee/raamatupidamise-lahitulevik-toob-uued-voimalused/" type: post status: publish excerpt: "" wpid: 1708 timestamp: 2012-12-10T08:19:39Z tags: - Accounting --- An accurate prediction of tomorrow's winning lottery numbers can bring immense wealth. Similarly, an entrepreneur who understands to notice the opportunities of the near future early enough and react to them accordingly rides on the crest of a wave of success. Accounting, as a central source of information for the functioning of a company, can be a useful tool here. For example, we can more accurately calculate the price of a product sold as part of a discount campaign, which ensures the most profitable result. A price lower than the optimum would not bring enough sales coverage and a higher price would scare away buyers. The following thought process was triggered by the eye-catching Pärnu Financial Conference's forward-looking advertisement, which meshed well with the current topic. The need for an accountant sitting in the back of the office, smelling of coffee, will simply disappear. It will be replaced by a future that is more useful and exciting for everyone: 1. The function of adding and subtracting accounting services will be reduced, making room for more complex support services that help understand the company's processes and provide advice to other business areas and processes. In essence, the accountant will change from an inputter of purchase invoices to an advisor to the manager. The "easier part" of accounting will certainly remain, but it will become a cheap routine that will disappear over time. Today's accountants are valuable, who can see the bigger picture and are willing to engage in self-improvement in order to understand the company's business processes. 2. The volume of any input work will become smaller and cheaper. Accountants are expected to have higher capabilities in dealing with different software. At the same time, they need to understand the basic logic of accounting (how entries are created). Paper is becoming a major obstacle, because electronic processing of information is simply so much faster and more efficient. Even if today replacing printing with scanning seems inefficient and time-consuming, it is still an inevitable step towards a better future. 3. As a result of delegating more routine tasks to computers, accounting is becoming even more exciting. Its focus is increasingly shifting to consultation. More successful accountants and accounting service providers are able to understand the specifics of different businesses and advise managers in a more versatile way than today. In short, the situation of accountants resembles the primordial rule of nature: adapt or die. Faster adaptors create greater value for their clients and employers. The cooperation of successful partners is further enhanced in a competitive situation, creating a way for surprise entrants in the market. We will probably see the opposite results, where a solution that seems cheaper at first glance turns out to be more expensive.