Advice for a Successful Career in the Accounting Profession

CHAPTER THIRTEENEmbrace Change—Technology Is Your Friend!

Key Takeaway

Change is constant and inevitable, and the pace of change is accelerating. But change is not to be feared; rather it should be welcomed! This is particularly true relative to new and powerful technologies, which have the potential to enhance your performance, productivity and value in the marketplace.

As your career evolves, your success will depend in part on your ability to keep up with the pace of innovation happening in the profession.

You can’t avoid hearing about artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, blockchain or other emerging technologies these days. Many pundits believe these technologies will revolutionize accounting and some believe that continuing technology advances will eliminate many jobs in the profession.²⁷ I believe the first thought is credible but I’m skeptical about the second.

When I started my career in the late 1970s, personal computers (PCs) had not yet been widely deployed and much of the work done by accountants was manual in nature. Although mainframe computers were prevalent in larger companies, some of my smaller clients still actually used manual accounting systems complete with ledgers and journals that made it clear to me where the term “bookkeeper” came from! As auditors, we literally still used pencils and paper and terms such as a “14‐column worksheet” were ...