Led by the Shanghai National Accounting Institute (SNAI), a recent survey has compiled a list of the top 10 most influential information technologies for Chinese accountants in 2021, and the top five crucial emerging technologies whose applications will likely begin to grow over the next three to five years.
The advancement of technology calls for personal transformation among accountants
The findings are based on votes from 188 senior academic scholars, accounting firm partners, company CFOs and experts from well-known software companies, as well as over 5,770 peers, including mid-level accounting professionals and product managers of IT companies.
The results enable accountants to actively learn and utilise new technologies and eventually make a difference in the era of technological revolution, according to Professor Liu Qin, vice president of the SNAI.
Influential tech
Known as acctech, the term refers to the collective of technologies that are especially influential in the accounting field and have the potential to unlock industry transformation, in the same way that fintech brings together technology and finance.
The financial cloud ranks top as this year’s most influential information technology for Chinese accountants, followed by electronic invoicing, big data analysis and processing technology in accounting, electronic accounting file, robotic process automation (RPA), new-generation ERP, mobile payment, data middle platform, data mining and intelligent process automation (IPA).
Among this year’s top 10 influential technologies, data middle platform and IPA are newcomers. The rest have remained mostly the same, with mobile payment ranked one notch higher compared to last year. Mainstream technologies like data analytics, AI and mobile telecommunication may take more than a decade to be ready for mass adoption, with some exceptions such as electronic invoice, electronic accounting file and RPA that will soon assist daily work, according to Professor Liu.
Digital frontrunners
The survey also reflects how technology is being adopted at various levels in China. ‘The fact that both RPA and IPA appear at the top of the list means some companies are just starting to embrace automation technology.
‘Other frontrunners in digital transformation are already trying to combine RPA with AI to reduce human intervention on more complicated automative tasks, leaving accountants to focus on more creative and high-value assignments,’ says Professor Liu.
Over half of the survey’s participants agreed on the top-three accounting technologies - financial cloud, electronic invoice, and big data analysis and process technology. However, none received over 60% of votes, which shows that influential technologies have diverse implications for Chinese accountants and that awareness is deepening among professionals.
More students now wish to enrol in interdisciplinary majors with a crossover in computer science
This year’s compilation also includes the top-five influential emerging technologies for Chinese accountants. These are:
- deep learning and intelligent decision-making
- payment and settlement based on central bank digital currencies
- data middle platform, business middle platform and management middle platform
- distributed ledger and blockchain-based audit
- data governance and data asset management and application.
Leading Chinese companies have already been tracking closely the development and application of artificial intelligence (AI) in areas such as knowledge graph, natural language processing, pattern recognition and rule-based knowledge management, says Professor Liu.
Knowledge base
Chinese accounting professionals follow the development of e-invoicing, biometric recognition and mobile application more closely than their Western peers, but still need catch up on technological areas such as information security.
The advancement of technology calls for personal transformation among accountants in terms of their own knowledge base, skillsets and mindset, according to Professor Liu. With the help of mobile computing, RPA and machine learning, automated systems are taking over basic tasks, leading to a shrinking demand for junior accountants.
‘Technology is driving the accounting function in China to move from financial accounting to management accounting,’ says Professor Liu. ‘In layman’s term, our accountants need to move up the ladder and reposition themselves away from bookkeeper to counsellor and strategist.
‘As companies actively prepare for a more digitised and intelligent future, so should accountants embrace information technologies and create new values for the companies.’
Professional education
The rippling technological transformation also poses a new challenge to professional education, says Professor Liu.
‘Accounting and finance used to be the hottest major at Chinese universities. However, more students now wish to enroll in interdisciplinary majors with a crossover in computer science and information technology,’ he adds. ‘In the meantime, new hiring demand for financial bot management and data analytics has begun to flourish in the country over recent years.’
In May, China’s Ministry of Education approved the introduction of an accounting and big data major at more than 1,600 colleges to train accounting talent for the new digital era. More new majors, such as smart accounting and intelligent finance, have been under trial during the past three years.
As Professor Liu points out, the challenge lies in the shortage of qualified teachers and textbooks that can be used for new opening majors, and even more needs to be done with continuous education.
Unique transformation
‘As companies face various level of digitisation, the transformation needed among accountants is unique,’ says Professor Liu. ‘That’s also why we hope to provide a bellwether about the evolution of acctech and its wider application.’
The survey shows that more than 77% of participants hope to learn more about best practice around how information technologies can be applied in real working scenarios, while over 54% want to find out about available products and services, and 48% wish to stay up to date with the latest technological developments.
Later this year, the SNAI and ACCA will work together through The Intelligent Finance Research Centre to unveil the top 10 institutes with the best intelligent finance practice in China. The goal is to set up benchmark examples to inspire more companies and industry professionals.
‘ACCA is a global body for professional accountants,’ says Professor Liu. ‘Through our partnership, we hope to learn more about the latest development of intelligent finance across the world and enable our international peers to stay connected to what’s happening in China as well.’
