3 Accounting Trends in 2021 You Should Be Prepared For
Technology and automation are revolutionizing every industry, and the accounting and finance industry is no exception. Technology has changed how businesses do invoices, manage receipts, enter data, and completely transformed the old ways of manual bookkeeping. With these technologies, now the accountants not only balance the books but also assist the business owners with financial difficulties, cash flows, and taxes.
As an accounting professional, you must understand the emerging accounting trends to adapt and deliver at your best. In this article, let’s see the top 3 trends that will have a significant impact on the accounting industry in 2021
Automation and Artificial intelligence:
AI and machine learning are shaping the age of automation and have shown no signs of stopping anytime soon. And in the finance and accounting industry, the professionals are relieved of their tiresome and time consuming manual tasks.
The Cloud-based accounting software has redefined the accountant’s flexibilities to work remotely and in real-time and continuously strive to automate routines like data entry, invoice and vendor management, bank reconciliation, payroll, and much more. This will eliminate human errors and save valuable time for business the invest on other fronts.
AI-based accounting software has already eased accountants and financial professionals’ workload by equipping them with intelligent tools to manage every accounting task. AI helps analyze huge volumes of data and generate more accurate analytics in quick time and at a reduced cost.
Cloud Accounting:
Cloud accounting has saved businesses from substantial upfront costs for traditional in-house software. Accountants and other professionals have instant access to their accounting data creating a real-time workflow with increased efficiency saving valuable time. Easy document sharing, real-time analytical data to aid business decisions, comprehensive reporting are important benefits that make a business to choose cloud-based accounting software over its counterpart.
Business leaders are now set free from managing the IT infra. ‘Uptime, scalability, and security’ are the additional loads that obstructed their businesses. Now the cloud is a real assurance and opportunity for them.
With more companies moving towards cloud accounting, they are no longer constrained to do business locally. Outsourcing of financial operations is a trend that keeps on increasing, and countries like India are offering exceptional accounting services at affordable costs. All thanks to cloud accounting, the one accounting trend in 2021 you cannot say no to.
Data Analytics and Integration:
Along with cloud-based technology and AI, data analytics’ impact on the accounting sector will be huge, and the demand for data specialists will rocketeer. As data analytics helps identify operational inefficiencies and manage risks better, more businesses will invest in data analytics and help themselves with data-backed decision-making capabilities.
Integration with all the other business management applications is the crucial factor technology has added to the bookkeeping process. With a mobile phone, you can fetch financial reports, manage invoices, pay your vendor bills, and still track them in your accounting books. Cloud accounting not only gives mobility but also provides seamless integration that eliminates all the workflow problems.