A transforming profession: how tech is revolutionizing accounting.

• Author: Gellas, Jim
• Position: Changing landscape

Let's take a time machine back to the late 1990s, when workpapers were still written on green-bar paper, web browsing was just finding its way into the office and cell phones, if you had one, were clunky--and anything but smart. Each desk had an adding machine with paper you could conveniently tear to tape to your workpaper, and liberal use of these was a measure of engagement efficiency. Today, we continue to face technological advances, ones that seem even more revolutionary than 15 years ago. Today's technology is impacting both the work of modern CPAs and how they work. To further examine these impacts, let's dive into three main areas that are leading innovations.

Multiple Mobile Devices

Gone are the days of using a single, stationary desktop computer. We now work with multiple devices with disparate operating platforms, specific functional use and all of which are mobile--and, to top it off, your clients are probably using a different device that you need to collaborate with.

The good news is software is adapting and evolving to the cloud to enable accessibility to the underlying data across all these platforms, so collaboration is made easy. Along with this evolution, the costs and barriers to creating new software tools have fallen precipitously. As a result, we're finding new, more specialized software tools, and the blue chip standards have given way to new, more agile tool sets.

The segregation of work and personal life has become increasingly blurred, and will continue to challenge CPAs to find the right balance of connectedness. Cross-discipline teams will continue to realize gains in efficiency as geographic separation becomes more irrelevant through platforms like Google Hangouts and Skype.

New & Evolving Accounting Regulations

Anyone who has conducted revenue recognition work will appreciate that the standards and application of multi-element arrangements are constantly evolving. The gig economy, enabled by mobile and cloud technology, is testing who is considered an employee.

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Look no further than the class-action lawsuit brought by Uber drivers, claiming employee status and the related benefits. The gig economy also is influencing the tax world, as more contractors are incurring work related expenses that they can deduct. This, in turn, is driving technologies and tools to track business versus personal expenses.

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