EMERGING THE TRENDS IN ACCOUNTING: PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE OF ACCOUNTING As reviewed through time, this is likely to be a fascinating milestone in the evolution of accounting technology and its impact on business. Many working professionals can still remember when technology was burgeoning. From the perspective of accountancy, paper ledgers gave way to spreadsheet applications. CPAs and accounting professionals passed files back and forth from shared drives or emailed them to peers and clients. Then those spreadsheets got more advanced they were shared in content management systems or stored in the cloud and worked on by multiple people simultaneously. And now applications are becoming transformative in their ability to draw conclusions and anticipate trends based on the information that was once handwritten in books that wouldnt even fit inside a backpack. The accounting industry isnt exempt or unique in the fact that its being impacted by a rush of technology advances. Thinking about all of the different ways that technology could impact any industry is as dizzying as it is speculative. Its likely that we havent fully anticipated the ways that conditions and processes will merge to allow for new things. So how can a CPA firm or accounting professional prepare for a future where technology presents an unknown? You cant run an accounting firm in 2017 like you did in 1980 but it amazes me how many people try, said Bill Carlino, Managing Director Consulting Services for Transition Advisors, LLC. Recently, Carlino was surprised to meet with a managing partner of a CPA firm that didnt have a computer in his office. Historically, the accounting industry has not been the fastest to adopt change but there have been seminal technology events that have really advanced the pace of change and the industry is now changing faster. Some broad technology trends like cloud computing, big data, 3D printing, cybersecurity, wearable technology, driverless cars, and the Internet of Things are impacting all businesses. But what will impact CPA firms and accounting professionals? We can safely assume some things. The technology view beyond the next two to three years gets hazier. Artificial Intelligence has been seeping into applications and software platforms at an increasingly steady pace. How AI will impact the industry is a speculative topic in and of itself but as systems decision-making abilities improve, its interesting to think about a computers potential role in evaluating financial and accounting records as part of taxation and valuation. All businesses are going to have to be more receptive to remote work. Its welldocumented and understood that workers today want flexibility in where and how they work.CPA firms and accounting professionals need to have the systems and policies in place to allow for this. Cloud accounting systems are a great start to ensure that records can be shared securely, no matter where the client or the firm is located. As firms become geographically decentralized and work is shared among virtual offices, it also means that workflow management systems will take on a more critical role. These applications will be increasingly important in giving company leaders a view into the status of projects and client engagements and provide clarity to other employees on outstanding tasks and client actions. As more and more data goes to the cloud, these applications will be critical in forming an understandable workflow from dozens of other systems and applications like sales data, customer interaction information, financial reports, and contract information.

REQUIRED:

a) Based on reading of article above and your own research, interpret on the following aspects on how technology and digitalization enables the accounting and finance field:

i) To transform the Future of Accounting and Finance with Deep Learning and Machine Learning;

ii) To perform Digitalization in commercial banking and addressing the threats to digital banks;

iii) To assess how Blockchain can be utilised to improve public sector accounting operations.

iv) To identify potential changes in Financial Technology (FinTech) regulation needed to accommodate ongoing innovation; and

v) To ascertain the innovations in Financial Audit based on Emerging Technologies.

(b) Illustrate ONE (1) Infographic on any ONE (1) of the sub-areas mentioned in (a) above. Note: This is not included in the word count