Will artificial intelligence (AI) inarguably replace repetitive number-crushing jobs like accounting? 

Martin Turner, past president of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), talks on the future of the accounting industry while being interviewed by China.org.cn on Nov. 30, 2017 in Beijing. [Photo by Wu Jin/China.org.cn]

As worries arise, Martin Turner, past president of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) founded in the UK, assured his peers that accounting will not perish in the face of the technological innovation blitz but, on the contrary, will survive and thrive, thanks to ever evolving approaches that will become more creative and effective with the years.

"Today, accountants hand over their statements and budget reports with the expectation to find the meaning behind the statistics, what we can do with them, and what such numbers are going to look like in the future," Turner said recently in an interview with China.org.cn in Beijing.

By looking at data, accountants are able to render more specific and accurate analysis and predictions by leaving some repetitive, tedious and boring jobs to computers or any other smart technologies. This is a progress that Turner is very enthusiastic about.

"This allows accountants to do much more of what they will actually be expected to do in the future, that is, help the business become more efficient," Turner said. "[The accountants] are not just filling forms, but actually getting involved in the decision-making processes."

The forthcoming technological changes may involve more non-financial data analysis for accountants to complete their reports and analysis, he explained.

"When you think about an accountant, you tend to think about financial data; in the future, they will increasingly be using non-financial data, and they will be more involved with businesses, projects and quality," he said. "So analytics will lead organizations and help them plan and compete by putting together financial and non-financial data."

While exploring the meaning of figures, accountants are also able to take note of some hidden and hideous factors, which surface from scrutiny.

"If you're dealing with companies that report good profits, but you find that it is paying its staff very little, now, ethically there is an issue," Turner elaborated.

"So you should start looking beyond the numbers and find that you are making very high profits because you are paying very low wages and that is not sustainable," he added.

While digging out the truth beneath figures, accountants are expected to work with ethics, an independent spirit, skepticism and, more importantly, communication skills, Turner reiterated.

"Communication is going to become a much more important personal skill for this future profession from the past," he said, emphasizing the ability to make accounting more attractive and drive accountants to realize and meet changing expectations.

By referring to the future prospect of accounting amid growing ties and enhancing its convergence with globalization, Turner noticed there are both challenges and opportunities lying ahead of the accounting industry, materializing in such campaigns as China's "Belt and Road" initiative.

According to him, the paramount approach for a program like the "B&R" initiative is to set up a unified standard system.

"Different formats or complaints or standards are hard to interpret. Hence come higher risks. And what happens with higher risks? You normally end up paying more. This is like gambling: the risks are higher. So investment potentially is lower," he explained.

While evaluating China's development in the accounting sector, Turner foresaw the consecutively growing pool size for professional, talented accountants.

"I'm aware from the press that more and more state enterprises are awaiting modernization, increased efficiency, effectiveness, and better business approaches," he said.

"When you compare the Chinese market with the rest of the world, one thing I see happening is that there will be more accountants," Turner said.

While concluding the interview on a philosophical note, Turner said change will always challenge industries such as and beyond accounting.

"Changes happen over a relative short period of time, but could result in an exponentially different future, one that is much faster, and this is a challenge to our abilities to cope with the increasing pace of change."

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