In the world of work, automation often can be a blessing and a curse. When automation does lead to redundancies, public sympathies are mostly saved for the checkout operators no longer needed due to self service options, or for the toll booth collectors who one assumes are largely out of a job thanks to e-passes.
Rarely do we spare a thought for accountants. But maybe we should.
Cloud-based computing has made recordkeeping simple, and for many business owners, they no longer need to walk into their accountant's office with a shoebox full of envelopes each year at tax time. It's just one reason the role of the traditional accountant is changing; so what does that mean for those choosing accounting as a career?
Spiro Paule, CEO at Australia's largest privately owned accountancy and financial advisory firm, Findex, says that without a doubt the role of the traditional accountant is changing. However, he doesn't see that as a bad thing: "By automating basic, manual tasks, accountants of today have more headspace to think at a strategic level and be more impactful to their clients through delivering broader business advice, rather than transactional ones," he says.
Paule oversees 3000 staff at Findex.
Much has changed since he began hiring and firing accountants many years ago.
"A good accountant today needs to accept that much of the training they received about the services and functions they need to perform and how they charge for those has irretrievably changed. They need to embrace the rapidly changing conditions; focus on the services that will add value to the client experience; and be able to justify an appropriate value-based rather than hourly fee," he says.
This means that some skills are now more important than ever.
"A good accountant needs to learn to use their analytical and interpersonal skills to add greater insights and more strategic value for clients to make better and timelier decisions. This won't be replaced by machines in the foreseeable future," Paule says.
There's another upside for future accountants: the information overload that is now taken for granted as part of Australian life means we often need experts to help us make sense of our financial options.
"It is almost an essential service due to regulatory compliance," says Paule.
He believes accountants can play a mentoring role for their clients, advising them through various life stages.
"You need to have a great relationship based on a deep understanding of your client's needs and objectives. Most accountants have tended to be lazy about that: they focus on the service delivery of tending to client's books and lodging their tax. That is the part of accounting that will wither away and die," he says.
But while much is changing about the field, one skill set is the same today as when Paule entered financial services in the "dim dark days": listening.
"Listen more and talk less. Really get into the mind of your client and understand what makes their world go. That's never changed," he says.