From pyramids to diamonds: how technology is transforming finance

Robotics and artificial intelligence are sweeping through workplaces across the globe, and nowhere more than in the accountancy profession and company finance departments.

Many of the repetitive and rule-based roles will be replaced by robots, raising questions about the future of the human workforce.

“Back-office accounting jobs are increasingly being replaced by technology,” states a recent report by EY and CPA Australia. “Finance functions are outsourced to shared service centres in lower-cost locations.”

But the report, Future-proof your finance capability, does not see a complete displacement of accountants. Instead it says the traditional scorekeeper and custodian roles of the accountant are being overtaken by newer responsibilities that are now in greater demand, including being a holistic business advisor to the organisation, and delivering insights and value enabled by their familiarity with technology, data and analytics.

Aubrey Joachim, principle of consultancy Leading Edge Change, says he expects the make-up of finance departments to transform. The traditional finance function was pyramid-shaped, with large numbers of accountants at the bottom of the pyramid doing the repetitive process work. But those roles are disappearing, leaving a diamond shape, with the bulk of accountants sitting in the middle.

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