Significant changes have taken place in the accounting profession over the years.  Since Luca Pacioli first described the systems of debits, credits, journals and ledgers in 1494, significant changes have taken place due to economic, technological and other advancements.

Accounting is said to have its origins in the ancient times of Babylon, Assyria, Mesopotamia and Sumerian. However today accounting has spread to all parts of the world. All businesses in their day to day activities have to use accounting in order to record the transactions and give a report to their stakeholders by way of financial statements. A great deal of the evolution has been in the record keeping aspect of accounting. It is no secret that computers have changed the nature of accounting and have turned it into a fast paced and dynamic profession.

The transition from manual capturing of transactions to the use of computerised application packages was one of the most marked steps along this evolutionary process.

Before computerised accounting

There was manual recording and processing of transactions, which means that:

  • Presence of mistakes would result in hours of recalculation and high risk of fraud.
  • The image that was perpetuated was that of a nerd rather than that of a decision maker or consultant.
  • Finding the errors was tedious work and a cumbersome process.

 

After computerised accounting

  • The use of calculators, paper ledgers and pencils was eliminated.
  • The margin of error was minimised to an acceptable level.
  • The process of finding mistakes and correcting them was made easy.
  • The speed with which the job is done was increased significantly.

 

The increased use of computers has diverted the role of accountants away from being solely number crunchers. Now accountants are expected to recommend best practises to management and suggest ways of increasing profitability while reducing costs. This has resulted in people skills taking more precedence rather than keeping the numbers in check.

However it should be noted that the technological advancement in the accounting profession brought with it more benefits than disadvantages. Other important roles of an accountant have emerged with technology. These role changes occurred because of some significant shifts:

  • The focus has shifted from generating and recording accounting transactions to interpretation of the transactions.
  • A more consulting role has evolved resulting in modern day accountants providing good advice to clients and within the organisations that they work.
  • As most accountants are now employed in top positions within organisations, business decision making has become a key role in an accountant’s day to day activities.

 

Conclusion

The future is quite bright and the pace of technological advancement is encouraging. Adaptability has become an imperative quality that all accountants in the modern day should possess and apply in order to survive and still remain competitive in this dynamic and sophisticated environment.

Dextor Moyo

Audit Superviser, Johannesburg