Despite all the technological progress that has been made over the last 150 years, accounting has changed very little. The daily work of most accountants involved massive amounts of data entry, clerical work, and administrative routines. Spreadsheets may have replaced ledgers, but the role of the accountant never really evolved.
That is quickly changing with the advent of machine learning. This 21st century technology is still in its infancy, but already it’s having an impact on the accounting profession that is broad and deep. As the potential of machine learning continues to advance, look for the expectations of accountants to change radically.