Intimidated By New Technology? You Don't Have to Be - Forbes

New technology presents a need for new skills.Joshua Sortino, Unsplash

As a CEO I take employee trust seriously. If my employees don’t trust me, I can’t effectively lead. That is why I took great interest in this year’s Edelman 2019 Trust Barometer which focused on the employer-employee relationship.  While the report highlighted an encouraging rise in the general population’s level of trust in government, media, and other institutions in the U.S., it also underscored employees’ fears and anxieties about the effect technology has on the workplace, specifically their worries about job loss as a result of automation and other innovations. According to the report, 55% of all employees fear automation and/or other innovations will take their jobs away.

Though technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics process automation (RPA) have eliminated the need for workers who perform rote and repetitive tasks in auditing, transaction processing, financial book close and more, I think the pessimism workers feel is misplaced.  Automation won’t take away jobs, rather it will transform the nature of work as we know it. Technology does not mean fewer jobs. Rather, it means different jobs, requiring different skills.

A recent article discussed what Burning Glass Technologies found after analyzing millions of job postings. The skillsets most in demand in the digital age were a combination of traditional disciplines, say accounting, combined with other skills like big-data gathering and analytics, or design using digital technology. They coined the term, “hybrid jobs” to denote jobs requiring foundational understanding in areas like finance coupled with technology skills for emerging uses and platforms. What is absolutely clear to me when I hear about the new skill sets that are needed is how accounting and finance professionals must evolve and acknowledge the new needs of business.

With this new paradigm in mind, yesterday’s staff accountant will become tomorrow’s financially-minded data analyst. With automated systems in place to crunch the numbers, finance professionals will be free to analyze data, uncover insights, and project the future, skills not currently taught in traditional accounting education. Big changes in how we prepare the accountants of the future need to occur systemically at the undergraduate and graduate level, but also within the workplace, where continuing education and worker re-training will be needed. Change of this magnitude needs to happen on a personal level, but also at scale within organizations.

Upheaval of this kind understandably leaves many anxious about their career prospects – the Trust Barometer finds that 59% of all employees feel they don’t have the training and skills necessary to get a good paying job – but employees should know they always have the potential to add value by upskilling. Since data is at the root of all strategic decision-making, I always recommend accounting and professionals start there and embrace what data analytics has to offer.  Here’s how:

The Three C’s of Embracing Data Analytics:

• Cutting-edge Tools: It likely goes without saying that the first step in embracing data analytics is to employ tools that allow for quick and effective number crunching. New research indicates that although companies are beginning to see this as a competitive advantage, many are slow to implement. If you’re charged with leading these efforts internally, take time to consider how your teams will be using these tools and identify ones that will help them be most effective.
• Culture: Once the tools are in place, it’s crucial to ensure the company culture supports this workplace effort – and it’s more than just endorsing the tools. There needs to be a company-wide effort to support the employees using them. Consider trainings and opportunities for employees to be mentored, especially if you’re encouraging them to be more strategic.
• Certification: In the past, management accountants have performed analytics as a rudimentary level. To stay relevant, they’ll need to shift away from descriptive and diagnostic statistics and towards predictive and prescriptive analytics. This requires new competencies. Several professional associations have begun offering certifications that help professionals think strategically, otherwise helping them make sound decisions from the data gathered in the automation process. Check out relevant certifications that can help your employees prepare for these new, necessary skills.

Data analytics is just one of many new technologies, but I believe it is one of the most critical. Identifying relevant coursework and experts in this area who can help you understand how to use data for better decision-making is a good first step in ensuring you remain relevant at work.

We are often most afraid of the things we don’t understand so I emphasize learning as the key to approaching the future fearlessly. New technology does not have to be a death sentence for your job, but it is a call to action for the accounting and finance profession. I hope to see Edelman’s 2020 Trust Barometer tell a more empowered story, where respondents express more confidence in their prospects for the future and more trust in the senior leaders of their organizations. The key to surviving for every worker, even those in the C-suite, will be committing to lifelong, continuous learning and embracing what technology has to offer.

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