Technology In Accounting – Race For Relevance Change is not just coming, it's already here and the rate of change is growing exponentially.

Change is not just coming, it's already here and the rate of change is growing exponentially. The recent research from ACCA around the race for relevance talks of six key technologies (Analytics, Artificial intelligence, Cloud computing, Cyber, Social and Robotic process automation), likely to present opportunities that challenge our traditional ways of working to all businesses, including SMEs – as well as their finance function.

The report explains that whatever the size of the business, technology change is having an impact.

It is imperative for SMEs to understand these technologies and start to, at least, plan. Failure to capture opportunities runs the risk of businesses being marginalised.

Technological advances provide finance functions with significant opportunities to play a valued role in maximising the organisation's strategic ambitions and in how it is evolving. Not of all the key technologies may be relevant to all immediately, however, understanding which of them apply and can deliver value, is important.

In this corporate race for future relevance, recognising the opportunity is essential. Organisations are in a race to remain relevant to their customers and communities. Adapting and embracing technological changes in business is critical. Companies who leverage new technology well are going to win big in business. If CFO's are to remain in decision making roles the need to understand the importance of data analytics is crucial. Businesses need forward thinking CFO's who:

• understand how to use the information available to them to provide strategic insight in real time;
• capture, measure, report and predict future performance in a much more agile manner to support better and quicker decision making;
• ensure they have in place effective and efficient processes that satisfy the overall business requirements of finance.

This is not to say that there is one approach. No single model fits all finance teams but there is an overall direction of travel. However, its not enough to become more efficient, but finance function must assist businesses to make decisions based on the right data. To achieve the goal of transforming the finance function, the CFO needs an understanding of the emerging technologies and the opportunities available. The CFO must ensure that there is sufficient governance of the data sources, be these internal or externally generated, to provide insights based upon "one version of the truth'.

In realising the finance technology strategy, it should be remembered that this is often a partnership between the Information Technology (IT) team and the finance function. As business partnering has affected the relationship between finance and its customers so the same process can be replicated in the relationship between finance and IT.

By 2020, organisations are expected to gain $1.2 trillion in business from their slower-to-adapt peers. How do you, as the accounting professional, influence this today? How do you work with IT to thrive in this age of change?