Finance in 2050: what a generation of change could look like
Look far enough ahead and the questions change. Not which software, but what a finance function is for when the numbers keep themselves. A longer view, offered with humility.
Twenty-five years is long enough for change we cannot yet see. In 2001 few people expected that banks would send transactions straight to accounting software, or that HMRC would ask for quarterly digital updates. So read this as a set of possibilities, grounded in the direction of travel.
Accounts that keep themselves
E-invoicing, open banking and digital tax reporting point to books that update continuously. The month end, as a scramble, may disappear. Tax could be calculated as income is earned and settled in near real time, with the annual return becoming a confirmation rather than a calculation.
Assurance becomes the job
When systems produce the numbers, the question becomes whether to trust them. Checking that data is complete, that models behave as intended and that no one has interfered will matter more than preparing the figures. Accountants may spend more of their time as auditors of systems than as preparers of accounts.
What will not change
- Owners will still want to know whether they are making money, and why.
- Decisions about prices, people and investment will still need judgement.
- Someone will still be accountable for what is reported, and that will be a person.
A perspective, not a prediction. We share it to start a conversation about the skills and systems worth building now.
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This insight is general information, not advice for your circumstances. Talk to us before acting on it.