Six Tech Predictions for an Uncertain Future
ICPAS SUMMIT20 keynote speaker Donny Shimamoto shares his tech outlook for 2020 and beyond.
By Hilary Collins | Summer 2020
Technology changes so rapidly that it often feels impossible to
keep up, but Donny Shimamoto, CPA, CITP, CGMA, says the best
way to keep up is to look for patterns from the past. Shimamoto is
the founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies
LLC, where he helps small and midsize organizations use
technology to grow, achieve strategic goals, and manage risks.
Here are his top six predictions for how technology will evolve in
the next year, how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect technological
decision-making, and what innovations will be most impactful for
CPAs moving forward.
1. The rise of remote work
Forced into utilizing a remote workforce during the pandemic, many
workplaces will have a hard time coming up with reasons for why
employees can’t work from home once things get back to normal. “I
think that one of the benefits that I've seen from the coronavirus crisis
is the accelerated adoption of remote work,” Shimamoto says. “One
of the biggest hurdles that the profession has had to remote work is
the question of whether people can be equally productive working
remotely, and I’m hoping that after this the answer will be yes.”
2. A boom of budgeting and forecasting software
Another surge that will be born from coronavirus: increased use of
financial planning and analysis technology like budgeting and
forecasting software. “This will be a big thing as people try to make
tough decisions in volatile environments. When do we reopen?
How much money do we need from PPP or EIDL programs? How
would we use that money? Can we pay it back? When can we pay
it back? What happens if we have to close again? Budgeting and
forecasting tools can really help with these kinds of questions,”
Shimamoto says.
3. Broader business continuity planning
While business continuity planning s not directly a technological
issue, many of the tools that can help businesses operate
seamlessly are technological. And in the wake of the coronavirus
pandemic, leaders will return to business continuity planning with
a new perspective. “In the past, business continuity focused on
natural disasters and disaster recovery,” Shimamoto explains. “Now,
continuity planning will consider various other situations that could
disrupt normal business activities. It reminds me a little of the
anthrax scare in the early 2000s, where we had physical issues like
opening mail or gaining entry to office buildings. Now, again, you've
lost access to your physical office. How do you operate? What do
you do? Those solutions are likely to be technological.”
4. Increased adoption of client portals and collaboration software
In the coming year, accounting firms that haven’t already are likely
to warm up to client portals, both to facilitate remote work for
employees and to provide touch-free convenience for clients.
Organizations will also see increased use of collaboration software,
like Slack or Microsoft Teams, where they can share files, have
asynchronous conversations, and electronically manage workplans
with employees and business partners. “Having the ability to
exchange information electronically, easily, and effectively from the
comfort of your own home, or from the client's or business partner’s
perspective from the comfort of their own home or their own office,
will be a high priority,” Shimamoto notes.
5. Accelerating automation
Shimamoto says that, prior to the pandemic, a rise in process
automation would have been at the top of his list of tech
predictions. While more pressing concerns have knocked it down
a few notches, automation—specifically robotic process automation
(RPA)—will offer a unique opportunity to businesses willing to
explore its possibilities. “As we look toward 2021, we’ll see
automation come back into focus, and RPA will be the technology
leading the way,” Shimamoto explains.
6. Souped-up cybersecurity
Underlying every technological advance is the need for improved
cybersecurity. Organizations who are implementing new tech should
address the accompanying cyber risks before, not after, they move
forward. “A lot of people will use cybersecurity as the excuse: ‘We
can’t do that because it might lead to a data breach,’” Shimamoto
notes. “But if you plan ahead and address cybersecurity upfront, then
you can come out much more secure than you were before.”
Want to hear more from Donny? Join us for his technology keynote
at ICPAS SUMMIT20. Register now at www.icpas.org/summit.