The world of finance is changing rapidly and there are new trends that every professional needs to be aware of.

In this blog post, we’re going to explore these new trends and what they mean for the finance industry.

1. AI and finance automation will become much widely adopted

Machine learning is becoming increasingly important for many different industries. This will be true in the financial sector too. With asset managers, banks and investors alike all looking to deploy AI-driven finance automation systems, there will be disruption across the board.

These technologies can help with areas such as risk management, compliance, equity trading strategies, portfolio theory, alpha generation and more.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are two of the most exciting new trends in finance today. These powerful tools allow computers to learn automatically from data without being explicitly programmed.

This means that machines can be taught how to find patterns, spot trends, and make predictions – all by looking at past data.

AI is already widely used in banking, but it’s also playing an important role in other industries. For example, AI is helping to assess the risk of loans and even identifying fraud.

How will AI and machine learning impact finance departments and finance professionals at large?

Well, for one thing, these tools will continue to make finance professionals’ jobs a lot easier.

However, the finance world is not going to become completely automated anytime soon. In fact, as AI progresses it’s actually becoming apparent that some jobs will actually increase in demand.

Jobs that require creativity, empathy, and abstract thinking (i.e., human qualities), will be highly valued.

2. Demand for decision-ready data will continue to grow

Finance professionals are always looking for data. But it’s not just any kind of data – finance teams are in constant need of accurate, up-to-date decision-ready information. This is particularly true when it comes to investment decisions.

Despite the fact that the finance industry has historically been hesitant about sharing data with third parties, the reality is that most organisations now realise they need to embrace it.

In fact, a recent survey has shown that business leaders believe that data is their #1 enterprise asset.

Not only that, but they also expect it to have a positive impact on their bottom line within the next couple of years.

There’s clearly a lot of demand for high-quality decision-ready data.

What does this trend mean for finance professionals?

It means they need to become more data-driven and start focusing on finding insights from their data rather than just using data as a confirmation of their opinions.

3. There will be a rapid increase in digital payment

Across the world, the rapid uptake of digital money is transforming the payment sector. The knock-on effect is a change for accountants as a result of this.

A report by Accenture predicts that nearly 420 billion transactions will switch from cash to digital payments by 2023 ––and continue to grow to around $48 trillion by 2030.

How will this be possible? There are many more new payment systems available – including digital wallets, cryptocurrencies and e-payment platforms – many more will come.

The widespread adoption of mobile phones has significantly changed how people pay for goods and services.

As the cost of doing electronic payments continues to fall dramatically, there will be an increasing move towards cashless societies.

What does this mean for finance professionals?

It means that accountants need to be aware of the increased prominence of these digital payment systems, how they work and what consequences they could have for their companies.

In conclusion…

What does the future hold for finance professionals? As you’ve seen, it’s not all doom and gloom.

With these new technologies, there are many opportunities to be more efficient, creative, and profitable in your work.

Just be sure you are well-informed about the latest developments, and you will be able to take advantage of them.