This is the archive of CPA Now blogs posted on the PICPA website through April 30, 2025. Want more recent blogs?

Read current blogs

Are you a CPA wrestling with the difficulties of corporate management? You need timely information to help managing your organization, and you can get it this March at PICPA's CFOs and Controllers Conference. Registration is now open.

By Christoph Ahr, CPA

Extended planning and analysis projects are no longer embedded solely within the C-suite. Cross-departmental interaction and collaboration has become essential for modern planning, budgeting, and forecasting. As we embark on 2022, get to know the seven trends that will influence how CPAs in business and industry will work.

Automation

Automation will replace manual, repetitive processes. This means corporate CPAs can free up valuable time and resources to focus on strategic, value-added tasks. According to a recent McKinsey report, automation and artificial-intelligence-based solutions bring with them not only higher productivity and improved business performance, but also a need for new skill sets. Whether in manufacturing, retail, or banking, automated processes will enhance resource allocation and allow employees to spend more time on strategy and value creation that improves long-term business performance.

Collaboration

Collaboration is more than asking a colleague to work together on a new report. In the past, CPAs kept their focus on the transactional nature of budgets, credits, and debits. They were often knee-deep in Excel spreadsheets. In a digital environment that is quickly-changing, this approach is no longer sufficient. Technology-enabled collaboration across departments offers comprehensive, enterprisewide overviews in real time, creating agility for when circumstances change. An organization’s financials can no longer afford to be static. When a measurable shift occurs, the finance department requires the ability to respond immediately. The digital transformation provides the heightened capacity for collaboration by permitting better cross-functional planning, flexibility, agility, and resilience.

Transformation

Given the recent need for innovative solutions borne out of the pandemic, the importance of a company’s digital transformation has risen significantly. For years, digital solutions were the IT department’s domain, with very little connection to the finance office. Today, digital transformations are an enterprisewide endeavor, connecting and affecting all business units. According to a recent PwC study, artificial intelligence (AI) will contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. Smart CPAs will embrace transformative tools such as AI and machine learning as a part of their overall strategy right now, not in the future. An important early step is to unify the data upon which CPAs rely to ensure a proper foundation for the transformation.

Data Unification

Data silos are a thing of the past. Unified planning solutions are going to be crucial for CPAs’ everyday workflow. Proper data management will be central for businesses going forward. According to Global DataSphere from the International Data Corporation (IDC), the amount of data created by 2023 will be more than the data created over the past 30 years. For this reason, data unification is not only a trend, but a necessity for businesses to operate properly.

Ease of Innovation

Modern tools often require little coding or programming, and as such are more accessible than ever. This makes it easy for companies to update their current systems. With the emergence of hybrid work solutions, digital tools have landed even higher on the priority list for decision makers this year. Advancing your transformation just got easier.

AI and Machine Learning

AI and machine learning will truly begin to make CPAs’ jobs easier. Once thought to be futuristic, AI has already contributed to advanced technologies for finance professionals. According to a PwC report, 86% of those surveyed view AI as a “mainstream” technology. The report also claimed that those who adopt AI and machine learning solutions in 2022 will see higher revenue growth compared with those who cling to manual processes.

Accelerated Cloud Adoption

According to a recent Gartner Inc. report, spending on public cloud service will grow by double digits in 2022. Cloud adoption will exceed 45% of all enterprisewide IT spending this year. In 2021, that number was less than 17%. Private cloud (on-premises) adoption will also accelerate this year. Whether businesses expand public, private, or hybrid cloud models, tightening cloud security will be on the minds of decision-makers, in particular for business sectors with tight regulations and strict data privacy rules.

Christoph Ahr, CPA, is chief financial officer of Jedox in Freiburg, Germany. 

Sign up for weekly professional and technical updates from PICPA's blogs, podcasts, and discussion board topics by completing this form.