Gone are the days of bean counting

THE advent of the digital age has changed the way most of us live and work - for some, to a much greater extent than for others.

For the accountant, the role he plays and the way he operates have been altered considerably by technology in the last decade. The challenge for accountants, going forward, would be knowing how to build upon the skills that technology cannot replace and and figuring out how to ride on digital advancement to develop new skills.

"A financial professional is no longer a bean counter or number cruncher," Lo Wei Min, a partner with local professional services firm Lo Hock Ling & Co, tells The Business Times. "This (traditional) function has been replaced by computers and management information systems in the digital age. With the aid of technology, even a non-accountant will be able to generate a simple set of financial statements or reports."