Technology is changing rapidly day by day and this could change our everyday lives, not only for individuals but for businesses too. Information technology (IT) is one of the factors that could lead to innovation, which help businesses to succeed. Based on Business 2 Community (2015), businesses could run more efficiently due to innovation as innovation improves the value, quality and increases the productivity of the business. Furthermore, information technology is also the main reason for the business’s competitiveness, as they may not survive in the future market if they are unable to adapt to the rapid changes in technology (Bizmanualz, 2017). According to Open Colleges (2017), technological advances will continue to accelerate at an increasing speed in the future, providing more innovative software and tools that could change the operations of the business. This essay will discuss innovations that are related to the management roles of accounting, marketing and corporate law and how these innovations could affect these specific positions. Next, a recommendation for each management roles to consider will also be discussed.
One of the innovations that will affect the future of work is Internet of Things (IoT), which according to Sift (2017), IoT is a network of digital systems that is able to collect and exchange data using sensors or Internet connection. These digital systems include smartphones, tablets and computers while considering and expecting all devices and appliances will be equipped with Internet connectivity and sensors in the near future. The innovation of Iot could lead to a lot of changes towards the accounting business especially for auditing firms. However, these innovative systems may act as an advantage to accountants as they could improve their budget accuracy, cost planning and forecasting (Forbes, 2017). IoT is used to transfer data through the digital systems to accountants instead of collecting the information from bookkeepers or clients manually (Sift, 2017), which could reduce the risk of misplacing or entering inaccurate data due to carelessness. These technological advances may affect the current roles of bookkeepers and accountants to acquire new positions such as advisors, consultants and compliance specialists (Open Colleges, 2017). The roles might provide strategic advices to clients from use the automated and advanced analytical tools, as the clients also prefer accounting specialists due to the increasing demand of understanding of legal and regulatory requirements of technological changes. Therefore, accountants should use advanced digital devices or software that is offered with IoT to be ahead of the other competitors in the future such as using the prestigious accounting software, QuickBooks as this software acknowledges the importance of IoT and takes advantage of it (Intuit, 2017).
Another technological innovation that could affect the business structure in the future is cloud computing. Based on The State of Queensland (2017), the word ‘cloud’ refers to Internet, hence, cloud computing allows businesses to access their data effectively while creating a flexible and global method of accessing the business’s data at any time and any place. The data could be accessed outside the computing environment such as through applications, databases and emails instead of using hardware and software that are installed in the user’s computer. Cloud computing offers high possibilities of benefits to businesses in terms of scalability and low-costs, especially for marketing firms (Cision, 2017). According to PointClick (2017), this innovation allow marketers to access to their data with ease without worrying of losing data in the occurrence of hard-drive crash or natural disasters. Website or big data analytics that can be done by cloud computing could examine the large data to uncover the hidden patterns of market trends and customer preferences that may help marketers to understand customers’ needs while targeting new markets and determining which marketing strategy is the best one to apply (SmartDataCollective, 2017). Using cloud computing is more efficient for marketers compared to using classical methods such as interviews and surveys that could lead to targeting the wrong market or misleading advertisements due to the lack of understanding. Cision (2017) stated that cloud computing may allow small companies to compete with larger companies that have been successfully acknowledged by the society as they could run big social media campaigns globally in the future. Hence, marketers should use software or applications that use cloud computing such as Google Analytics for website analytics and Amazon S3 for data storage services (Scott Brinker, 2017). This is important for marketers to enable themselves to react faster towards new ideas and opportunities without having IT as the business’ obstacles.
The following innovation that have changed the future of work is artificial intelligence (AI), which based on Encyclopædia Britannicam (2017), is the ability of computer-based devices to perform tasks associated with intelligent beings. Researches on AI usually focus on the components of intelligence, which are learning, reasoning, problem solving, perception, and using language. This innovation could be used by corporate law sectors through many methods, such as conducting legal research. According to LexisNexis (2017), lawyers could take days to conduct legal research, as it is a time-consuming task, however, it is important for the lawyers to do the task comprehensively as they are serving their clients. AI could help lawyers to perform legal research on relevant case law in a faster and ordered manner compared to the capability of a human. Next, some AI systems are powerful enough to use the information collected to predict the outcome of litigation and allow lawyers to provide more effective advice to their clients. Although many lawyers assume that AI may replace lawyers in the future, certain lawyers have different perspective, as AI could not own the lawyer’s feelings of empathy and personal relationship with their clients (LexisNexis, 2017). Corporate lawyers will have the time to serve their clients better while having efficient, fast and impactful legal counsels due to the help of AI systems. Thus, corporate lawyers should change their mindset and develop some methods on how the business could apply AI to the system so that they could have the time to improve the skills of their workforces. For example, based on Topbots.com (2017), businesses could use software such as LawGeex to be used for contact review or ROSS Intelligence for conducting legal research.
In conclusion, innovation in information technology had changed many aspects of business management roles, which are accounting, marketing and legal. Internet of Things had help accountants in providing more accurate budget report while improving the cost planning and forecasting. Meanwhile, cloud computing could be an advantage to marketers as it can provide accurate data to market their brands or products globally. Artificial intelligence also changed the business infrastructure as corporate lawyers could offer a better service and advice to their clients, as they may not have to do the time-consuming tasks such as performing legal research. Furthermore, these advances in technology will continue to increase in the future that could significantly change the life of individuals as well as businesses (Open Colleges, 2017). Hence, people who are involved in the business world should be professional and adapt to the new technological environment so that they could become strong correspondents while having good IT skills with strategic visions to enable themselves to survive in the ongoing professional development.