Is There a Future For the Bookkeeping Industry?

This question has no doubt loomed in many bookkeepers minds at least some point in the last few years and ‘fear’ is on the rise again with cloud accounting gaining momentous popularity in 2016. With job postings for bookkeepers on a decline, competition has increased with Indeed reporting a ratio of around 35 job seekers per every job posting for a bookkeeper role at the current end of 2016 compared to just 20 in 2015.

So what will the challenge for the future be? Bookkeepers will still be required for most businesses but it is evident roles such as data-entry and reconciling bank statements will become minor tasks as automation and accounting software take over. To remain relevant in an industry that is so rapidly changing, it is critical for bookkeepers to be adaptable, to embrace new technology and see it as a new and better way to add extra value to their clients’ business. We are already beginning to see evidence of bookkeeping firms integrate advisory services to their accounting software and it is slowly becoming apparent that successful bookkeepers of the future will be the ones who offer the best software options.

So will bookkeepers become obsolete? Not entirely. Will they become the next generation of financial advisors? Only time will tell.