The Awkward Office Love Affair of Bots and Bookkeepers

Business owners, be forewarned: The AccTech (accounting technology) bots are taking over. These bots are lines of code that grab information and communicate with humans about your business operations. They know (almost) everything before you've even whispered the thought, and they might want to take your bookkeeper's job -- or maybe just work alongside her. I had a recent conversation with Jan Haugo, CEO and vice president of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers USA (ICBUSA), who emphasized all the ways emerging technologies will transform the role of small business bookkeeping. In particular, we discussed how machine learning and artificial intelligence will enable accountants to interact with bots the same way they would with a human co-worker.