Millennials or Gen Y is typically any group of people born between the 1980s – 2000s who grew up with early access to the internet, smartphones, computers, and all the other digital technology in use today. They are further known as ‘Digital Natives’ because of their growth during the evolution of Digital Technology. Unlike their predecessors, they are more accepting towards change; one obvious reason for this being that individuals at different ages and stages of their lives are influenced by historical, social, political, and economic events differently. Here is what greatly influences their approach towards finance –
The new “ABC” of Technology
Technology is and shall continue to be the biggest driver of the accounting profession in 2020s. Digital disruption is a transformation triggered by emerging digital technologies and resulting in new business models. Most of the paperwork in the financial sector is taken over by Accounting Softwares, QuickBooks, and Personal Finance Softwares. This technology suits better in the hands of the digital natives. There is no doubt that many repetitive tasks will be replaced by computers and robots in the future. At the same time, new prospects will also emerge with future economic development. The biggest impact of the technological revolution on the financial community is the new “ABC” – artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cloud computing. If you think artificial intelligence belongs in futuristic movies and science fiction novels, you might want to think again. You would be surprised to know that AI is already involved in helping complete a myriad of tasks, such as filing income tax in some countries like Singapore.
“We are focusing on evolving in the accounting profession according to the needs and change with the help of Robo Advisors and Artificial Intelligence” – Atin Bhutani (Group CEO, In.Corp Global Pte Ltd) (see video)
Predictive power of “Big Data”
Another important asset to millennials in the financial firms is ‘Data’. And it is data that makes the “ABC” work. Especially for large companies, there are huge amounts of data to be processed; billions of dollars moving across global markets daily, and analysts are responsible for monitoring this data with precision, security, and speed to establish predictions, uncover patterns, and create predictive strategies. The value of this data is heavily reliant on how it is gathered, processed, stored, and interpreted. Analytics now is at the core of financial services. Through the understanding of social media trends, and other data sources these sophisticated analytics give out price predictions and customers lifetime value, future life events, fraud detection, anticipated churn and the stock market moves.
“Big data”– which admittedly means many things to many people – is no longer confined to the realm of technology. Today it is a business imperative and is providing solutions to long-standing business challenges for banking and financial markets companies around the world. Financial services firms are leveraging big data to transform their processes, their organizations and soon, the entire industry. An example of an A.I. tool using big data that has been trained to understand certain patterns that can help finance consultancy firms to decide whether a new client is a high or low risk.
Changes In Millennial Behaviour as a Consumer and an Accountant
Online payments, mobile wallets, online banking, digital bookkeeping, mobile banking, e-commerce, quick invoices, and many such services have already become a way of life for millennials. Interestingly, a recent study found that a good number of millennials want to enter the field of accounting for making a big impact in the way these professions work. Financial advisors and accounting professionals will use the same tools to move from data entry, recordkeeping and simple analysis to strategic business consultancy. Accountants of the future look to be playing a valuable role in balancing technology and trust in an A.I. powered world.
Thus, the financial goals of millennials serve a different business model than baby boomers. With the most advanced technology, they are saving a lot of time and money to provide advanced financial services and consultancy. Great techniques which help business owners minimize their spending and maximize their earnings. Today these consumers are feeding on abundance of online information through articles and blogs to educate themselves about finance and accounting. This information at disposal is like a second opinion which greatly influences the decision-making process. More information = More power
While there are always exceptions to rules, most millennials possess these traits; which is also what makes them globally employable. The challenge is to distinguish which of them are most important. They are the future and will shape the financial industry, its culture and the role it plays in the future for this country. As per a Fast Company Report, millennials will soon control the financial industry; with over 75% of the employees expected to fall under this banner by 2025. Undoubtedly, this generation is going to play a big part in determining the future growth of the finance sector. The good news for you is that many of their unique qualities suit the direction many industries, and the future of work is heading in.
The millennials believe “You can’t think of today’s job and what technology does to that; you must think of tomorrow’s job and where technology meets that. There is no doubt that technology will have a significant impact on process-orientated, or compliance-orientated roles, where technology will be able to do it better, more accurately and more quickly. At the same time it offers huge opportunities for the profession to move up the value chain, and to play a role as data guardians in a world where we are drowning in data and starving in insight.”
