Let’s forget MTD and GDPR for a minute, the first item on today’s agenda is accountants and cryptocurrency. More specifically, it’s about a story on the Conversation website under the headline: “Why accountants of the future will need to speak blockchain and cryptocurrency if they want your money.”
It’s a fascinating piece by lecturer in accounting and finance, at the Open University. And it goes as far as any I’ve read toward shedding some light on this slightly murky area.
He explains blockchain technology as “an open access shared ledger that keeps a record of all the transactions between parties and allows all users to agree on its contents. New information is added in blocks linked to the previous blocks, resulting in a chain of blocks being built.”
Ledger is verified
“This ledger is verified by “miners” to make sure it’s true – and so creating an audit trail. Past records can be viewed but not altered without the consent of the majority. And it is this technology that is behind cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin – the value of which rose almost 1,400 per cent in the past year, but has at times, also fallen massively too.”
The World Economic Forum reckons that 10 per cent of global GDP will be stored on blockchain technology. That’s a lot. Anwar adds: “It it easy to see then, why accountants of the future will need to educate themselves about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies if they are to account for transactions denominated in it.
Transactions in the blockchain
“The profession will evolve and adapt massively over the coming years. And in fact, auditors have already started auditing transactions in the blockchain.” I’m still unsure as to why blockchain technology has to be related to cryptocurrency and couldn’t just be used to verify transactions using “regular” currencies.
But still on planet crypto… some of the world’s leading economists are today announcing plans to their own currency, Saga, to rival the likes of bitcoin.
According to the FT, the aim is “to avoid the wild price swings of many cryptocurrencies by tethering itself to reserves deposited in a basket of fiat currencies at commercial banks”.
Saga aims to avoid anonymity
“Holders of Saga will be able to claim their money back by cashing in the cryptocurrency. Saga also aims to avoid the anonymity of bitcoin that raises financial crime concerns with regulators and bankers. It will require owners to pass anti-money laundering checks and allow national authorities to check the identity of a Saga holder when required.” The plot thickens.
Still with the FT, the media group today publishes a special report on Women in Business. It covers a wide range of topics, from Fox News whistleblower and anti harassment campaigner Gretchen Carlson to the legal profession’s glass ceiling. Well worth checking out, as is Accounting Insight News’s Women in Accountancy group.
