Blockchain technology has swept most industries off their feet. The technology sounds simple enough — it is a way of maintaining records by storing transactions/details at multiple places (servers) at the same time, making it one of the most tamper-proof systems of record keeping.
But it’s tougher to implement.
A need for blockchain technologists has therefore developed in recent years because almost every other industry wants to use it for their needs. It’s the next buzzword.
Auditing is going to be the next industry that sees a change thanks to blockchain tech. US-based Northern Trust is going to adopt the blockchain technology on a large scale basis for private equity funds.
- With this, auditors will be access data at any time on their blockchain rather than waiting for periodic reports from fund managers on their actions.
- This will speed up the auditing process and make it more convenient.
- Human error will be reduced thanks to technology at multiple stages of the auditing process. From gaining access to correct records to scrutinizing each transaction to finally submitting the audit report — everything will be more transparent!
At a recent Blockchain Summit in DC, the CEO of one of the best-funded and performing companies in the industry, Digital Asset Holdings, Blythe Masters rightly caught the wave of the blockchain technology. She spoke of how the effect of blockchain and its result has similar patterns and can be placed along the same lines of machine learning, robotics and artificial intelligence. Just like AI and robotics are bringing in new skills like analytics, blockchain is also introducing new skills into the market.
Shift from auditors
While Northern Trust is set to bring in blockchain auditors, the future of auditing is taking a new turn:
- Auditors will have access to any transaction done or money transferred immediately — they can either transfer information to their own applications or audit directly from the monitored blockchain.
- This is only going to make the function more convenient and efficient.
- On the other hand, auditing considered as an expensive service, might become cheaper because the amount of human labour will be reduced.
Some of the large accounting firms have already published reports on blockchain being the future of auditing.
As more and more companies such as IBM, Mastercard and JP Morgan Chase are embracing the blockchain technology , it is still only in demand in high technology oriented countries.
Blockchain in Banking
One industry that has witnessed a sudden surge in incorporating blockchain is the Banking industry. While this allows creating an open, cross-border system for settling financial transactions, it also creates transparency in the banking activities. Recently a study by the Aite Group said that some of the largest employers in the blockchain industry employ nearly 100 people which means that this is a growing industry. From freelance blockchain development to full-time product specialists and analysts will be in demand in different industries in the near future.
In India, Axis Bank became the first of its kind to partner with Ripple to launch a new, frictionless payments system. At the same time, the State Bank of India wants to use the blockchain with smart contracts for its KYC processes.
There is no doubt that new blockchain centric jobs are in the making. Just like today’s jobs have evolved because of changing technology, so will the jobs of the future. Blockchain centric jobs might replace and make certain skills redundant however it will also bring in a new set of skills in place and bring in efficiency and transparency.
