1. EMERGING TRENDS IN ACCOUNTING
I] HUMAN RESOURCE ACCOUNTING: HRA is the process of identifying and measuring data
about human resources and communicating this information of interested parties.
Need/Objectives:
 To improve human resource management.
 To retain qualified labour force.
 To focus on employees as assets.
 To attract future employees.
Methods of valuation of Human Resources:
 Historical Cost Method
 Replacement Cost Method
 Standard Cost Method
 Present Value
 Current Purchase Power Method
 Opportunity Cost Method
 Economic Value Method
2] INFLATION ACCOUNTING: The rise in general price level is called inflation. During the period
of inflation, purchasing power of money declines. The fall in the general price level is called
deflation. During the period of deflation, purchase power of money increases. Price level change
means increase or decrease in the purchasing power of money over a period of time.
Inflation Accounting refers to the process of adjusting the financial statement of company to show
the real financial position of the company during inflationary period.
Methods/Components of Inflation Accounting:
 Current Purchasing Power Accounting
 Current Cost Accounting
 Cost of Sales Adjustment
 Monetary Working Capital Adjustment
 Gearing Adjustment.
3] INVESTMENT ACCOUNTING: Investments are the assets held by an enterprise for earning
income by way of dividends, interest and rentals for capital appreciation. Accounting for investments
is called investment accounting. Investment accounting is a specialized form of accounting that
focuses on tracking and monitoring investment activity.
Importance: helps investors determine an assets’ value, understanding a company’s financing
sources, calculate profitability and estimate risks in a company’s balance sheet.
Cum-interest price: It means market price of the investment including interest accrued till the date
of transaction.
Ex-interest price: Price of security excluding interest accrued.
4] AUTOMATED ACCOUNTING PROCESS: Refers to the use of technology such as software and
machine learning to streamline and optimize accounting tasks. This involves automating data entry,
accounts reconciliations, financial reporting, payroll, invoicing, expense management, cash flow
forecasting, tax compliance, etc.
Benefit / Advantages:
Increased Accuracy Faster processing time
Improved compliance Cost savings
Better decision-making Reliability

2. Up-to-date information MIS reports
Motivation & employees interest Quality reports
5] CLOUD BASE ACCOUNTING: Cloud computing involves storing and processing huge volumes
of data at high speeds. Cloud computing is the delivery of computing services—including
servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence—over the
Internet (“the cloud”) to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale.
Cloud accounting has all the same functionality as desktop accounting, but moves the whole
process to the cloud.
Benefits of Cloud Accounting:
Access your accounts anywhere Access to real-time information
Access to the app ecosystem Live bank feeds
Always working with the latest software version Securing sharing of data
Connected online payment Using automation to reduce
workloads Getting more insight from your
Paying VAT & GST online financial data
Making MTD-compliant (Making Tax Digital) Working remotely
6] DATA ANALYTICS AND FORECASTING TOOLS: Data analytics is the process of
analyzing data. It is focused on analyzing large amounts of structured data to uncover
patterns or predict future events. Accountants can use data analytics to make better
decisions.
Need for Data Analytics in Accounting:
 It helps understand your customers better.
 It helps track your performance against competitors.
 It helps with strategic planning.
Importance of Data Analytics in Accounting:
 It helps manage your financials.
 It helps plan for your future.
 Data Analytics help identify trends and patterns.
7] ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS: Accounting software manages and records
the day-to-day financial transactions of an organization, including fixed asset management,
expense management, revenue management, accounts receivable, accounts payable, sub
ledger accounting and reporting and analytics.
Benefits of Accounting Software:
Optimized business operations Improved accuracy
Reduced operation cost Secured database
Synchronized Files Simplified tax compliance
Automated record-keeping Cost savings
8] BLOCKCHAIN ACCOUNTING
Blockchain enables secure and transparent record-keeping of transactions. It is a
decentralized system where information is stored in blocks. Transactions are verified and
recorded by a network of nodes. In the accounting industry, blockchain improves the

3. efficiency of accounting processes by automating the recording and verification of
transactions.
Advantages: Disadvantages:
 High degree of security Scalability-slow and inefficient
 Transparency Energy Consumption
 Efficiency Lack of familiarity and standardization
 Decentralization Lack of Cyber security
 Cost savings Lack of regulation
9] FORENSIC ACCOUNTING
Forensic accounting is a combination of accounting and investigative techniques used to
discover financial crimes. The term forensic accounting refers to financial fraud investigation
which includes the analysis of accounting records to prove financial fraud. It is very
important tool to detect, investigate and prevent the frauds whether it is stock market fraud
or bank fraud or cyber fraud.
It includes financial theft, securities fraud, bankruptcy, defaulting on debt, Economic
damages, Merger and Acquisition related lawsuits, tax evasion or corporate valuation
disputes.
Advantages / Uses:
 It helps solve financial crimes.
 It helps monitor professional negligence.
 It helps businesses with their finances.
 Fraud detection, Criminal investigation.
 Settlement of insurance claims.
 Dispute settlement.
Disadvantages:
 It takes lot of time
 It can be expensive
 It can be distracting
 It can affect employee morale.
10] ADVISORY SERVICES
Advisory services in accounting means the accountant provides expert recommendations,
options and strategies to help business owners achieve their financial and operational goals.
Advisory services refer to a range of consulting services that are offered by professional
service firms to help their clients improve their business performance, mitigate risks and
achieve their strategic objectives. These services can cover strategy, finance, operations,
technology and risk management. These services can provide businesses with valuable
insights and expertise to help them overcome challenges, seize opportunities and achieve
their goals.
Levels of accounting services:
 Strategy consulting Financial Consulting
 Operations consulting Technology consulting
 Risk consulting Compliance

4. 11] ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN ACCOUNTING
AI means the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks
commonly associated with intelligent beings such as the ability to reason, discover meaning,
generalize or learn from past experience.
AI used in accounting:
 Automation of repetitive tasks such as data entry, reconciliation and classification,
 Fraud detection to identify patterns and anomalies in financial data.
 Predictive analytics to help accountants to make accurate financial forecasts.
 Natural language processing such as extracting information and responding to
customer inquiries.
 Financial planning and analysis to improve the accuracy and efficiency of budgeting,
forecasting and performance analysis.
12] BIG DATA IN ACCOUNTING
Big data refers to the massive volume of structured and unstructured data that is generated
by businesses and other organizations. It comes in at such a fast rate that a traditional
server cannot process it and is usually measured in terabytes and zetabytes.
Advantages:
 Financial reporting
 Fraud detection
 Predictive analytics
 Risk management
 Audit analytics.
Disadvantages:
 Traditional storage can cost lot of money to store big data.
 Lots of big data is unstructured.
 Big data analysis violates principles of privacy.
13] REMOTE WORK SETTING
Remote work setting refers to a work arrangement where employees work from a location
outside of the traditional office environment, such as their home or a co-working space.
Advantages of remote work setting:
 Better work-life balance
 Higher productivity
 Timeliness
 Reduced absenteeism and decreased turnover
 Cost savings
 Flexibility
 Incentive to improve workplace technology
Disadvantages/Challenges of remote work setting:
 Distractions at home
 Isolation
 Loss of work-life balance

5.  Increased need for meetings
 Cyber security concerns
 Difficulty maintaining confidentiality
 Unstable/inconsistent internet access
 Inconvenient for new hires.
14 OUTSOURCING OF ACCOUNTING FUNCTIONS
Outsourcing of accounting functions refers to the practice of hiring an external service
provider to handle all or some of a company’s accounting tasks, such as book keeping, tax
preparation, payroll processing or financial reporting.
A third-party organization is hired to manage the business’s affairs instead of having an
accounting team. It is important to select a reputable and reliable service provider to
minimize the risks associated with outsourcing.
Advantages/Benefits:
 Saves time and financial expenses
 Expert guidance
 Obligation towards contract
 Improved accuracy and compliance.
Disadvantages/Challenges:
 Time and distance
 Security risks and confidentiality concerns
 Loss of control
 Risk of service provider failure.
15] CHANGING FINANCIAL STANDARDS
A change in accounting standard is the term used when a business selects between different
generally accepted accounting principles or changes the method of accounting standards.
Examples:
 New accounting standards – new revenue recognition guidelines, new lease
accounting standards, new accounting standards for crypto currencies.
 Changing tax laws – in the areas such as tax deductions, credits and depreciation,
penalties and compliance.
 Evolving regulatory requirements – new economic or political developments.
 Emerging technologies – block chain, artificial intelligence.
16] WORKPLACE WELLNESS ACCOUNTING
Workplace wellness accounting refers to the practice of incorporating wellness programs in
a company’s financial and accounting processes. Workplace well being relates to all aspects
of working life, from the quality and safety of the physical environment to how workers feel
about their work, their working environment, the climate at work and work organization.
Importance of wellness at workplace:
 More productivity
 High employee morale
 Improves recruitment and retention of employees
 Reduced absenteeism
 Reduced health risks
 Building camaraderie among workers.