Do you remember web 1.0 during the days between 1993 and 2001? Despite my age I do have vague recollections of dial up modems, Netscape Navigator, mIRC and the internet that was. Web 1.0 was static, top down, information only websites, where webmasters decided and created the content. It was in essence what webmasters thought you wanted to see.
By contrast to today, it was pretty boring.
Sometime after the Dot-com bubble burst in 2001 web 2.0 came into vogue. It was characterised by user oriented design, collaboration and social media. The internet suddenly became a whole lot more interesting, and now we couldn’t imagine life without it.
So what has this got to do with accounting?
Accounting 1.0 is the business framework of old. Much like web 1.0 it can be characterised as a top down relationship, with reactive partners providing services that they think you want. I remember an old joke about the accounting profession which pretty much sums up my notion of Accounting 1.0:
An accountant is a professional who can solve a problem you didn't know you had in a way that you can't understand.
Upon reflection, I resent that statement, but believe it to be true in some parts of the profession, As such I can identify these characteristics of Accounting 1.0
- A numbers-centric approach to business
- Giving answers (to questions that weren’t asked)
- Accountant prescribed content creation, distribution and communication
- Communication billed in 6 minute blocks
- Time based billing on all services
- Laggard adoption of technology
- A people-centric approach to business
- Asking questions
- User requested content creation, distribution and communication
- Open and honest communication
- Performance based billing on value add services
- Leveraged use of latest technology to drive efficiency in both businesses