Blockchain Not On The Radar Of Tax And Finance Executives – KPMG Poll

Blockchain, News | April 10, 2019 By:

Majority of tax and finance executives are not considering the adoption of blockchain technology in automating routine tasks, according to a recent poll conducted by Big Four auditing firm KPMG.

The poll, which was undertaken during a recent webcast by the firm, asked the opinion of 450 respondents about blockchain and other technologies. Approximately 60% of respondents said that they would be willing to adopt the technology to automate repeatable tasks. However, 94% said they were either not currently using (67%) or are unsure whether their organization is using (27%) blockchain technology.

33% and 22% of respondents cited a lack of resources and funding as the primary impediments to implementing blockchain technology within their organizations. Other poll participants mentioned a lack of access to or influence on technology decision-makers (22%) and lack of tech capabilities (22%).

David R. Jarczyk, Innovation principal and Tax leader for Blockchain at KPMG, said that these impediments could be preventing tax and finance executives from gaining economies of scale in their data and analytics work streams.

“Blockchain could make a significant difference between teams spending hours finding and connecting data when they could instead be focusing on analyzing that data for a real return and benefit to the organization,” Jarczyk said.

According to Jarczyk, blockchain also offers the ability to automate certain tax and finance processes, which can not only help resolve inefficiencies and reduce errors, but can also help solve critical issues related to business transactions, such as buy/sell orders, intercompany transfers, financing arrangements with banks.

“Blockchain is like a spreadsheet on steroids that can automate certain tasks, build greater transparency, speed and reliability, and provide a single source of transactional information,” Jarczyk said. “Coupled with the power of artificial intelligence, automation tools, and other power apps, there is a real potential for blockchain to transform the tax and finance departments from reactive to proactive.”