8. The View From the Top

This book is a wide ranging analysis and conversation around both the emerging technologies and the implications that these emerging technologies will have on different aspects of the finance and accounting. Such an analysis and examination, however, would be incomplete without at least mentioning how these changes are being viewed from a bigger picture and macroeconomic level. Data and other quantitative information are, as has been discussed both in this text as well as numerous others, may very well represent the next competitive advantage for organizations both now and going forward. Stepping outside of the financial services arena for a brief minute this trend is arguably more evident in search, social media, and the entertainment spaces. Technology giants such as Google, Facebook, Alibaba, Amazon, and Netflix have access – and use – the vast quantities of information available to them to generate new insights, improve business models, and increase margins. These advances and business improvements, however, have not come without costs and increased regulatory scrutiny. One need merely to look at the hearings that Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Apple have had to contend with during 2017 and beyond to see that as corporate power increases governments across the globe will become increasingly interested.