INTHEBLACK October 2021 - Magazine - Page 14
GET SMART
// R E V I E W S
REVIEWS DEREK PARKER
GOOD
READS
DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION
IN ACCOUNTING
Richard Busulwa
and Nina Evans
Routledge
The digitisation of accounting has been
advancing quickly, and this book is a
useful tool for anyone in the finance
profession who wants to improve their
capabilities. Digitisation adds a new
dimension to the finance nexus, opening
novel opportunities, as well as creating
unique challenges for accountants.
Richard Busulwa and Nina Evans are
senior university academics, and they
skilfully unpack the key concepts and
explain how traditional accounting
information systems can be integrated
with digital tools. They illustrate their
points with relevant case studies and
finish each chapter with tests and
exercises, as well as a useful “Google
and reflect” section.
Of particular value are the concluding
sections of the book, where Busulwa
and Evans explore the future direction
of digital technologies. They delve into
the Internet of Things, machine learning
and big data management, with a focus
on where accountants can add value.
There is also a framework for ongoing
learning and tools for staying ahead
of the curve. The authors write with
admirable clarity, and it all adds up to
a good package and a timely guide on
where the digitisation path is leading.
14 ITB October 2021
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REBELLION,
RASCALS, AND
REVENUE
Michael Keen and
Joel Slemrod
UNBIAS
Princeton University
Press
Stacey A. Gordon
Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue is a romp
through the history of taxation, examining a
wide variety of attempts to avoid paying tax,
the unintended consequences of taxes and
the development of modern taxation systems.
Michael Keen, deputy director of the fiscal affairs
department at the International Monetary Fund,
and Joel Slemrod, an economist and academic,
approach the subject with clear-minded
authority, mixing anecdotes with insights.
Among the amusing anecdotes highlighted in
the book are attempts to dodge tax obligations
that amount to more than the tax itself. Further
back in history, in Georgian England, there was
a tax on windows, which led to thousands of
windows being blocked up. This was, at least,
better than the tax on ships, which encouraged
unstable construction. Tsar Peter the Great put
a tax on beards to encourage reluctant Russian
men to shave.
Taxes have led to rebellions and even wars.
Conversely, wars led to the development of
income taxes, which usually outlasted the
conflicts themselves.
Keen and Slemrod aim not only to entertain
their readers, but also to establish criteria
for an effective, equitable tax system. Undue
complexity undermines public faith, and
enforcement must be seen to be transparent
and consistent. The book emphasises that
using taxes as a lever to change behaviour
usually creates more problems than it solves.
Building a diverse, equitable workforce
is no easy task, as Stacey A. Gordon,
CEO of Rework Work, a company
specialising in this field, makes clear.
However, companies that make a
point of encouraging diversity tend to
perform better, especially in innovation
and market response.
The central problem is that recruiters
and managers, like all people, have a
natural “affinity bias” and generally
prefer those most like themselves, be
it race, gender, background or outlook.
In most cases, says Gordon, this
thought process is wholly unconscious.
A further level of difficulty is
introduced when managers assert that
they are blind to issues such as race,
gender or background or just want
the best person for the job. That is a
dangerous claim, says Gordon, and she
suggests ways to collect data on hiring
and promotion decisions to get the
true picture.
Conversations around unconscious
bias are difficult, but necessary, Gordon
says, and they can also entail some
painful self-examination for senior
executives. Gordon offers a set of
tools to guide this journey, including
questions to ask and procedures to
establish.
Wiley