Forecast 2021: Emerging tech blends mind + machine in finance

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In our Forecast 2021 podcast series, we’re focused on preparing you for the year ahead by offering insights to help you better understand and manage some of the opportunities and challenges that your company might face—think policy, technology, and other big picture topics. In this episode, host Heather Horn sits down with Scott Likens, PwC’s New Services and Emerging Technology Leader, to look at the eight emerging technologies that every company must consider right now and how they are converging to drive greater value than ever across organizations. Scott talks about how finance executives can use these technologies to make better decisions.

Topics include:

• 0:58 -  The essential eight. Every year, Scott and his team analyze the business impacts of emerging technologies. This year’s essential eight arose from review of more than 250 technologies. 
• 12:30 - Convergence. Scott and Heather look at how the convergence of multiple technologies produce a higher level of business change and ROI. Noted areas of convergence include: automating trust, immersive interfaces, extended reality, hyper connected networks, and more. 
• 27:40  - The CFO’s role. The technology is ready - are the humans? Here we discuss the ways in which  companies are investing in technology. 
• 34:50 - Team effort. To unleash innovation across the organization, companies must invest in increasing everyone’s digital IQ. We look at how citizen-led efforts drive business results.  
• 38:18 - Future predictions. Scott shares which of the essential eight technologies he thinks will have the biggest business impact over the next few years.

Scott Likens is PwC’s New Services and Emerging Technology Leader helping clients in diverse industries use emerging technologies to grow their business. For over 20 years, Scott has worked in enterprise technology, including digital strategy and transformation, technology-enhanced business and IT strategy, enterprise architecture as it relates to emerging tech, agile engineering, e-commerce, advanced analytics, mobile technologies, and social customer engagement.

Heather Horn is PwC’s National office thought leader, responsible for developing our communications strategy and conveying firm positions on accounting and financial reporting matters. She is the engaging host of PwC’s accounting and reporting weekly podcast and quarterly webcast series, as well as periodic webcasts for the power and utilities industry. With nearly 30 years of experience, Heather’s accounting and auditing expertise includes financial instruments and rate-regulated accounting.

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