INTHEBLACK December 2023/January 2024 Special Edition - Flipbook - Page 38
PYTHON
POWER
Want to automate repetitive tasks, spend less time
crunching numbers or find data to support financial
decision making? Here is how Python programming
language can help.
WORDS ADAM TURNER
W
hile learning a programming language
was once the domain of IT specialists,
today it starts in primary school. This
is because programming unlocks the
full power of computers to perform difficult tasks
and answer complex queries.
Accountants already take advantage of tools like
Excel, but a simple programming language like
Python can help accountants to streamline workflows
and improve data manipulation when deeper insight
is needed.
First released in the early 1990s, Python is a
general-purpose programming language designed
to be easy for non-technical people to learn, read
and write. Its name is a nod to British comedy
legends Monty Python, but it is a serious tool used
by people across a wide range of professions.
BEYOND EXCEL
Python has greater flexibility than Excel, offering
more efficiency, scalability and auditability. Python
also allows users to get more from Excel.
Rival programming language R offers similar
benefits, but Python can be easier to learn.
While R is better suited to creating visualisations
and statistical models, Python is a better fit for
accountants looking to work with large amounts
of data and perform non-statistical tasks.
38 INTHEBLACK Dec 2023/Jan 2024 SPECIAL EDITION
The popularity of Python has amassed a strong
global following. A wide range of free add-ons
and tools for Python are available online, because it
is an open source language. These can help users to
tackle different tasks, so they need not solve every
problem from scratch.
Employers are seeing the benefit in accountants
embracing Python. An analysis of finance and
accountancy job postings in 2016-2021 has revealed
that Python was among the technical skills that saw
the largest jump in demand, at 33 per cent.
FINDING INSIGHT IN MESSY DATA
In accounting, Python’s key uses include automation,
data cleansing and data analytics. This can save
time for accountants, while enhancing data-driven
business insights and output accuracy, says
Ghim Siong Ow, deputy head of data science
at RSM Singapore.
“In reality, data is often messy and time-consuming
to process,” Ow says.
“Python’s ability to read in vast datasets, in a
range of formats from different sources, and to
cleanse unstructured or incomplete data, frees
up accountants to perform higher-value tasks.”
“Python also allows accountants to automate
tasks, especially those that are repetitive and involve
clear logical steps. For example, when generating
