INTHEBLACK December 2023/January 2024 Special Edition - Flipbook - Page 39
monthly reports, Python helps you to do it faster
and with fewer errors,” he explains.
As a powerful data analysis tool, Python is
well-suited for financial reporting, modelling
and forecasting. Accountants can use
community-supported Python packages to
perform complex data analysis, such as predicting
price trends and cash flow projections, witho ut
needing to code from scratch.
While Python can create dynamic charts and
dashboards, Ow says it may be more time-efficient
to explore dedicated business intelligence
(BI) tools, if the sole objective is interactive
data visualisation.
“If you’re talking about visualisation tools
for accountants, enterprise-level options like
Power BI or Tableau may be more suitable,” he says.
THINK ANALYTICALLY
While Python is not primarily a visualisation tool,
it can be a powerful aid in “data storytelling”, says
Dr Stuart Black, enterprise fellow in the department
of accounting at the University of Melbourne.
Along with uncovering insights, accountants
must also be able to clearly convey those insights to
stakeholders who might be less familiar with the data
and less financially literate, says Black, who is a former
strategic capabilities partner at Deloitte Australia.
“Rather than just bombard people with
infographics and factoids, Python offers powerful
ways to slice and dice data, so you can frame it
in a way that helps people really understand the
recommendation that you’re putting in front of
them,” Black explains.
Black considers Python to be a fast and
accessible programming language and scripting
tool for accountants to learn. He believes the
process of learning any programming language’s
coding structures and logic is extremely useful
for accountants who want to go beyond “number
crunching” and improve their analytical thinking.
“If you’re looking to start somewhere, Python
is a good choice, but one of the key benefits is not
what Python or R can do for you, but how they get
you thinking about challenges in a more analytical,
procedural and repeatable way,” Black says.
“A very senior partner with one of the Big Four
firms in the transaction services area recently told
me that digital and data skills are now considered
a core competency.
“They won’t hire anyone without them, so if
you’re not beginning to think this way, then it’s
going to start affecting your career prospects.” ●
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