If professionals are right, we are moving from an economy that depends on manufacturing to one that focuses on experience. Today more than ever, businesses are required to create memorable experiences for their customers instead of simply ensuring that they deliver reliable products at an attractive price. Nevertheless, in the world where instantaneous, high-volume data is delivered freely through different channels, creating excellent customer experience will always carry the day.

Businesses have never had massive amounts of data at their disposal as they do now. It all originates from customer transactions, social media interactions, information systems, and supplier data among others. This volume is only going to grow with the advancements in technology and the increasing use of computing devices and digital platforms. If harnessed properly, this vast data, called big data, can be useful in planning and decision-making. Organizations of any type can gain value in big data and analytics and most employees believe that data is a critical asset for their businesses.

Big data and big data analytics have been in use in various industries over the past decade. According to forecasts, big data technology is expected to grow and services that will benefit from it are expected to increase by over 30 this year percent according to International Data Corporation. Among the industries that will gain from the advancement of big data are accounting and finance. Although the application of big data in this industry is still in its early stages, it is already showing huge potential to change the industry and the accounting profession for the better.