To create the Merkle root, hashes of two records are hashed together to produce a hash of the combination, and then the process is repeated moving up the tree until all the records in the block are represented in one hash. Figure 5 illustrates this process for four transactional records (Trans1, Trans2, Trans3 and Trans4). In a double-entry accounting system, you record a debit and a credit of the same amount at the same time. In a triple-entry accounting system, a debit, credit, and a third entry is recorded.
• Being a service auditor for a blockchain used by a consortium of companies to ensure the controls on a blockchain. Although auditing will continue to evolve (as it always has), auditing is likely to be around well into the foreseeable future. Blockchain’s decentralized nature also helps act as proof that a transaction happened. Blockchain has gained a lot of traction despite being a polarizing technology and an elusive concept for many. It seems like now, where the profession needs to be looking is they’ve got to figure out how to handle the accounting part of it. But a lot of stuff you mentioned, they’ve got to know these terms, so they can have some idea of what their clients are talking about.
Some critics see these virtual currencies as speculative assets, while others suggest they are good investments. Regardless, the underlying technology—the blockchain—is relevant to accountants and auditors alike. Users control the addition of millions of transactions trying what does an accountant do roles responsibilities and trends to post a sync at once by grouping these into blocks and adding blocks one at a time, in sequence. Blockchain technology has the potential to replace the 500-year-old double-entry accounting system. Blockchain distributed ledger technology would popularize the triple-entry accounting system. And in some ways even the, you know, the bitcoin drop was probably a good thing overall for the marketplace.
And people are saying, “OK, you know, how do I meet this compliance need” and there’s solutions that are in the marketplace. As shown in the graphic below, the next stages on the hype cycle for blockchain are the slope of enlightenment and the plateau of productivity. Blockchain is still relatively new, with the development of software being rather dynamic; however, figure 6 lists and briefly describes some of the products in the marketplace that attempt to integrate blockchain technology.
The fact that real estate titles will be sitting on blockchain. That’s a spot for the accounting audit professional to understand, “This is an ecosystem I need to keep up on.” And that the tools for that ecosystem are beginning to appear. So I actually think we’re in a good state, and I think this is excellent that we can, the firms can start working on this initial use case in a much broader way.
Some in our audience may think that blockchain has been in a bit of a lull. I mean, there was a ton of hype about how it was going to change everything and, you know, change wasn’t instantaneous. The blockchain has gone from the peak of inflated expectations down to the trough of disillusionment.
This reduces risks for all parties who use blockchain technology for accounting purposes. It also saves businesses a lot of time from having to deal with fraud or trying to collect money from dishonest organizations. For example, blockchain technology will record that you bought something with 1 bitcoin. However, accountants can’t see whether it’s a car or even that you categorized your assets correctly. Paying 1 bitcoin for a business car has different tax implications than sending a friend 1 bitcoin for their birthday.
This will be an immediate red flag that someone tampered with the data. In the past, we’d use paper receipts for proof that a transaction occurred. With the introduction of digital payments came digital receipts, which are easier to tamper. One of the first popular blockchain applications was that it cut out the middle man when transferring money. For example, you can send money peer-to-peer (P2P) without having to go through a credit card processor or bank. There are three key aspects of blockchain that can affect the accounting industry.
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