Digital Financial Reporting

An article, What the future of artificial intelligence in government?, which is based on a study by Dr. Peter Viechnicki, William D. Eggers states the following:

At the high end, we estimate within the next 5-7 years, as many as 1.1 billion working hours could be freed up in the federal government every year, saving a whopping $37 billion annually. Ultimately, AI could potentially free up 30 percent of federal employees' time. State government savings in time and money could be similar percentages.

The study, How much time and money can AI save government?, is worth reading.  The study measured what government employees do at a task level.  One of the more interesting things is information about the US Geological Survey, the folks that make maps.  Here is that section:

How cartography went digital

The US Geological Survey (USGS) began producing topographic maps of the nation in 1879 and for most of its history, it printed its maps on paper. If you were an active hiker or camper in the 1980s, you’ll likely remember shelves and shelves of USGS topo maps at outdoor stores, but over the following decade, USGS transformed its mapmaking techniques by embracing digital map production. This transformation, which relied on a major Reagan-era investment in geospatial information systems technology, was disruptive and productive. It significantly improved the efficiency of production—and completely changed the nature of cartographers’ jobs.

Before the transformation, USGS cartographers worked as skilled craftsmen, performing painstaking tasks such as drawing elevation contours on acetate sheets. Today, their duties primarily involve collecting and disseminating digital cartographic data through the National Map program.

Today, USGS officials recall a bumpy transformation. Veteran cartographer Laurence Moore says, “We were slow to appreciate how fundamentally GPS and digital map data would change the world, and tended to think of these technologies as just tools to produce traditional maps faster and cheaper.”

Today, the agency employs only a tenth of the cartographers working there at the peak of the paper-map production era. But paradoxically, the total number of cartographers and photogrammetrists employed by federal, state, and local governments has risen by 84 percent since 1999. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts a 29 percent growth in employment for cartographers and photogrammetrists through 2024, largely due to “increasing use of maps for government planning.”

The article and the study help professional accountants wrap their heads around what is about to happen to them.