The accounting industry is undergoing a radical transformation – “Future work needs to be taught now.”
Artificial intelligence is also reshaping the landscape of the accounting industry. The almost symbiotic collaboration between the accounting operator Rantalainen and HAMK takes students into a time where they need to be.
Rantalainen’s service manager, Arto Hiltunen, who also serves as HAMK’s workplace expert from the business perspective, aptly states that the future is known.
“It’s not just about what is already known but how information can be turned into a business advantage,” says Hiltunen.
“In business education, it must be considered that the expectations of the working life are very different nowadays. Substance is needed, but alongside it, social skills, communication, and the ability to search, process, and utilize information are emphasized.”
Hiltunen sees that artificial intelligence will further shake up the industry in the coming years and significantly impact job descriptions.
“Artificial intelligence radically changes the content of work as the processing of purchase invoices is mostly automated. Reporting to customers becomes real-time, and in the future, the transaction-based value-added tax of the tax authorities will eliminate the pressures that were previously associated with it. The value of work for the customer must be produced through channels other than the traditional debet and credit.”
Rantalainen and HAMK collaborate extensively, including the development of the business studies module and its various components, in addition to internships and theses. Rantalainen also regularly audits the education.
“Future work skills need to be taught now. I feel that HAMK takes a positive approach to work-oriented development suggestions, even if they challenge traditional teaching,” says Hiltunen.
The latest major innovation in business education was the development of a completely new payroll administration module. It originated when a HAMK teacher spent a work placement period at Rantalainen and noted that the curriculum needed an update in this regard.
Hiltunen notes that the mutual partnership benefits all parties.
“The beneficiaries of our mutual partnership are Rantalainen as an employer, HAMK as an educational institution, the students as creators and the whole region of Kanta-Häme, not forgetting the future working life in the wider picture.”
The Bettermaker Partners
At HAMK, we work with around a thousand companies and organisations every year. Together with our partners, we bettermake the world with commitment and a long-term perspective.
