How to Depreciate a Time Machine

At a recent continuing education session, one of the partners talked about how historical cost accounting was fading in value, and that the focus of our services will increasingly be about what  something is worth right now. I thought that was a keen observation and it reminded me how important it is to be building competency with a focus on where your work is going. 

This type of thinking caused me to read about the Technology Time Machine Symposium. Clearly I’m already behind the curve on this one, as I have no idea what the depreciation schedule is for a time machine.  Actually, they didn’t really have a time machine, the conference was populated by people who can make an educated guess about what the world will be like in 2020. 

The ideas are pretty cool.  Computers will be more powerful, and the whole concept of mobile computing will be different when you can roll up the computer and the screen made of flexible component materials.  Walls will display things, and everything will be touch screen, but you won’t actually have to touch – just gesture.  Some things won’t even need that as we’ll have brain computer interfaces that we’ll either wear or have implanted. 

Interestingly, the one solution not provided, was the issue of how all this information is going to be transmitted between us and our devices.  The Giga-OM piece on the conference talked about how network capabilities appear to have more potential than the foreseeable traffic management technologies.  “It’s nice to own a Lamborghini, but it won’t get you there any faster at rush hour”.

While they didn’t talk about the accountant of the future, it got me thinking about this. I remember Y2K, so I’m thinking it’ll be 2020 before I know it.  In 2020 I picture going on audits with virtual reality capabilities that let me “see” the inventory values overlaid on the actual inventory.  I’m picturing a virtual shoebox at tax time that lets me sort the various items electronically and zoom in to see details on transactions that are potentially mislabeled by the client. Best of all, I see more real time collaboration with clients as the efficiency of organizing and analyzing data increases.  This means we can discuss the possibilities as the information comes in. Not quite as good as a time machine – but pretty terrific.