North America’s financial services sector to see extreme growth

New study completed by Accenture reveals a potential US$140bn in productivity gains and savings as a result of technology.

Globally the financial services sector is increasingly being disrupted with rapid advancements continuously being made in technologies that augment human expertise, creativity and skill combined with real-time information.

These new technologies are changing the traditional financial services workforce.

In the next five years, 48% of tasks completed by the financial services workforce could be augmented to increase productivity. Artificial intelligence (AI) will be a key contributor to this percentage. With the use of AI financial advisors could make personalised real-time recommendations and loan officers could determine default risks with more accuracy. 

Automating data entry, gathering and processing has also been noted by participants of the study to be highly beneficial to increased productivity, with 7-10% of tasks being automated. 

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With these innovations comes challenges that are under scrutiny, core challenges that the study picked up included, firms lacking a coherent and strategic approach to digital transformation, talent shortage, upskilling, job displacement and data usage. 

On the flipside, transparency is a strong competitive edge that these new innovative technologies are providing.

The financial services sector in figures:

• Augmentation of workforces could deliver US$117bn 

• Automation of workforce could provide a US$23bn in cost savings

“There’s a new era ahead for financial firms that see the value of combining human ingenuity and personal touch with technology efficiency and precision to create new sources of growth — and at a time when companies are using automation tools to drive greater value, responsible leadership is key to building trust,” said Cathinka Wahlstrom, who leads Accenture’s Financial Services practice in North America. “This isn’t about cutting costs to improve the bottom line, it’s about embracing technology to transform the workforce. Banks, insurers, and capital markets firms should continue to invest in teaching their staff new skills and new ways of working.”

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