When it comes to understanding blockchain technology, we’ve seen many accounting firms and solution providers become distracted by attention-grabbing headlines and buzzwords. This sense of hype often keeps organizations from acting on this critical emerging technology.

Knowing how difficult it can be to slice through the noise with emerging technologies, 
we hosted the Blockchain Innovation Accelerator in July of 2018. This one-day workshop was aimed at helping firms accelerate their success in understanding blockchain and its applications and giving professionals the clarity and confidence to lead their firms in understanding blockchain technology.
In the session, we: 
Reviewed the basics of blockchain, including key terminology and the advantages of its technology
Examined the basics of cryptocurrencies, various types of digital tokens and their investing applications
Set up a crypto-wallet and initiated transactions
Discussed the concept of self-sovereign identity, a concept of personal identity controlled by the individual as opposed to a governing body
Set up a digital identity
Discussed the ecosystem of blockchain services and solution providers, key players and their roles
Dove into the advanced technological concepts that make blockchain secure, distributed and immutable
Discussed real-world applications for blockchain happening now in a variety of industries
Brainstormed where blockchain applies to our current clients as well as the accounting profession
Discussed how to start the conversation about blockchain in participants’ firms
The Accelerator was a huge success, with attendees reporting that they had a-ha moments and insights, walked away with a much better understanding of blockchain and felt more confident discussing it with colleagues and clients.
We were so happy with the success of the accelerator, we wanted to share some of that information with a wider audience than just those in attendance. Of course, we can’t  dive as deep in a white paper as we could over a full day of hands-on demonstrations  and discussion. However, this guide should give you a good overview of why blockchain is important to the future of the accounting profession and what you can do to start preparing for the future today.