“For a human analyst to make the appropriate balance sheet or
income statement adjustments to facilitate apples-to-apples
comparisons across firms, [he/she] had to attentively read hundreds
of pages of filings for multiple firms and multiple years and
accurately collect all the data” (Wang, C., & Thomas, K., 2021, June
25). But with Robo-Analysts it can be computed automatically. What
would essentially take hours, days, or weeks can be completed within
minutes. With Amazon already being as automated as possible, this
may be the next step. Amazon already deals in e-commerce only (no
cash or cash registers) and automated shelving/restocking. Why
wouldn’t an automated accountant be the next step?
With every advancement of technology, an impact will hit all
industries and businesses, especially technology such as Robo-
Analysts. Every industry uses accounting in one form or another, but
taking out human error, time constraints, and fatigue could possibly
save millions. A company like Amazon will save millions in wages and
operating expenses. With how Amazon handles its competition and
acquisitions, Robo-Analysts will be to show Amazon the best next
acquisition.
Conversely, “[there are] notable misses in New Constructs’ stock
recommendations. Amazon, for example, never received a New
Constructs’ rating above “Neutral” although the company’s stock
price grew over 7,000% since 2003” (Wang, C., & Thomas, K., 2021,
June 25). This alone may not be the reason Amazon invests in this
product.
References
Wang, C., & Thomas, K. (2021, June 25). New Constructs: Disrupting
Fundamental Analysis with Robo-Analysts (No. 9–118–068). Harvard
Business School. https://services.hbsp.harvard.edu/lti/links/content-
launch