Blockchain and the Future of Business Data Analytics

Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies are changing the way financial and business records are created and stored. New approaches to collaboration within and across industries enabled by this technology will increasingly result in new opportunities for data analysis and enable fundamental changes in accounting and auditing. The importance of this technology is increasing and “CPAs will need to learn, adjust, and adapt to emerging uses of blockchain” (AICPA 2020). This paper presents a pencil-and-paper activity that can help students unfamiliar with blockchain-related technologies understand these systems, the inter-organizational databases that result from their use, and their potential impacts for the accounting profession. We include optional reference materials that can be used as background reading for faculty members unfamiliar with blockchain or that can be integrated into a course.