Blockchain to Prevent Accounting Fraud... Don Tapscott "Auditors Will Disappear"

Don Tapscott, Chairman of Blockchain Research Institute

Distributed Ledger Recorded Instantly Upon Transaction... Real-Time Corporate Information Verification
"The Blockchain Economy Is Already Unfolding Before Us
Blockchain Is a Platform for Digitizing All Assets"

"Regulations Without Considering Virtual Markets Are the Worst... Balance Is Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] If all transactions are recorded on a globally shared distributed ledger, why would we still need certified public accountants to interpret them?

Don Tapscott, Chairman of the Blockchain Research Institute, recently said in an interview with Asia Economy during his visit to Korea, “Auditors (responsible for corporate audits) will disappear in the future.”

Tapscott, a world-renowned futurist, wrote in the book The Blockchain Revolution, co-authored with his son Alex Tapscott, that since every transaction is recorded on a distributed ledger, corporate finances can be checked in real time, making accounting fraud such as window dressing impossible.

In this interview, Tapscott emphasized, “Large accounting firms will not disappear but will evolve by taking on other roles such as financial advisory services, while their traditional roles will vanish. Instead of annual audits like now, audits will happen instantly when you press the audit button at 3:30 p.m. on a Tuesday.”

Blockchain is a distributed data storage technology that transparently records transaction details in a digital ledger accessible to anyone and replicates it across multiple computers. It is used in most cryptocurrency transactions, including Bitcoin.

Tapscott said, “The blockchain economy is already unfolding before our eyes. Six years ago, when writing The Blockchain Revolution, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) were called ‘crypto collectables’ with collectible value, but now NFTs can be owned as digital artworks.” Until now, replicated artworks circulated on the internet, but since NFTs are artworks that cannot be duplicated, the blockchain economy is already being realized in everyday life.

Don Stepcott, Chairman of the Blockchain Research Institute, is being interviewed on the 20th at IFC Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

He stated, “Thanks to blockchain, all assets will be digitized. Money will be converted into virtual assets, and stocks, bonds, derivatives, and crude oil will also be tokenized.” He predicted, “Tokenization represents a tremendous transformation, and currency will become just one of many digital assets.”

He added, “Blockchain can be thought of as a platform for investment, but it should be recognized as a platform that can digitize all assets. Currently, the virtual asset market follows stock market trends so much that there is a saying, ‘When the stock market sneezes, virtual assets catch a cold,’ but over time, decoupling will occur.”

The virtual asset market is currently in the midst of a so-called ‘crypto winter,’ with major coins including Bitcoin continuing to weaken following the collapse of Luna and Terra in May this year. However, Tapscott predicted that just as email led users online in the early days of the internet, Bitcoin is the first step toward the blockchain economy, and virtual assets will become mainstream in the future. He said, “Various coins will provide platforms like the World Wide Web did 25 years ago, offering services beyond currency. What is truly important is the business application capabilities built on top of these.”

Making laws without any consideration of the market is the worst

Regarding recent global regulatory movements on virtual assets in Europe, the U.S., and elsewhere, he expressed concern, saying, “Focusing solely on investor protection is a regrettable reality.” He said, “The virtual market must balance investor protection and innovation. Governments should create regulations through an open collaborative process, and making laws without any consideration of the market is the worst and bound to fail.” He added, “Since the Korean branch of the Blockchain Research Institute has been established, we can provide advice and collaborate with the appropriate Korean authorities.”

He emphasized collaboration again, saying, “Everything on Earth is connected by a shared destiny. One thing we have clearly seen through global warming, the COVID-19 pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is that companies cannot succeed and capital markets cannot be sustained while the world is collapsing. Therefore, companies must not obsess only over their own business success.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.