Blockchain: The technology reshaping finances

Blockchain technology is poised to transform the finance function and has the potential to solve real business issues facing many companies today, tightly redefining the relationship between business operations and finance in ways that have never been possible before. EY’s Myles Corson and Paul Brody discuss blockchain’s revolutionary impact.

Key takeaways

• The potentially disruptive power of blockchain has been the hottest discussion topic in technology in recent years. Blockchain — the distributed ledger technology on which transactions in bitcoin and hundreds of other cryptocurrencies are recorded — has the potential to create tremendous advantages across industries.
• Blockchain is highly relevant to most to many organizations, especially those who many not have trusted intermediaries and need to manage their transactions without operational complexity. With blockchain, companies can create a picture of how much money they make over the life of a product.
• There are three components that make blockchain unique: distributed ledger (everyone in the network has access to information), universal and implementable contracts, and a consensus algorithm that wards off collusion.
• Two industries where blockchain can have a tremendous impact are healthcare and supply chain management, especially for consumer products and industrial companies.