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The next technology we will introduce in this chapter is distributed ledger technology (DLT) upon which blockchain is based. In order to transact digitally and with confidence, the ownership chain of assets of value must be trackable and auditable. If we think about all the transactions our companies engage in, one activity that often represents manual work and a break in straight through processing (STP) is verifying transactions when questions arise after-the-fact. Think of the number of reconciliations performed across accounting, finance, and operations functions in business today. Often, reconciliations are aimed at comparing and agreeing things like transactions, assets, securities, and account balances to confirm the true state of a ledger. A reconciliation is essentially the comparison of two datasets to either confirm their agreement or to identify any exceptions or breaks. Once exceptions are identified, countless hours of investigation can follow, tracing the exceptions back to transactional source data to confirm which of the two data sets under comparison are correct, and to take the necessary resolution steps to correct the faulty dataset. What if this could be solved in a different way?

Distributed ledgers contain different types of shared data, such as transaction records, attributes of transactions, credentials, or other pieces of information worthy of retention and validation. Blockchain technology allows a network of computers to agree at regular intervals on the “true” state of a distributed ledger. On a blockchain, transactions are recorded chronologically, forming an immutable chain, and can be made private or public, depending on how the technology is implemented. The ledger is distributed across many participants in the network; it does not exist in only one place. Instead, copies exist and are simultaneously updated with every fully participating node in the ecosystem. Therefore, a blockchain emerges as a single validated source of truth. Suddenly, a decentralized network can achieve broad consensus about the state and authenticity of a block's contents. Each participant in the network can verify the true state of the ledger, contribute to maintaining the accuracy and authenticity of the ledger, and subscribe to the resulting dataset as a golden source of truth. This technology can be used to transact at low cost, or to reduce reconciliation efforts and minimize the costs of resolution steps.

What if counterparties to transactions were both (or all) participants on the same distributed ledger? If they each (or all, respectively) agreed on the validity of ownership or asset movements, and each subscribed to the resulting golden source of truth, would there be a need for the vast numbers of after-the-fact reconciliations or the audits that are undertaken to resolve exceptions? Would there be an opportunity for exceptions to emerge at all? So goes the theoretical benefits case for distributed ledger technology to the accounting, finance, and operations functions in large organizations.

Use cases abound for distributed ledgers and blockchain. In accounting and finance functions, there are a number of opportunities to harness this to settle and reconcile transactions more efficiently than is done currently. Think of the processes undertaken by your own organizations to research the completeness of transactions, the accuracy of balances, or the true state of ownership. Have a think about the number of reconciliations and comparisons performed in your own office to get a sense as to whether there are opportunities to gain efficiencies by consuming a single source of truth that has been validated through consensus of participants. In logistics, benefits can accrue from leveraging an immutable audit trail of goods as they move through the economy – as supplies move to manufacturers, through the goods production process, as finished goods move out the door to distributors, and how they pass logistically through shipment and delivery to consumers. Other use cases arise in identity and authentication. It is clear that distributed ledger technology will change the way we do business in the future. This technology is in no way the focus of this book, but we want readers to be familiar with key disruptors that are shifting the landscape in the new digital age.