Maiki Lynch: Hey there, I'm Maiki Lynch, and I'm an accountant. In this series from ACCA, I've been sitting down with other accountants and people who work in finance to hear about their journeys in the world of work, and bust some common myths about these career paths along the way. This week is our final episode and it's a rather special one. That's right, it's artificial intelligence. These days, it seems like AI is always in the news, whether it's ChatGPT helping students write essays, or big manufacturing companies changing their processes. But is AI to have a big role to play in the future of finance? Is it going to help or be a hindrance? What could it mean for careers in accountancy? Let's find out. This is By All Accounts. Depending on how it's discussed, the changes AI may bring to our lives can feel either like a golden opportunity or a looming threat. When it came to careers in accounting and finance, I've gone to the experts. First up with me, I have ACCA's own Head of Technology Research, Alistair Brisbourne, whose been digging into what AI means for the future of accountancy. Hello, Alistair.
Alistair Brisbourne: Hello, Maiki.
Maiki Lynch: Hi. Also, Imtiaz Ahmad. Imtiaz qualified an an accountant back in 2007, and has worked in both the private and public sectors, all the way from junior roles to top executive levels. He's here to share his views on how the industry has changed over the years and is continuing to change.
Hello, Imtiaz.
Imtiaz Ahmad: Hi.
Maiki Lynch: Welcome.
Alistair, I'm going to come to you first. I know AI is everywhere these days, but it can feel a little bit of a black box to some. Can you give me a really straightforward explanation as to what AI is?
Alistair Brisbourne: Well, that's a challenge. Basically, AI is about using a computer, the strength of computers, to do things that used to be done by human intelligence. I think something that we're all aware of that's accessible to all of us is thinking about smart playlists. Whether you're using Spotify or Apple Music, these playlists, they know what music you like and they know why you like it. Because they're assessing the music you're listening to, they're assessing that other people listen to in order to make suggestions as to other songs that you might like. What it's doing is there's this algorithm that's learning from data, in this case your music choices, and it's making suggestions as to other songs you might like.
That applies to basically all forms of artificial intelligence. It's as simple as a machine understanding patterns within data. As you say, it's pervasive in our lives. Whether it's the mapping systems we used to get here today to understand traffic flow information, to understand route guidance, all this is infused with AI. Or the quirky questions we ask our Siri, and Alexa, and Google Assistants, that's all AI- based. We had The Beatles release a song last year, for example, thanks to a machine learning tool that was able to extract data from an old hissy tape and turn it into a new track. AI is basically using the strength of AI to recognize patterns within large datasets and extra that in a useful way for us.
Maiki Lynch: That's a lovely explanation. Trying to bring it to accounting and finance. What's this got to do with accounting and finance, and the roles that we have in accounting and finance?
Alistair Brisbourne: Well, the core of our job is to look at huge amounts of financial data, as well as other forms of data these days. We're looking at more unstructured datasets, like text, and imagery, and things like that. Being able to extract insight from that data is absolutely fundamental in the accountancy role. It will be even more so moving forward.
If you think about some of the routine tasks that accountants are involved in, the data entry tasks, reconciling debits and credits, and some of the basic things that everyone has to learn along the way, AI is really useful in not just saving time but also reducing errors and increasing accuracy in those processes. It's fantastic. Then we can apply it to things like fraud, so identifying anomalies within datasets, improving our risk management processes. We can use it to help interpret tax law, to help fill out forms. There are a myriad ways in which AI can help the accountancy profession. I think we're just scratching the surface at the moment.
Maiki Lynch: I love what you've talked about there because it sounds like we're going beyond just efficiencies that can be made perhaps for more the entry- level roles there.
Alistair Brisbourne: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I think efficiency is the immediate goal, too. What you think about when we think about AI and automation, but really it's about enabling better strategic advice. It's about moving beyond just the transactional aspects of the role, and actually providing that business acumen, that strategic acumen that accountants actually do have. They have a solid understanding of their organization because of the information that they're working with.
Maiki Lynch: Imtiaz, I'd like to come to you if I may. You've been in senior accounting roles for some time. What conversations have you been hearing about AI?
Imtiaz Ahmad: Well, it depends on the context. Usually, AI is taken as a threat. Every time, if you see the last 50 to 70 years of human history where we have evolved so much through technological development and everything around it, whenever there is a new technological development, a new advancement, there is a new milestone, it's always taken as a threat first. Then later on people realized, " Oh, no, no, no, no. It was a mistake. It's better for us to enable us, to help us, to facilitate that processes." The same thing is with AI.
You see now, as Alistair has said that, we are more of at the initial stage of scratching the surface. There are so much more we are going to do, not only in accountancy, but in every other aspect of life. The reconciliations between one account to another account, between one organization to another organization is going to be automated. We are going to be working more on the analytical side than the data processing itself.
Maiki Lynch: Within your own work, has it changed your own work?
Imtiaz Ahmad: Oh, so much. So much, so much so. I remember when I started working right after my qualification in 2007, I was working in public sector in one of the organizations in Pakistan. You will be surprised. It was not that old time, but still people were using the ledgers, the hardcore printed ledgers. We were doing actual reconciliation between bank and the ledger by hand on the ledger.
Maiki Lynch: I'm not surprised.
Imtiaz Ahmad: Yeah.
Maiki Lynch: When I learned bookkeeping, I would go out and bookkeeping was in books, if you could imagine. Books!
Imtiaz Ahmad: Exactly.
Maiki Lynch: Yes. On that tea accountant that you learn about in college, that is the spine of the book. That's where the tea account comes from.
Imtiaz Ahmad: True, true. It's 14, 15 years ago only. Now, a few years back, I was working with one of the big four consulting firms. One of the assignments we working, Sovereign Wealth Fund for preparing their financial policy and procedures. It took us at least two to three months to first prepare the data process flow diagrams. Then explain them into the policies and procedures. That was so much manual work. We were writing from our own heads, " Okay, the data is moving here, and there is approval," and everything. Okay. Now you will surprised to know that you can take the picture of the data flow diagram and give it to ChatGPT, or any other relevant AI, and then it will write you just like that within two minutes.
Maiki Lynch: Such a time saving.
Imtiaz Ahmad: Of course. Then what we are going to do with that, we are going to purify that, we are going to add value to that. It doesn't mean that we are going to be out of job because AI has replaced that processing of the data, that writing on the policy and procedures manually. No. We are going to work on much higher level quality. Output is going to be a niche level of the quality excelling in the coming time.
Maiki Lynch: We're freeing up our time-
Imtiaz Ahmad: Of course.
Maiki Lynch: To add value to the business, rather than having to be involved in such labor- intensive tasks.
Imtiaz Ahmad: Exactly, exactly.
Maiki Lynch: I love that. Alistair, I want to come back to you. You've done some research on how potential students feel about AI. Just wondering, what have you found?
Alistair Brisbourne: It's interesting. It's interesting listening to what Imtiaz was saying as well, because there are obviously a few different challenges here.
To answer the question directly, Generation Z does seem to be slightly more concerned about the impact of AI than other generations. We look at our talent trends work, and the last two years, it's that generation that expresses the most concern about technological development in general, but AI specifically. That's slightly counterintuitive.
Maiki Lynch: I agree.
Alistair Brisbourne: Because we tend to think they're coming in with a skillset or an awareness of these technologies that maybe older generations don't have. We were surprised to see that.
When we dig into it, and ask the questions, and we get into the discussions, it does seem that there are a couple different reasons for that. One is that there is a concern that their career path is going to be disrupted by automation or AI. There's a lot of talk about those entry level jobs being affected, and they're very aware that that could mean them. What does their career look like in the future is a challenge. Then the other side of it is the skills side. There is this impetus to be more tech aware, to have that tech skillset. That's exciting for some people, but it's not exciting for everyone.
I think part of it is the messaging and communication, in that there's actually a huge opportunity. This next generation is going to be really, really important to how AI is adopted. We've already discussed how AI is really fundamental to the evolution of the accountancy profession. But they're going to be at the heart of devising the solutions, the new ways of working. But also, in leveraging those new insights, as Imtiaz was saying. They are going to have an opportunity earlier in their career to actually take on more strategic roles, not to be bogged down in some of the more manual tasks that a lot of people who qualified earlier were in their careers.
Actually, we need to communicate more the exciting opportunity that exists for people that are coming into the profession now, because it does seem like job security and skills challenges are the major concerns that Gen Z are expressing when they think about AI.
Maiki Lynch: I don't know if your research touches on this. But does this compare to what we're seeing in other industries, outside of accounting and finance?
Alistair Brisbourne: I think a really, really good comparison, we're at a similar stage, is the legal profession. It's similar in the sense that we're at a similar stage in terms of the adoption of AI. But also, some of the ways in which AI is starting to make a difference is similar.
We think about routine tasks in the legal profession, there's a lot of contract or document review that has to take place. While we're reconciling data, entering data, they're doing what are very manual, time- intensive review tasks. They're also more heavily involved in compliance and risk management. There are big similarities in terms of the way the professions are going. Most law firms used to have big libraries at the heart of them. Then they moved online, to things like LexisNexis and databases. Now they're adopting things like generative AI in order to help them extract information from those databases more efficiently or more effectively.
It's very similar to what accounting and finance professionals are trying to do right now. I wonder if those two will evolve together. We could learn a lot from each other probably, in the way we're moving.
Maiki Lynch: How do you think things are likely to change, if you can perhaps look forward?
Alistair Brisbourne: Yeah. Imtiaz has already pointed to some really important changes that are starting to happen and AI is really going to enable that. That is using AI generated insights in order to provided greater value. The big challenge we have is that, as I said at the beginning, we're faced with huge amounts of data. Getting our heads around it and extracting the most useful insights for our organization is really difficult. Really time- consuming at the very least, and impossible in some cases because there's too much information.
AI is really a huge step- up in our ability to actually guide organizations to provide a trusted source of advice. And also, to provide greater value out of the proprietary data that organizations have access to. Without AI, we can't do that. It's actually a really, really important that we need to learn how to use more effectively.
Maiki Lynch: Where can people go to find out more about this?
Alistair Brisbourne: Well, we've recently released an ACCA Guide to AI in Finance. I believe that was released in August last year, which covers some of the ways in which we think AI is going to change the profession, but also some of our principles as an organization towards the adoption of AI, and what we think needs to happen in order to take advantage of it.
There's also the Digital Horizons Report, which was released in September, which touches on some of the practical ways in which AI is likely to impact the profession, as well as some of the different characteristics in terms of organizations that are leading the way in that regard. It also touches on generative AI, the hot topic at the time, as to why is it exciting, why should we pay attention to it. Is the hype real, or is there substance behind it?
All this is available on the ACCA website, in the P&I, the policy and insights pages. We have more workup coming this year, certainly that's going to cover AI in much greater depth.
Maiki Lynch: Imtiaz, I want to come back to you. What do you think about these coming changes?
Imtiaz Ahmad: In coming years of time, there will be more work on the analytical side. You are going to see where are the gaps, where are the inefficiencies, where are the improvement areas. Then work on those, rather than doing the hardcore laborious work on your own.
Maiki Lynch: What do you hope for the future of AI?
Imtiaz Ahmad: AI is going to be... You will see, in the coming days, you will see ChatGPT stores coming just like App Store. Those kind of plugins are going to be integrated with the ChatGPT and other AI platforms. It is going to be integrated in every process. It's going to touch accounting side, finance side, analysis side, budgeting side. It's going to touch every aspect within our profession. We have multiple lines within our profession. We have taxation, we have accounting, we have audit. Within audit, we have internal audit, external audit. You name it, it's not going to be restricted on one pillar of the profession, it's going to effect all. How? I'm sure it is going to be a positive change. That will be a very pleasant and welcoming towards the new generation, who are aspiring to join the profession, actually.
Maiki Lynch: Thank you so much. Just from what you've both said, it makes me think that perhaps with each generation, we need to be thinking about becoming that purple person, having that balance between our accounting and finance skills. And also, an awareness and an ability within technology and that space as well.
I just want to come to you both and ask is AI going to take all of the accountancy jobs. Imtiaz, can I come to you first?
Imtiaz Ahmad: Yeah, sure. It's not going to replace humans at all. I am a big believer of enabling technology for helping the humans to do much more than they originally have been doing before. It's going to be an enabler, rather than destroyer. It's going to be a support towards humans, rather than replacing the humans. It's going to see that, wherever there is a repetitive nature of work, wherever there are laborious processes, and give more of analytical side, and more of that side, which AI cannot do that. There is so much creativity, so much things which humans can do and AI cannot do. AI will never be able to do that side of the work. There is the gap we are going to fulfill, and that is going to be the side where we need to focus in the coming time.
Maiki Lynch: Alistair, can I come to you with the same question, is AI going to take all of the accountancy jobs?
Alistair Brisbourne: Yeah. Look, I couldn't agree more. Artificial intelligence is not human intelligence. They are different things and they are good at different things. AI is a huge enabler, as Imtiaz says. It's great for augmenting certain tasks or certain capabilities because it can extract insights from huge datasets that would take us ages to do. It's great for that. It's great for other things, in terms of reviewing documents, producing text now with generative AI. There are great ways in which we can employ it. But it's not the same as problem solving capabilities an accountant has because of the contextual knowledge that humans can apply, because of the deep domain expertise and the experience they have in seeing the way things can go wrong.
AI will actually need someone to monitor and provide oversight. Even if we think about those entry level jobs, which we could say are maybe most at risk in terms of reduction in the number that might be required, you still need someone there who understands the basic principles, how things work, and to oversee the system to make sure it's operating correctly because machine learning, AI is not perfect either. This is where you get that purple person that you were talking about, that merging of skillsets. Someone that has the domain expertise in accountancy, but also move of a technical side is the huge opportunity in that area.
I think what we're going to see is actually a proliferation of specialisms. The challenge we have right now is we can't actually see all the jobs that are going to be created, all the new areas where there will be new jobs or new roles that are required in order to better make use of this technology to extract more value for our organization. That's something that is just going to evolve through practice. The work that Imtiaz is doing and other people, they're developing those roles. We're sitting back and we're trying to figure out with our crystal balls what's going to happen.
But no, absolutely it's not going to replace accountants. It's not going to replace roles in wholesale. It will change roles. It will change what people do.
Maiki Lynch: Thank you both for your answer to that question. That's fantastic.
If someone at home is considering a career in accounting and finance, Alistair, I want to come to you first, what advice might you give them if they're considering it?
Alistair Brisbourne: It's a really good question. It's a difficult question, in the sense that the qualification accountants do so many different roles. I think sometimes, it's assumed that accountants do one thing. But actually, I was sitting down with my colleagues the other day, and we were trying to list all the roles that accountants do, and we kept going from page, to page, to page. I think it's really exciting. If someone wants to understand how business works, or how organizations operate, what is driving value within organizations, then I think this is a great career for anyone who has that kind of mindset, who maybe has that analytical mindset, has that problem solving mindset who really wants to get involved and make a different.
Maiki Lynch: Thank you. Imtiaz, can I come to you, your advice to someone whose considering a career in accounting and finance?
Imtiaz Ahmad: Look, this is an interesting question. No matter what advancements are there, money is going to be there. It moved from hardcore cash to a number in the bank account. Then the coming years sometimes, when we are going to introduce the blockchain technology, and then these will be something else. However, the concept of money is not going to fade away because it has evolved over centuries, actually. As long as there is money, there will always be need of accountants.
Maiki Lynch: That's fantastic. Thank you so much. That's it for this episode of By All Accounts. Thank you, Imtiaz and Alistair, for joining us today. That's it from the series. I hope its cleared up some questions for you about working in the financial industry. With skills in accountancy and finance, you can work in any business, anywhere, and turn your passion into an exciting and rewarding career with an ACCA qualification. You can sign up to find out more by heading to accaglobal.com/beyouanywhere. That link is also in the show note. I'm Maiki Lynch, and this has been By All Accounts.
