Accountants need to ensure long term sustainability objectives are not sacrificed for short term AI gains
Accountants have a key role in driving organisations towards using AI (artificial intelligence) to hit sustainability goals, especially in the area of data quality and data governance.
At the same time, they must make organisations aware of the environmental impact of AI investment in terms of greater emissions and water usage.
The latest of ACCA’s AI Monitor series Unravelling AI’s role in sustainability says that to embrace AI effectively requires education and a cultural mind shift.
Embracing this sophisticated, emerging set of technologies could help in the fight to meet present needs without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their needs. AI solutions are increasingly seen as critical in helping organisations measure and report their environmental impact.
Alistair Brisbourne, Head of Technology Research at ACCA warns AI is a double-edged sword. He said: ‘It is clear AI holds tremendous potential, but without due consideration AI technologies can also threaten progress towards achieving sustainability goals.’
This is where accountants can add vital strategic value. As ACCA’ research Chief Value Officer – the important evolution of the CFO pointed out, as organisations increasingly integrate analysis and AI into their processes, it is the human analysis and validation of the outputs that create the insights which stimulate value generation.
Brisbourne said: ‘Organisations need to focus on getting people to think about AI as something that is learning from them, encouraging people to input and maintain data that will provide more value. At the heart of these challenges lies the fundamental issue of data quality and standardisation. Accountants need to lead in the establishment of good data practices to ensure benefits are realised.’
AI could be used to accelerate progress on achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Innovative solutions are needed with only 17% of SDG targets on track for 2030 and another 35% showing signs of stagnation or regression.
In particular, technology could play a supporting role in sustainability reporting with AI overcoming one key challenge - converting financial data into meaningful environmental metrics. However, the challenge of data quality is not solved purely using AI. Brisbourne said: ‘In terms of sustainability reporting, accountants have a critical role in making sense of transaction data to underpin and improve reporting.
‘They need to ensure high-quality data input that AI systems can effectively interpret and learn on over time, dealing with exceptions and verifying data. From an assurance angle, they can also support improved validation of estimates and monitoring of models running such exercises.’
The report also examines how AI brings its own sustainability challenges.
A single ChatGPT request has been estimated by the Electric Power Research Institute to require approximately ten times the amount of energy as a Google query. Goldman Sachs estimates that currently relatively stable data centre power usage is set to surge 160% by 2030 fuelled by AI. As a result modern data centres are also increasing water usage - extensive cooling systems are required as more powerful chips generate more heat.
Brisbourne says that organisations should focus on assessing the environmental impact of AI; ensure ethical deployment; and work on initiatives most relevant to stakeholders and business objectives.
Read the report
Practical implications for accountants
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