Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are poised to revolutionize the accountancy industry. The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) embraces a human-centered AI (HCAI) approach, recognizing AI’s potential for positive disruption. This HCAI perspective emphasizes the design, use, and intention of AI tools with the human user in mind. Essentially, it means seeing AI as a tool to enhance and support the work of accountancy and finance professionals, rather than replace them.
In May 2023, the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) launched the AI for Accountancy Industry (AI for AI) initiative. A year later, ISCA released a whitepaper titled “Artificial Intelligence for the Accountancy Industry – What Lies Ahead.” This whitepaper presents key findings on industry sentiments, readiness, and challenges regarding AI, as well as the potential for AI to enhance accountancy careers.
AI a game changer but industry not ready
According to the report, 72% of employers believe AI will be a game changer for their businesses, and 82% of employees expect Generative AI to improve their job performance. Despite these optimistic views, an AI readiness survey indicates that the industry still lacks crucial resources in areas like infrastructure and data readiness.
The whitepaper also explores the potential of AI to augment critical work functions in three career tracks: Assurance, Financial Accounting, and Management Accounting. It reveals that AI can enhance 60% to 100% of critical tasks in these areas.
Offering insights into the report findings, ISCA President Mr Teo Ser Luck said, “There are strong indications of AI’s transformative impact on the accountancy industry. With AI, organisations can achieve more with less and reap productivity benefits. The notion of ‘super-accountants’ leveraging AI to cover more areas in multiple fields with fewer resources is also exciting. For instance, we may see entrepreneurial ‘super-accountants’ run leaner audit firms with more efficient employees, and still capable of providing a full suite of services through automation and AI augmentation.”
Commenting on the implications of AI on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Song Yeow Chung, ISCA Council Member and Co-Chair of the ISCA AI Taskforce said, “The proliferation of AI would mean that SMEs can benefit from a more agile and efficient accounting and finance function for more informed decision-making. Besides improving efficiency and work-life balance, AI augmentation will enable the accounting and finance function in SMEs to better focus on and provide insights into new business opportunities and risks.”
More opportunities for professional development
Rather than causing job losses, this augmentation is expected to create opportunities for professional development through upskilling and reskilling.
As AI becomes more integrated, work processes will transform positively, leading to productivity gains. For instance, AI’s role in financial analyses and forecasts will allow Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) to focus more on strategic functions such as business development, risk management, ESG and sustainability, and governance. Among other attributes, a sharp business acumen, the ability to think critically and creatively, and digital savviness would be the defining features of the future CFO.
Cyndi Pei, ISCA Council Member and Co-Chair of the ISCA AI Taskforce said, “CFOs have much to gain from AI augmentation. For example, they can use AI to find patterns from data analysis to identify business insights and propose action plans. AI will also enable CFOs to be stronger business partners with timely forecasts and market analysis which will contribute to sharper execution and help to shape business strategies. As a CFO, I look forward to integrating more AI tools into my work to bring more value to the business while elevating the work of the finance team.”
ISCA’s AI for AI initiative targets five key areas: jobs and skills, AI ethics, AI governance, AI adoption, and sustainability. To promote AI adoption, ISCA recently hosted an AI experiential day for small and medium-sized practices to explore AI-powered accounting solutions. Additionally, ISCA plans to launch a policy recommendation paper in November to advocate for a human-centered AI ecosystem and is developing a framework for the responsible use of AI in the accountancy industry to address ethical concerns.
