A future-fit accountancy profession for a rapidly changing and technology advanced world
The Future-Fit Question & World Economic Forum Projections
WEF Report 2020“As the world changes and technology advances, it is becoming increasingly important to ask ourselves: ‘What can we do to make sure we are fit for the future?’”
According to the World Economic Forum – Future of Jobs Report 20201, by 2025 the time spent on current tasks at work by humans and machines will be equal. 85 million jobs may be displaced, while 97 million new roles which are more adapted to the new division of labour between humans and machines, may emerge. The accountant and auditor job roles, as we know them today, are fourth on the list of the Top 20 decreasing in-demand roles.
1. The Evolutionary Triad: From CFO to Chief Value Officer (CVO)
As business models change, so must professional accountants – evolving from doing the same things to doing the same things differently to doing different things. Professional accountants doing different things will have an interconnected focus on people, planet and prosperity. In the words of Prof Mervyn King, chief financial officers need to be the chief value officers (CVOs) in their organisations2.
This year alone, we have seen significant developments in sustainability reporting and assurance. Professional accountants have both a public interest responsibility and a transformative opportunity to lead changes in corporate reporting. Nevertheless, as said by Kevin Dancey, CEO of IFAC:
“… if we don’t rise quickly to the occasion, demonstrate our competencies, and seize this significant opportunity, someone else will.”3
The stakes are at an all-time high, and uncertainty is the name of the game, which is why the question “What makes future-fit?” has become so essential. The answer lies in becoming a life-long learner. This sentiment is echoed by many, and sounds simple enough, considering the unfettered access to information and experts at our fingertips. Except that becoming lifelong learners is proving to not be that simple.
2. The Online Learning Paradox & Cognitive Attention Deficit
Organisations around the globe have made significant investments in learning technology, but the rate of adoption is slow, and the drop-off rate remains alarmingly high4. Research shows an average engagement rate of only 15% for online learning5 and an alarming drop-off rate of up to 80%6. Thus, the question of how we make sure we are fit for the future becomes increasingly complex. The technology and connectedness required may exist, but our adaptation to this hyper-connected world may need a fair amount of thoughtful fine-tuning.
“The technology and connectedness required may exist, but our adaptation to this hyper-connected world may need a fair amount of thoughtful fine-tuning.”
Yes, the Internet has significantly changed us. Nevertheless, by being caught up in this revolutionary stream of information and hyper-connection, have we taken the time to reflect on our adaptive response? This information superhighway, which has been designed around short-form content and in the hands of marketing marvels where every click counts, often leads us down several rabbit holes keeping our extended yet mindless attention. This has impacted our ability to consume long-form content; we simply no longer have the mental muscle to stay focused for longer than a few minutes or a maximum of 400 words7.
All this knowledge at our fingertips coupled with the democratisation of information through channels such as YouTube, where anyone and everyone is a self-proclaimed expert, has served only to transform us into overwhelmed, passive consumers of information, but only if it is short. Nevertheless, learning remains an active process that requires time, effort and direction.
3. Evolving into Modern Virtual Learners & The Four Hindering Barriers
“To embrace our future, rise to the occasion and seize the opportunities will take more than the simple consumption of information that has come to characterise our virtual world.”
To become lifelong learners requires first that we evolve into Modern Virtual Learners. The Association for Talent Development (ATD) defines a modern learner as someone in a fast-changing environment where content evolves quickly and learning needs to keep pace8. With the rate of change and complexity we are facing, it is more important than ever to be able to learn quickly and adapt to new situations. Modern learners need to be able to find answers quickly and assimilate knowledge from many different sources.
The Covid-19 Pandemic accelerated our shift to digital, resulting in most learning now taking place in a virtual environment. In other words, almost everyone today is or should be striving to become a modern virtual learner. Surely our transition should be effortless – we have both the conditions and the tools, so what then is holding us back? We still have a narrow understanding of the behavioural drivers of modern learners in the context of their environment, contributing to the slow rate of adoption, high drop-off rate, and low rate of return on investment in learning technologies. Research indicates four main factors hindering our learning evolution:
Many learners find it difficult to manage time with full-time employment and family commitments. Worsened by employee-employer tension: employees feel organisations should provide dedicated learning hours during workdays, whereas employers often believe lifelong learning should be pursued outside working hours.
Many learners fail to complete courses due to diminishing motivation. After enrolling, the actual reality of effort, time, and intellectual dedication exceeds initial expectations, causing individuals to drop out or delay course completion indefinitely.
Learners lack financial, institutional, and emotional support. Bombarded by conflicting messages regarding necessary future-proofing skills, they struggle to determine where to start, frequently selecting non-fit-for-purpose courses that erode completion desire.
Hindered by the dominant organizational learning culture. Regardless of slogans displayed on office walls, true culture is manifested in the physical structures, processes, technologies, time allocations, and performance incentives made available to support learning.
4. Re-engineering Learning Culture & Critical Competencies
As the world continues to change, the knock-on effect on business models and the accountancy profession presents an opportunity for organisations, along with Professional Accountancy Organisations (PAOs), to help evolve or rather revolutionise the accountant’s transition into the modern world of learning.
By using diagnostics, deeper insight can be gained into the cultural transformation required to embed and sustain a modern learning ecosystem, develop a contextual understanding of learners’ behavioural drivers, and take steps to appropriately re-engineer the learning culture and environment to support accountants to upskill themselves rapidly and continuously.
“It is increasingly important for accountants to develop competencies that will allow them to stay ahead of the curve.”
Concurrently, it is increasingly important for accountants to develop competencies that will allow them to stay ahead of the curve. One way to do this is by understanding themselves in the context of the new world and identifying the areas in which they need to grow and develop. Four core competencies stand out:
With these skills, accountants will be able to navigate the virtual world with ease, cut through the noise online, be agile and discerning in their response to changes, and build the relationships needed to fully transition to value creators. ■■■
- The Future of Jobs Report 2020 | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)
- CFO South Africa – Prof Mervyn King: CFOs need to be the chief value officers in their organisations
- Kevin Dancey – Corporate and Sustainability Reporting – A Look Ahead
- Papia Bawa – Retention in Online Courses: Exploring Issues and Solutions—A Literature Review
- Nakarin Pinpathomrat, Lester Gilbert and Dr Gary B Wills – A MODEL OF E-LEARNING UPTAKE AND CONTINUED USE IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
- Elearning Statistics
- The Art of Smart Brevity - Write Less, Say More | TED Talk
- The World’s Largest Talent Development Association | ATD
Virtual Certificate Course on Concurrent Audit of Banks
The concurrent audit system of banks has become very crucial and important for banks. The main objective of the system is to ensure compliance with the audit systems in banks as per the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India and importantly, to ensure timely detection of lapses/ irregularities. In view of the core competence of the chartered accountants in the area of finance and accounting, risk management, understanding of the internal functioning and controls of banks, etc., the banking sector has been relying extensively on them to comply with these requirements of the regulator.
The Internal Audit Standards Board of ICAI conducts 11 days Certificate Course on Concurrent Audit of Banks through Digital Learning Hub. The purpose of the Certificate Course on Concurrent Audit of Banks is to provide an opportunity to the members to understand the intricacies of concurrent audit of banks thereby improving the effectiveness of concurrent audit system in banks, and also the quality and coverage of concurrent audit reports. The course is open for the members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
| Location / Batch | Scheduled Dates & Timings | Course Structure and Other Details |
|---|---|---|
| BATCH 81 | November 4–15, 2022 (3:00 to 6:00 PM) |
Structured_IASB_Certificate Course Concurrent Audit of Banks BATCH - 81 |
| BATCH 82 | November 18–28, 2022 (3:00 to 6:00 PM) |
Structured_IASB_Certificate Course Concurrent Audit of Banks BATCH - 82 |