We all know that the world is going through a radical, exciting, and sometimes unsettling revolution driven by digital technology. Innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) are reshaping industries, optimising processes, increasing efficiency, and driving value at an ever-increasing pace. As finance professionals, our mission is clear: to drive and champion these changes for our organisations to deliver value. By doing so, we become architects of the future, supporting organisations to accelerate and lead into the future.
My own background is in technology. I was CEO of a financial analytics technology company, helping large businesses take better strategic decisions and manage performance. So let me be absolutely clear: However disruptive you have found the digital transformation of the economy so far — this is only the beginning. New technology is rapidly changing the way finance teams operate across the world, and we, as a profession, must embrace this change.
Digital acceleration is a huge opportunity for us, especially given our long track record of adapting to and taking advantage of technological advances. Management accountants have always thrived by being early tech adopters. In the late 1970s, digital spreadsheets became a “killer application” when we started using them to increase the breadth of what we could do and the value our profession could add to organisations.
That tech adoption revolutionised our work, and we now find ourselves at a similar point in time. I am convinced that technologies such as AI and RPA can be another huge opportunity for us if we are ready to take it.
The other reason we must drive this change is that if we don’t, we will be left behind. All of us, at every level of the profession, need to constantly learn, unlearn, and relearn things we thought we knew and apply this knowledge in new ways and to new areas.
The workplace is evolving at pace. This was reinforced by our Future of Finance 2.0 research, which showed that 84% of finance professionals in business partnering roles were optimistic about the future, compared with only 15% who are not in business partnering roles, with automation being a major concern for those who were pessimistic.
The need to evolve is particularly true in AI-exposed sectors such as ours. A PwC report found that growth in the number of jobs that require AI specialist skills has outpaced growth in all jobs since 2016, increasing 3.5 times faster.
This doesn’t mean we all have to suddenly become proficient at coding. However, all organisations will be looking for ways to harness this new digital power. We must be sure we understand the technology so we can help maximise its potential.
It is vital that we approach this with a positive mindset. The PwC report highlighted what I think is the key opportunity, namely the productivity-enhancing potential of AI. Sectors with the highest AI penetration are seeing 4.8 times greater labour productivity growth than industries where AI is less applicable. Harnessing that power would give us a once-in-a-lifetime chance to vastly increase the power and scope of what we do and add even more value to the businesses we serve.
That is why I intend to use my time as CIMA president and chair of the Association to promote the inherent opportunities in the digital revolution and make sure we do not let this fantastic opportunity to secure our future go to waste.