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Indeed, traditional ways of working are fast fading and being replaced by new technological advancements backed up by Artificial Intelligence. The question as to whether Accountants and Finance professionals will still remain relevant in these times still lingers on.
In my LinkedIn article “The changing role of the Accountant” (November 2019), https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/changing-role-accountant-josephine-magoba-makuyi-fcca-cpa-u- I highlighted the trend of the Accountant’s role drifting away from the traditional (back-kitchen methods) to a more pro-active role in the organisation’s core functionality. This definitely calls for being more adaptable, and agile and embracing technology to deliver over and beyond the standard; more efficiently and effectively.
Automation is simply assisted intelligence so, the Accountant/Finance Professional still brings the human element to interpret the numbers derived from the automation, for example, what would 80% mean? Does it mean our brand is more accepted and we should do more or should we be investing in tapping into the other 20%? There’s now a deliberate move from just data creation to advanced interpretation and value addition thus the evolving role to a Chief Value Officer (CVO).
There’s a need to embrace Artificial Intelligence and its benefits – enhancing efficiency, communicating on a timely basis, valuable engagements with key stakeholders, decision making etc. For example, we now have Microsoft Google features with real-time view of team comments and task progress, decision support software, analysis tools, dashboards, the new enhanced Microsoft Teams ChatGPT features and many more inventions coming up very fast. So, the edge for the Accountant/Finance professional will be the value addition one offers over and above the Artificial Intelligence – timely interpretation, analysis, dissemination and use of the data for decision-making.
The Accountant/Finance Professional will still be one of the most trusted stewards who should ably disseminate the organisation’s mission, vision, goals and values; applying discernment amid divergent contexts to ensure there are relevant policies, procedures and tools to safeguard the organisation’s going concern. The Accountant has an edge in terms of diversity of knowledge (the profession being multi-disciplinary), rich with several aspects other than just book-keeping, which enhances the ability to better sum up the big picture and provide value in all areas of the organisation.
Another key aspect for the Accountant /Finance Professional is the ability to drive the organisation’s sustainability agenda. The ability to clearly highlight cost-benefit analysis scenarios, what-if analysis and any other that could enrich the “go: no-go” investment decisions, keeping a tab on the organisation’s KSFs for attracting and retaining business, plus others for building long-term value. With particular emphasis on governance assurance, which is key to organisational survival including risk management, demystifying key compliance requirements and devising ways to ensure adherence is not a deterrence to business progress; as well as ensuring a healthy internal control environment.
Highlighting the big picture to other stakeholders is a role that is key; including in-depth analysis of the opportunity cost of certain decisions, explicating and backing up these decisions with the right figures. The Accountant/Finance professional should ably work out and support program units for example – the cost of enhancing a specific product, or the cost of delivering education to each child and so on. This also calls for defining business language that is relevant to the end-user context to supplement the usual typical accounting terminology. For instance, working from a list of overhead costs to derive clearly defined cost packages indicating what it takes to run a specific business unit.
Keeping ahead with the times and ensuring relevance in the changing world is key for the Accountant/Finance professional; and this calls for playing a role in creating and implementing solutions to the global issues around climate change and its related economic and environmental impact. We should be able to support the organisation’s transition to climate-friendly finance.
Emotional Intelligence is very key – the Accountant/Finance professional should remain humble, respectful, mindful of other people’s needs and always thinking through how best to support all other functions and serve with a passion. Other key distinctive qualities include adaptability, effective communication, time management, creativity and innovation, and appreciation of the big picture; to mention but a few.
In conclusion, yes – the role of the Accountant/Finance professional is still very relevant and has evolved to provide even more value. So, the onus is on us to keep up with the fast-changing times, re-invent ourselves, be agile, and adaptable, embrace new developments, and make a deliberate effort to add value above and beyond the bare minimum requirement in our respective domains.