Will 4IR technologies kill the Accounting Profession? "Only if accountants remain the same and refuse to embrace it," says Arthur Goldstruck, CEO at World Wide Worx.
 
Mr Goldstruck was speaking from the South African Institute of Professional Accountants' (SAIPA) Accounting iNdaba 2019, being held from 13th to 15th August at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. This inaugural event explores 4IR and its impact on the Accounting Profession under the theme: "The Future-Ready Professional Accountant in the Fourth Industrial Revolution".
 
4IR adoption
According to Fourth Industrial Revolution in South Africa 2019: Enterprise uptake and expectations for emerging technologies, based on research carried out by World Wide Worx, South African adoption of 4IR technologies is low. “Only 13% of corporate South Africa is currently using AI in 2019, exactly the same as the previous year. Of the rest, 21% plan to adopt the technology in the next 12 to 24 months,” says Goldstruck.
 
This is in contrast to a survey conducted by the firm in 2018 in which 63% of non-users indicated they would invest in AI. 43% of those cited cost as the main constraint for not doing so.
 
Goldstruck says the reason for the large decline is that organisations, having moved past the hype around artificial intelligence, have come to realise that AI projects are costly. "The software itself is cheap and readily available as online services," he says. Rather, it is the skills and expertise required to make it work that are lacking, with that scarcity driving expenses up.
 
With regards to other 4IR technologies, 50% of companies currently use basic automation, 25% use IoT and 19% use Cloud computing.
 
However, 90% say they believe they will become reliant on those technologies in the future, and 99% expect that using them will result in a measurable increase in efficiency.
 
Delay in Cloud adoption
As cloud computing becomes an everyday part of our lives, World Wide Worx also asked companies what obstacles they faced in moving their business online.
 
The top reasons were poor connectivity and that it was too complicated. However, Goldstruck's firm found that as connectivity improved, the perceived complexity reduced noticeably.
 
When it comes to financials, 55% of companies continue to use a desktop accounting package while 22% have migrated to Cloud-based accounting software.
 
Conversely, robotic process automation (RPA), a technology that allows repetitive data entry tasks to be automated through programmable software robots, has become increasingly cheaper and readily available.
 
"A year ago, only 6% of South African enterprises were using robotics. Then came the RPA explosion. Now the figure stands at 37%,” writes Goldstruck in the report.
 
RPA can be used to automate many of the bookkeeping and data input duties currently performed by accountants. Although this creates a risk to the Accounting Professional, the opportunities introduced by the technology are more appealing.
 
Embracing technology
Goldstruck concluded his presentation by assuring Professional Accountants that 4IR technologies are not the enemy. They should rather embrace these advances in information and transaction processing to create a measurable competitive advantage for their employers or clients, and their practice.
 
ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Stephné du Toit, 084 587 9933, stephne@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za
 
For more information on SAIPA please visit:
Website: www.saipa.co.za
Twitter: @SAIPAcomms
LinkedIn: South African institute of Professional Accountants Company
Facebook: South African Institute of Professional Accountants

The South African government has instituted various projects to ensure the country becomes a major player in the 4th Industrial Revolution. According to Shahied Daniels, Chief Executive at the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA), the government’s initiatives and strategies will keep technology, now a valuable national resource, from being monopolised by a few big industry players.
 
“The specialised knowledge and skills required for successful 4IR adoption must be evenly gifted to a new generation of labour force and entrepreneurs. This will drive equitable growth and promote inclusive enrichment for all South Africans,” he says.
 
SAIPA will be focusing on these and other concerns at its inaugural Accounting iNdaba, to be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 13th to 15th August. Prominent speakers include Arthur Goldstruck of World Wide Worx and well-known radio and TV personality, Peter Ndoro, as well as numerous ambassadors of local and international professional organisations.
 
South Africa to lead
In an interview on Cape Talk Radio in April, Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams noted that in the past, South Africa had been a consumer of technologies created by others.
 
This time, she stated, “our aim is to take a completely different direction” and government's programmes will “enable people to program the machines, including making them.” This implies the State aims to pursue 4IR to the point where the country is capable of producing competitive, home-grown digital skills, systems and equipment.
 
4IR initiatives
The Minister’s own capacity building programme was launched last year under the theme of “Building a Capable 4IR Army”. Called the Tshepo One Million Programme, its goal is to train one million young people in data science and related skills by 2030.
 
Speaking at the 4IR Digital Economy Summit held in Johannesburg earlier this month, President Cyril Ramphosa announced new subjects to be introduced at schools to prepare students for 4IR careers. These include data science and analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, additive manufacturing, robotics and quantum computing.
 
The President also established a 30-member Presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution to advise the government on leveraging opportunities presented by 4IR. The commission’s deputy chair is the University of Johannesburg’s Tshilidzi Marwala, a leading expert in the theory and application of artificial intelligence to engineering, computer science, finance, social science and medicine.
 
The Department of Science and Innovation’s (DSI) Data Science for Impact and Decision Enablement (DSIDE) programme, hosted at the CSIR, aims to build capacity by inviting university students to develop feasible solutions to real-world problems using data science.
 
Another DSI programme, the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI), was established in 2006 to build research and innovation capacity at public universities. Its aim is to encourage strong local research and innovation leadership in South Africa.
 
In addition, the DSI will open a South African Affiliate Centre of the World Economic Forum's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network. This will assist the country in developing robust policy frameworks in collaboration with global stakeholders to ensure real benefits are realised from science and technology.
 
Conclusion
“These and other initiatives indicate the government is serious about achieving its 4IR mandate in a manner that serves society as a whole and fosters equality,” says SAIPA’s Daniels.
 
Daniels reports that SAIPA is also contributing through its collaboration with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) to develop 4IR-ready accounting. “Professional Accountants have a significant role to play as trusted business advisors in terms of 4IR strategy development,” he concludes.
 
 
ENDS

 
MEDIA CONTACT: Stephné du Toit, 084 587 9933, stephne@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za
 
For more information on SAIPA please visit:
Website: www.saipa.co.za
Twitter: @SAIPAcomms
LinkedIn: South African institute of Professional Accountants Company
Facebook: South African Institute of Professional Accountants