The School of Accounting Sciences at the North-West University (NWU) is going to empower newly qualified and existing accountants to keep up with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
This event will be hosted at the Tsebonokeng Hall on the Vanderbijlpark Campus on 4 August from 11:00 to 16:00.
The project, led by Kurt Naicker, a senior lecturer and chartered accountant at the School of Accounting Sciences, aims to identify the necessary skills and knowledge required for newly qualified and existing chartered accountants to integrate the 4IR into their environment.
This venture is inspired the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants’ CA2025 framework, a three-year research project that started in 2017. The CA2025 sets out the competencies an entry level chartered accountant should demonstrate.
The 4IR Educational project aims to raise awareness about 4IR, machine learning (ML), the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and artificial intelligence (AI) applications in real-life scenarios, and industry challenges. It also aims to highlight social and ethical considerations related to AI technology.
Kurt says it is imperative that the chartered accountancy profession keeps up with the ever-changing technology to remain relevant and to stay ahead.
He says the disruptive impact of technology can be observed in consulting firms disrupting the traditional audit sector.
“Several audit consultants from various firms are being hired to work remotely for some of the industry’s largest international public accounting firms. These offers appear to grant more attractive remuneration packages than local firms, resulting in massive staff turnover rates at local firms.
“As we understand, based on research conducted within AI and process automation, AI has evolved to streamline many business processes and improve the overall customer experience. For companies and individuals who wish to thrive in this space, embracing technological advancement is critical as the emergence of AI will be intensifying," he explains.
Kurt says AI-powered technologies will significantly transform the current workforce.
"As a tertiary education provider, the NWU aims to provide a holistic education to our students, which is underpinned by our commitment to positively contributing to the advancement and development of our societies. We aim to execute the curricula by utilising tactical teaching and learning strategies that are technologically intensive, allowing students to integrate traditional classroom activities with AI technologies, primarily with game-based applications such as Kahoot, Mentimetre and Padlet.
“How knowledge is procured, accessed and applied has changed. Qualifications involving data science and analytics have grown considerably in popularity as digital platforms and advancements in AI tools emerge. Numerous jobs have also become automated due to their routine nature, predictable tasks and structured approach, which can be easily performed by creating sophisticated algorithms," he adds.
Kurt Naicker.
