Adopting technology, game-changer to accounting profession: Jagath Perera
There is a need to bring in new aspects like automated processes, advanced practice management tools and forensic in audit to enhance audit quality as auditors are facing new challenges in performing audits, said Jagath Perera who was inducted as the 24th President of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka), last week.
“The role of an accountant is changing from the traditional activities like accounting expertise, budgeting and forecasting and financial reporting towards the activities like risk management, critical thinking and cross-functional collaboration,” he said.
He said that “adopting technology” will be the game changer to accountancy profession too as technologyis experiencing the fourth industrial revolution, disruptive technology together with digitisation, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality.
“You may be aware that telephone has taken 75 years to reach out to 50 million users. Radio has taken 38 years where as televisiononly 13 years and Facebook only 3.5 years reach out to 50 million users. In the case of the Angry Bird Space app, it took only 35 days to reach out 50 million users. If we ignore technology it will become an enemy. If we manage IT, we will be successful in this game,” he said.
“The current generation, the digital natives, we are taking them through a system of education that existed in the 19th century. The digital native will wonder why we ask them to take notes at the lecture hall when they can acquire the same knowledge much easily and comprehensively from the web. Reality is, while at the lecture hall they surf on the mobile phone, view the content on the screen and question the lecturer. Any education provider who is not taking a note of this surely will be out of business,” he added.
He also said that it is important to train all their lecturers, and equip them to face their digital natives.
Heinvited all their members who are in Sri Lanka and around the globe to rally round the profession to walk towards the transforming future chartered accountants to meet the demands of digital world.
Meanwhile, heproposed to bring the concept of limited liability partnerships and multi disciplinary partnership laws in Sri Lanka for the profession to grow in order to sustain the professional practice in Sri Lanka.
He said that today they are working with thepartnership Act of 1890.
He also said that their act of incorporation is almost 60 years old. He said that there are so many progressive changes that have taken place within the professional practices.
“It is high time for us to revisit the legal framework of the profession to update it,” he said.
He further said, “All of us doaccept that our system of education in Sri Lanka has killed the innovation, creativity and critical thinking of our children. When we take the same intake into CA profession as A/L students, it is not easy to inculcate entrepreneurship skills.”