The young members of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) were on Wednesday urged by longstanding member Komal Samaroo to prepare for the technological changes that the future holds.
The ACCA honoured several longstanding members on Wednesday at the Marriott Hotel, where Samaroo gave the feature address.
“To our younger members, I want to say this: Having completed your qualification, it is time for you to understand more intimately the other disciplines of business because in that way you take your financial knowledge there into those other lists of things,” he said. “I think the ACCA prepares us to be the real agents of change and the champion of change but we cannot perform that goal unless we understand change and we understand the nature of change,” he noted.
Samaroo said the advancement of information technology has changed the job content of the accounting profession and the role of an accountant is very different now than compared to 20 years ago. “But the impact of technology on the world is still being felt in very dramatic ways,” he said, while referencing a report he once read which stated that 83% of jobs in the United States of America that pay US$20 an hour and less can be replaced with the use of technology.
“Just pause and think about that, 83% of jobs can be replaced with the use of technology and when we start thinking about the implications, it becomes a very frightening thought,” he added.
As a result, he said that while life will change dramatically in the coming years, accountants, as agents of change, must understand the changes. “…And evaluate the impact of these changes on our organisations and our industry and must be able to do so early now so that we start making the necessary strategic adjustments so as to circumvent the dislocations that will be caused,” he noted.
Samaroo explained that since accountants are people who measure results and who are engaged in planning, reading early warning signs and helping entities to navigate “around those turbulent times,” it is very important that they develop skills and the know-how to adapt to the changes. He added that even the reexamining of the ACCA syllabus to see how they can create the calibre of accountants for the future will be necessary. “The world of tomorrow will be very different from the world of yesterday,” he said.
Orin Gordon, head of the ACCA Caribbean, also made brief remarks along with Member Manager Anouska Sammy.
ACCA honoured its new members, those who have been members from two to nine years as well as persons who have been members from 10 to 19 years, 20 to 29 years and over 30 years. Among the over 30 years group were Maurice Solomon (52 years), Dr. Yesu Persaud (52 years), Nizam Ali (48 years), Hari Noel Narine (44 years), Rameshwar Lal (42 years), Samaroo (40 years) and Desmond Mohammed (38 years).
