We hear a lot these days about the intersection of finance and technology, but it’s a topic that has gripped Naresh Kumar FCCA for decades – ever since he ‘started writing code to see how we can see finance differently’. Now head of digital commercial and open innovation at Shell, he has spent his career exploring ways in which emerging technology can help solve business and finance problems and transform the finance function. In this month’s interview, he explains how companies can address the ‘innovation trilemma’ of capital, capability and cultural deficit.
The onward march of AI is having a profound influence not just on our lives and work, but on economies and even geopolitical balance. Following on from last month’s feature on AI’s impact on internal audit, we look at how the power of AI can be harnessed without weakening the trust, accuracy and accountability that is so crucial to assurance. And in terms of the bigger picture, we explore the shifting global AI power balance as GCC countries emerge as key players in AI, and the need for the region to act collaboratively to create and sustain its own AI ecosystem.
It’s a busy time for practitioners in the Middle East, too, as the GCC ramps up plans for a green transition that is expected to generate up to US$2 trillion in economic value by 2030. We explain the critical role that accountants and assurance professionals are playing by adding transparency and credibility to green finance projects.
Meanwhile, across South Asia, accountancy firms are rapidly expanding their advisory services to help clients counter a sharp rise in cybercrime. In this CPD feature, learn what businesses can do to protect themselves.
As the CPD year-end deadline looms, there are more points to be gained from our CPD articles, including this month’s feature on materiality in sustainability reporting. Applying materiality to sustainability reporting is a tricky topic – and determining what is material affects everything that comes next – but new ISSB sustainability reporting requirements mean that companies must get this critical assessment right.
Don’t forget that ACCA’s annual virtual conference, Accounting for the Future, and this year’s Virtual Public Sector Conference (register to watch on demand), offer free CPD units.
