The digital divide is narrowing, but it is far from disappearing. Around six billion people – almost three-quarters of the world’s population – were online in 2025, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Yet just 23% of people in low-income countries were using the internet, compared with 94% in high-income economies. Meanwhile, 5G coverage reached 84% of people in high-income countries but only 4% in low-income countries.
For finance professionals working to develop digital ecosystems in emerging markets, that gap represents both an enormous opportunity and a particular challenge. Businesses are rapidly adopting digital payments, cloud computing, AI and other technologies, but infrastructure, skills, regulation, cybersecurity awareness and affordability do not always develop at the same pace.
‘A good part of the job is financing the creation of the market itself’
Sambal Baskota FCCA, co-founder and CFO of Nepal-based technology company Quantum Shield Asia and managing director of PODS Consulting, sees that tension first hand. The company works across cybersecurity and digital resilience, AI and automation, cloud infrastructure, governance and digital transformation, serving enterprises, financial institutions and government bodies.
Creating the market
The work can look very different from equivalent roles in more mature digital economies. In Nepal, Baskota says many organisations still see cybersecurity as an IT issue rather than an enterprise-wide business risk.
‘In a mature market, the CFO of a security firm manages growth. Here, a good part of the job is financing the creation of the market itself,’ he says.
That can mean investing in education long before it generates revenue, dealing with lengthy sales cycles and helping potential clients understand risks before discussing products or services.
Similar challenges exist across emerging economies. ITU data shows that internet access remains unaffordable in around 60% of low- and middle-income countries, while disparities in connectivity, digital skills and access between urban and rural populations persist.
What are the roles?
Career opportunities span finance, fintech, cybersecurity, digital transformation, software as a service (Saas), telecommunications and consulting. Finance professionals might work as finance business partners or controllers in technology companies, lead commercial finance and pricing, manage technology investment, or specialise in areas including digital risk and governance.
‘You do need to stop nodding along to things you haven’t understood’
In start-ups and scale-ups, roles can be broader still. Baskota’s responsibilities include reporting, tax, treasury and cash runway management, alongside pricing, contracts, capital allocation, governance and internal controls.
There are distinctive accounting challenges, too. Technology companies may combine project income, managed services and multi-year contracts while investing in intellectual property that can be difficult to capture on the balance sheet. Finance teams therefore need to understand issues including recurring revenues, deferred income and the capitalisation of development costs.
For businesses importing technology, foreign exchange can be another consideration. Quantum Shield Asia, for example, incurs much of its licensing and tooling expenditure in US dollars while earning predominantly in Nepalese rupees.
Skills for the digital economy
Strong accounting fundamentals provide the starting point, but technology literacy is increasingly important. That does not mean accountants need to become software engineers.
‘You do not need to be an engineer,’ Baskota says. ‘You do need to stop nodding along to things you haven’t understood.’
Depending on the role, useful technical knowledge might include recurring-revenue modelling, cloud and software licensing costs, data governance, cybersecurity frameworks, AI, foreign exchange and technology regulation. Understanding how technology businesses make money is particularly valuable: AI services, for example, can incur variable computing costs every time a customer uses a product.
Curiosity is equally important. Finance professionals must be willing to learn the language of developers, cybersecurity specialists and regulators while translating technical issues into commercial terms for boards and investors. Analytical scepticism, communication, stakeholder management and patience are also valuable, particularly when working in markets where customers, regulators and businesses may be at very different stages of digital maturity.
Routes into the sector
There is no requirement to begin your career in technology. Baskota moved through trading, logistics, consulting and financial services, developing an interest in audit, compliance and controls along the way. His move into cybersecurity grew from seeing regulatory expectations around technology and cyber resilience increase in Nepal’s financial sector.
That makes backgrounds in audit, risk, financial services, FP&A, business partnering and consulting potentially useful stepping stones. Experience of technology projects, systems implementations or digital transformation can help, too.
Professional qualifications such as ACCA provide both technical grounding and wider skills in governance, ethics, risk and strategy. Baskota says the qualification’s international recognition has also proved useful when dealing with overseas vendors, partners and investors.
Where can it lead?
Developing digital ecosystems can take finance professionals in numerous directions. A conventional path might lead towards finance director, CFO or group CFO positions in technology and SaaS businesses. But expertise in technology can also open routes into chief risk officer and internal audit positions, transformation leadership, technology due diligence, venture capital, consulting and regulatory roles.
Baskota believes AI assurance could become another important specialism as businesses and boards seek independent assurance over how models perform and are governed. Entrepreneurship is another possibility: digital businesses can have relatively low capital requirements while placing a high premium on specialist knowledge.
Perhaps most importantly, these skills travel. Digital ecosystems may develop at different speeds, but recurring-revenue models, technology risk, cybersecurity and data governance are increasingly global concerns.
For finance professionals, emerging markets offer the opportunity not simply to participate in digital transformation, but to help shape how it develops by building the financial, commercial and governance foundations that allow innovation to grow sustainably.
More information
Find out more about the evolving roles of accountants in a data-driven age at ACCA’s Accounting for the Future conference. Register to watch live on 24-26 November or on demand.
Visit the ACCA Careers website for news and advice on your next career move.
