From left: IFAC president Alan Johnson, former SAIPA board chairperson Kantha Naicker, and SAIPA CEO Shahied Daniels.
, said the implementation of technology has become more critical to every profession and industry everywhere. “Global technology giants have come to recognise South Africa’s potential as a hub for growing markets on this continent.” “The trend towards data analysis, transformation and security could eliminate certain accounting and financial positions, but the change will mainly take the form of greater integration of people, processes and technology into newly-defined accounting careers. We cannot afford to wait to respond to this demand; we need to anticipate it.
According to Johnson, as the global voice of the accountancy profession, IFAC’s role is to speak out, lead and develop a future-ready profession. “The days are long gone where an accountant is seen as a number-cruncher or bean-counter. The professional accountant is on a journey to become a trusted, strategic business partner…underpinned by digital transformation, which is the new business language.