Artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining ground across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), with governments in the region increasingly active in promoting the fast-evolving technology. Meanwhile, a Deloitte survey of 150+ GCC leaders found that 62% of senior leaders in the region expect to see Al-based transformation in the next one to two years.
In the drive to put AI at the heart of business, the UAE is leading the way. The government is working on a range of regulatory and proactive strategies, including the recent publication of a practical guide to using generative AI and the creation last year of the Higher Committee for Government Digital Transformation.
‘Welcome AI. Rely on it to do a lot more of the things that occupy your time in your day-to-day job'
Embrace the potential
As businesses across the Middle East start to feel the impact of AI, the accounting sector must also embrace this potential for transformation, as delegates at a recent event in Dubai learned. The wide-ranging Finance Excellence and Leadership Summit 2023, organised jointly by ACCA and the Institute of Management Accountants (Dubai-UAE Chapter), explored among other things how financial and accounting professionals can combine AI tech with their own human expertise (see also 'Corporate GCC must embrace ESG').
Vivek Sam, director, technology and analytics assurance, at Deloitte Middle East, said that professionals need to be aware of where AI tech can offer better solutions than current approaches.
‘Welcome the technology. You will be able to rely on it to do a lot more of the things that occupy your time in your day-to-day job,' he said, adding that AI will be a ‘revolution’ for financial professions, transforming work practices and increasing effectiveness beyond recognition.
However, given the rapid pace of development and adoption, Sam warned that accounting and finance professionals must be aware of major inherent risks, such as AI bias, privacy invasions, security weaknesses and lack of transparency.
'Think of AI as like having an intelligent colleague that you can delegate to'
AI is nothing new
Sam said that while adopting AI was essential for finance and accounting professionals to stay relevant, the accounting and finance sector has always been open to the benefits of new technology. He pointed out that although the explosion of generative AI tools is recent, artificial intelligence as a technology has been in the making for several decades and has seen different stages of maturity across many industry use-cases.
In the financial services sector, machine learning powered systems have long been used to detect fraud, theft and transaction irregularities; AI helps prevent billions of dollars of credit card fraud each year.
Looking ahead, Sam said that increasingly powerful AI capabilities will boost accounting and finance professionals' abilities in many areas. For example, complex financial modelling and forecasting, and enhanced risk assessment through speedy reviews of historical data to evaluate potential issues with markets and suppliers.
Push the boundaries
Sam expected AI development to continue to 'push the boundaries, and start stepping into cognitive areas that human beings have dominated for years'. But rather than worrying about its advance, our mindset should one of adaptability: 'Think of AI as like having an intelligent colleague you can delegate to.
'Although the range of what AI can achieve is widening, it is not expected to take over – in the foreseeable future – skills that experienced human beings bring to the table, such as critical thinking, analytical thinking, decision-making, stakeholder management, influencing people and activities that need emotional intelligence’, he suggested.
Bhavna Lakhani, partner, technology and analytics assurance, at Deloitte Middle East, shared the findings of a recent World Economic Forum jobs survey, which involved 803 companies across 27 industry clusters and 45 economies. According to the report, nearly 75% of surveyed companies expected to adopt AI, with 25% expecting jobs to be displaced as a result. The silver lining, however, is that 50% expected adoption to create new jobs, suggesting an overall net positive job impact.
'AI is really allowing us equal opportunity'
A matter of cost
Companies of all sizes are asking the amount of investment likely to be involved. Might AI services prove too expensive for small practices? ‘I think it really depends on how and where you want to use artificial intelligence,' Lakhani said. 'If you're going to create a unique proposition for AI that involves your privatised dataset, then obviously you need to invest in the infrastructure and so on to support that.’ However, with the availability of third-party systems that are inexpensive or even free, like basic ChatGPT, for example, 'AI is really allowing us equal opportunity whatever the size of our business'.
Lakhani went on to voice concern about the lack of regulation of AI, given the intense interest in the benefits and the huge challenges and potential risks involved. ‘The lack of regulation is a crucial point. That’s why it is so important to engage in open conversation and consider responsible AI.’
