“Technology will challenge the skills and capability of accountants”: Dinesh Weerakkody

Dinesh Weerakkody

At the 16th Annual AAT Conference titled Stepping up: Role of interpreter to influencer – The future of Finance on 15 October at the Grand Ballroom, Hotel Galadari Colombo, Dinesh Weerakkody Chairman of HNB and the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka delivering the keynote said, “Traditionally the finance function has been seen as a watchdog, not a problem solver. The finance function of future will be expected to see beyond the numbers. Month end reporting will become real time and finance teams will be under pressure to collaborate and offer insights and provide forecast, not just information. The finance function of the future will be defined by flexible near real-time reporting and predictive analytics.”

Weerakkody noted the finance professional will be at the centre of organisational performance and to get there will mean responding to transformational pressures finance professionals are already witnessing and the biggest pressure on the finance function today is the increasing need to demonstrate value to the business and stakeholders.

Weerakkody broadly outlined eight challenges that the finance professionals are currently facing;

1) Developing and managing a network of key internal and external stakeholders.

2) The need for finance function to be more strategic.

3) The speed of decision making, and increased competition are all putting pressure on the finance function to be more collaborative, being better informed about the business and the drivers of the business.

4) Managing the technology that is changing the face of the finance function.

5) Young accounting professionals developing the breadth of knowledge, commercial understanding, and interpersonal skills

6) Accountants will have to build capability and be agile and flexible in their approach to learning

7) Finance professionals would need to build skills and competencies in areas that might not traditionally be part of the finance function.

8) Education and training to build these skills will be the responsibility of the individual and the professional bodies.

In conclusion he noted, “For finance professionals to reposition themselves as a strategic resource will mean thinking more broadly about their role in a company. For CFOs, Fintech such as blockchain applications that disrupt traditional mechanisms for doing business will demand a more diverse skill set, whether they are ready to rise up to that challenge remains to be seen.”