Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
Auditing and accounting professionals should get prepared to embrace the modern technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI) as it will create both challenges and new opportunities for them, speakers said.
The AI has the capability to take over many of the responsibilities of the auditors, however, they will not replace the professional judgment, insight, and direction only humans can give for the foreseeable future, they added.
IT experts and auditing professionals came up with the remarks at a webinar on 'Artificial Intelligence in Accounting and Auditing' organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) on Wednesday.
Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury joined the virtual event as the chief guest.
ICAB Member and Managing Director of The Computers Ltd Khondkar Atique-e-Rabbani presented the keynote paper.
ICAB President Md Moniruzzaman delivered welcome remarks, while the ICAB Past President & Council Member Mahmudul Hasan Khusru moderated the session.
Akhter Matin Chaudhury, Partner, MABS & J Partners - Chartered Accountants; and Dr B M Mainul Hossain, Professor, Institute of Information Technology (IIT), University of Dhaka, joined the webinar as the panel speakers.
In his speech, Muslim Chowdhury said artificial intelligence (AI) is now getting closer to the human intelligence (HI) creating new challenges.
Elaborating on the capabilities of the AI platforms, he said they can learn faster and even can mimic human emotions.
"The next generation of AI tools will make faster evolution than the present rate of its development," he said adding that there are challenges ahead for different professionals.
Presenting the keynote paper, Khondkar Atique-e- Rabbani said new technologies like the AI will impact all disciplines, economies and industries, and even challenge ideas about what it means to be human.
He said as AI woks independently, it should be guided to be ethical.
"If we put a child in good environment, he or she becomes a better person. Similarly, AI could be fed with right data and feedback to become an ethical AI to augment humanity," he said.
ICAB President Md Moniruzzaman said auditors have to be well-prepared to bring about changes in the accounting and auditing functions to conform to Artificial Intelligence as it is one of the ingredients of 4th Industrial Revolution.
"Accountants have already embraced waves of automation over many years to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their work," he said adding using Artificial Intelligence technology, transactions, and account balances may be continually watched.
This gives better precision and the certainty that financial statements are correctly reviewed, he added.
B M Mainul Hossain said AI is not killing jobs rather shifting them. "Not the machines, rather skilled people in new technologies will take over your jobs," he said.
He suggested the accounting professionals to learn at least one programming language like python.