The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is set to significantly increase over this decade. In so doing it will increasingly touch all our lives, whether as individual citizens, employees, or consumers. Accountancy and finance professionals have a key role to ensure this happens in an ethical manner, that will yield equitably distributed sustainable long-term benefits.

AI is relevant to accountancy and finance professionals because it is moving from the experimental stage to adoption at scale over the decade of the 2020s. The data explosion has reinforced the importance of AI. We now have both the richness of the data, and the processing power to make sense of it – which collectively presents a compelling case for AI.

But with this great data and processing power, comes great responsibility. The report highlights these responsibilities as they fall across the environmental, social and governance (ESG) spectrum. On the environment for example, ESG data is highly unstructured and well suited for AI analysis. Accountancy and finance professionals should consider new AI solutions as part of their toolkit to challenge ‘greenwashing’, ie where organisations make claims about operating sustainably without this being borne out in the data.

While the broad applicability of AI across society while potentially a boon, must be handled carefully. ACCA's report uncovers a cautious tone among the global accountancy and finance community when reflecting on the impact of AI on their rights as individuals, employees, and consumers. AI adoption must consider the needs of all, especially the under-represented and vulnerable in society.

Managing the transition to mass adoption of AI in an ethical, responsible manner is essential if we are to derive sustainable long-term value from it. The accountancy profession, with its explicit and long-standing commitment to ethical practices, is well placed to guide organisations along a responsible path for AI adoption.

To enable this, accountancy and finance professionals can play their part in various ways:

1. Set tone at the top on AI adoption
2. Deliver sustainable value
3. Exercise professional judgement
4. Challenge greenwashing
5. Comply with AI regulation and ethics policies
6. Prioritise data management
7. Strategic approach to oversight and delivery
8. Understand vendor landscape
9. Build knowledge and skills

The report’s findings also highlight the need for effective governance mechanisms to achieve an ethical and sustainable adoption of AI. This starts with setting the right tone at the top, and covers aspects ranging from oversight and delivery mechanisms, to the regulatory landscape and data governance.

Read the executive summary or full report to learn more.