ACOA2021 Conference: Embracing the 4th Industrial Revolution
In November I attended the 6th Africa Congress of Accountants conference in Maputo. Despite COVID-19 restrictions this conference was well-attended both live in Maputo and virtually by delegates from all across Africa.
I am proud that Allinial Global President and CEO Mark Koziel was invited as a guest speaker to address a topic Allinial Global is working tirelessly on: “Smaller Practices Embracing Technology – The Firm in a Digital World.”
What was interesting to me was that delegates, including myself, came with the same question: “How do we, as accountants, adapt or react to this scary topic, the 4th Industrial Revolution?” But as we listened to Mark and the other speakers, the question changed to, “How do we, as accountants, lead this revolution?” And we can!
Accountants are first in line to assist when there is a change in business, so it’s up to us to have the answers and lead the change. How do we do it? MOVE TO THE CLOUD and take your clients with you!
Start by developing your firm’s strategy around the four pillars of Process, Product, People, and Place.
- Process. There are hundreds of ecosystems available to enable accountants to move with and lead the 4th Industrial Revolution. SAGE and CaseWare are just two examples of how accountants can digitize and in turn add value to clients.
- Product. By educating our clients and driving their digitization, we can evolve from write-up bookkeeper to virtual CFO, from tax compliance to integrated services, and from traditional audit to AI-driven audit with insights.
- People. Training and mentorship of our staff in this 4th Industrial Revolution are very important! But being cloud-based, we can attract talent from anywhere in the world, even specialists on hourly contracts to contribute on assignments we were not able to assist with in the past.
- Place. The cloud allows for remote audit capabilities to work anytime and anywhere. This is a significant advantage in Africa, where vast areas and transport infrastructure pose real challenges.
Allinial Global is embracing the 4th Industrial Revolution and enabling our members to LEAD the way rather than being afraid that they won’t be able to react or adapt.
Allinial Global Africa
We know Africa has very different needs from the rest of the world. Africa does not want to be an afterthought bolted to the EMEI…A region. That is why AG Africa has created an Africa Steering Committee to guide the growth of Africa within the association.
In the last 12 months AG Africa has recruited two exceptional firms in key countries on the continent: Ijewere & Co. in Nigeria and Ronalds in East Africa. Together with our existing member firm in South Africa, Morar Inc., they are of the largest indigenous firms in their respective countries.
These firms give me, the designated Africa Regional Director, the guidance and resources to build an AG Africa that is relevant specifically to our African members.
In line with the Allinial Global 2023 Strategic Plan, AG Africa has also created the Africa Commerce and Africa Tech communities. These communities of African members will be meeting at least every quarter and working together to drive these two important topics.
Partnership with the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA)
Earlier this year AG Africa hosted a webinar for PAFA members, titled “Reclaim Your Well-Being during COVID” by Kyra Cavanaugh. Featuring real-time translation into French, this webinar attracted over 1,000 registrants, and attendees learned invaluable coping mechanisms to help with real-life challenges during the pandemic.
We are very excited to be associated with PAFA and look forward to working with them in 2022.
One of our collaborations is to change the perception that there is a gap in quality between strong indigenous and networked firms. We are also collaborating with PAFA and PAOs on how to help uplift their members.
The AG Africa region has a lot to look forward to in 2022. If you would like to explore the Allinial Global membership and how it can benefit your firm, please contact me, anytime.
