ICATT hosts business forum on artificial intelligence

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago (ICATT), earlier this month, hosted a business forum comprising an audience of financial executives from various sectors including energy, banking and finance at the KPMG Headquarters in Port of Spain.

The event themed “Artificial Intelligence (AI) – the Future of Accounting” exposed professional accountants to global developments, good practice guidance and knowledge-sharing that will enhance their roles and domain across the economy.

In delivering the opening remarks, ICATT’s president, Stacy-Ann Golding, praised the ICATT Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee for organising the forum, the topic of which, she noted, was critical to improving the readiness of today’s accounting professionals to deal with AI and its implications.

Bring a depth of insight and experience were featured speakers Nigel Romano, managing director and chief executive officer, JMMB Bank and Leslie Lee Fook, director of Artificial Intelligence, Automation and Analytics at Incus Services Ltd.

Romano spoke on the use of AI, “I can recall the now obsolete, clunky computerised systems used in accounting during the 1970s and how they helped speed up work processes at that time. Today a similar shift is happening as current systems will soon be overshadowed by those powered by self-learning / machine learning capabilities.”

He added that the use of AI was already evident in our everyday lives from applications like Waze that utilise Global Positioning System (GPS) to virtual assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant and more complexed applications used in industry.

Lee Fook’s presentation, “AI from Zero to 60”, explored the potential of AI to contribute to greater efficiency in accounting and, through the analysis of available data, inform decisions, eliminate long waiting times and reduce human error.

The feature presentations were followed by a networking event for attendees, which included “Conversations with Mariano Browne” in his capacity as executive chairman at Elida Management Services Ltd.

ICATT will be hosting a seminar on corporate law and secretarial practice for accountants on Wednesday, as well as the annual International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the International Standards on Auditing (ISA) update, beginning September 17.

These events lead into ICATT’s annual International Finance and Accounting Conference, which is carded to begin on November 14.