Futureproof yourself and your business at the inaugural and specially curated MIA AccTech Conference 2018.

By the Accountants Today Editorial Team

Accountants can no longer afford to be just masters of numbers; they also need to be masters of technology.

This 12 and 13 July, the first-ever MIA AccTech Conference 2018 will showcase the latest in technologies and applications that can propel the profession forward and future-proof accountants and business.

Comprising three plenaries and six breakout sessions on selected issues affecting the profession, MIA AccTech 2018 will dive deeply into topics such as digital transformation strategy, robotics process automation (RPA) in business, leveraging tech to improve collection of accounts receivables, and the power of business intelligence.

Setting the tone, Plenary 1 – Preparing the Malaysian Accountancy Profession for the Digital World seeks to reset the profession by encouraging mindset change and a paradigm shift. Signalling the seismic impact of digital disruption and technology on the global profession, Rachel Grimes, President of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) will deliver the keynote address and speak on the panel for Plenary 3 – Opportunities for Accountants: Unleash the Potential of Data Analytics. Tentatively, Plenary 2 will showcase how to use cloud to empower the business globally.

Slanted towards more technical and practical discussions tailored towards the needs of members and accountants working in the Malaysian environment, the breakout sessions will feature heavyweights such as IBM (RPA) and Microsoft (business intel) and specialists such as Kollect Systems Sdn Bhd (accounts receivables applications), Wavelets Solutions Sdn Bhd (digital transformation) and Beans Group Sdn Bhd (RPA). Other big names have also been approached to speak on red-hot topics like Big Data and Cybersecurity, and MIA is awaiting confirmation of their participation at the time of writing.

Brian Wong, Chairman of the MIA Technology Committee, tells Accountants Today just why all forward-looking accountants should attend MIA AccTech 2018:

Why is MIA organising this inaugural Acctech?

The landscape that accountants operate in is rapidly changing. This change is driven primarily by technology. To remain relevant and to continue playing a key role in business, there is a need for accountants to adapt to the change in environment. The ones that take the initiative to lead the charge will thrive and succeed, whilst the ones that wait to be spoon fed will be swept away and find themselves potentially redundant one day. Accountants cannot expect to satisfactorily fulfil the expectations of the public by living in the “back-office” bubble. The Institute recognises this risk and seeks to communicate the need for the profession to transform itself. The annual Acctech Conference series is a means to do so.

There are essentially six emerging technologies that will change the way we do business and make new things possible, create new products and services, markets and organisations. These include artificial intelligence, blockchain, virtual reality, augmented reality, internet of things, and robotics. Our clients and stakeholders expect us to have a point of view on these technologies and to be able to provide advice on how to embrace them within. Accountants should step up from traditionally playing a functional back-office support role to advisors and change agents for business and processes.

Tell us about the outcomes that MIA hopes to achieve.

The Acctech Conference has been designed with a business focus, to encourage members and the business community to learn about various industry best practices in technology, and how technology leaders within different sectors leverage on new technologies to gain a competitive advantage.

What can the participants expect to gain by the end of the Acctech Conference?

We need to continuously invest in ourselves so that we are able to add greater value to those we work with. The conference seeks to provide a different dimension of thought and perspective – outside of accounting standards and developments within the profession – for accountants to be relevant. Participants can expect to be better informed and equipped to lead initiatives and discussions on transforming business processes.

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