Reflections Unveiled  

Reflective Posts

• This details after I became a Chartered Accountant several years ago, how did the nature of my professional work change? 

• How has artificial intelligence impacted what I do as a professional accountant, and, how has it impacted my work?  

• The 2 main skills I think I would need to personally develop to keep pace with the developments?

Since becoming a Chartered Accountant, the nature of finance work has changed significantly but slowly, especially with the continuous technological advancement and the development of computer programming. With the integration of said criteria, routine tasks like data entry and financial analysis are increasingly automated, thereby reducing the number of staff hours required for such activities and allowing me to focus more on strategic decision-making, advisory roles, and interpreting complex financial information.

Though the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) derived over a long period of time, the dramatic changes were observed quite recently and have impacted my work by process streamlining, making redundant some of the repetitive processes, enhancing accuracy, and enabling deeper insights through advanced data analytics. However, continuous learning is also required to keep up with these advancements and keep me relevant in the finance role.

To stay relevant, I believe I should have developed several skills & I am pursuing a Master of Business Informatics to upgrade myself and would like to state two critical skills below:

-Data analytics, interpretation, and information security: To fully leverage AI tools, understanding data patterns and deriving actionable insights is essential. Additionally, securing systems, data, and information is vital in the current context.

-Adaptability and technological competency: As AI continues to evolve, staying flexible and comfortable with emerging technologies will be vital for ongoing professional growth.

• How have the past economic circumstances (locally and/or globally) impacted on me and influenced the important decisions I have made? 

• How have past economic circumstances impacted the clients or businesses that I have worked with or worked for?

Past economic circumstances, both locally and globally, have significantly influenced my decision-making. Especially being a developing country, many global downturns, such as the 2008 financial crisis which I faced in my early career, badly impacted the economy and financial decision-making. During global economic recessions, for example, during COVID-19, overall operations were contracted, and I was forced to prioritize financial prudence (cost reduction) and risk management, focusing on strengthening my skills in areas like cash flow management, business resilience, remote work, upskilling digital tools and improved processes to stay relevant in the market. The exposure helped me concentrate on roles emphasizing sustainability and adaptability in changing circumstances.

Most of the stakeholders I’ve worked with, considering economic shifts like recessions or inflationary pressures and made paradigm changes due to unavoidable situations like COVID-19, pushed them to re-evaluate strategies, cut down costs, and seek efficiency improvements. Many shifted focus to online businesses, virtual offices, digital transformation, optimizing and diversifying operations and revenue streams, reshaping their financial arrangements, and influencing strategic business decisions for survival and growth.

• In what way has trust influenced my personal relationships and my professional interactions and how can foster greater trust in both areas?  

Included a couple of examples in my explanation of these scenarios.  

The concept of trust has been more than instrumental in my interpersonal and official relationships; it has also defined how close they are and how they are built. In personal relationships, trust is the basis of contact and intimacy. For example, I’ve seen the need for assertiveness and authenticity to improve my friendships. As I have mentioned, a very close friend of mine told me of his problem because I was the one he expected to understand him without blaming him for his faults. This made our friendship stronger and helped us make this moment become a space in which we can just support each other.

Specifically, trust has influenced cooperation and teamwork in the working and professional spheres. Once at work, I was privileged to coordinate a project that was due in a short period of time. Therefore, by relying on the expertise of my team and the proper assignment of responsibilities, the project was finished before the deadline. Here, I was ready to trust my teammates with the previous work exposure and achievements, which helped me build better relationships and create more accountability on their part. As a result, they made me a leader and followed the protocol, so we reached our goals simultaneously.

In both of the above situations, I try to be as precise and clear as possible to address the aspects of trust. In intimate connection, consistency and sympathy strengthen during drawbacks and form emotional stability. At the workplace, I made it my policy to report facts as they are, honour my word, and recognize that others deserve credit for their work. While listening to and appreciating people and being honest in my actions, I build the room where trust can develop. Finally, trust results in better relationships and improved partnership on the professional level, as well as well-developed interpersonal relationships on the personal level.