To many corporate managers, Artificial Intelligence (AI) came to ease the overall management burden and make growth easy and smooth. However, a warning now comes, that AI is creating a wide gap between the management and customer, which is dangerous for organisational growth.
Patrick Ayota, the Managing Director, National Social Security Fund, says that as AI increasingly becomes capable of performing more tasks, the customer is also increasingly demanding for personal relationship.
And the higher the person reaching out to the customer, the better. ”If you wow your customer, you build the business,” Ayota told the ongoing 31st Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda Annual Seminar. “If you don’t, you kill the business. Whether in finance or anywhere, get to go and walk with them. Watch them. Meet them. Get to know them. This thing of us continuously sitting in our offices that you’re making changes, no. you won’t.”
Sharing practical lessons on transforming institutions, creating value and putting the customer at the centre. Ayota added: “Cost-cutting is a short-term fix. The real opportunity is on the revenue side, understanding your customer, creating value and finding new opportunities for growth.” The seminar is organised under the theme, “Transforming Institutions and Lives for Sustainable Growth.”
He urged finance professionals to look beyond costs and numbers and work more closely with marketing, customer service and other teams to understand customers, identify their needs and create greater value.
“Organisations need a clear sense of why they exist and the value they seek to create, and then understand who you serve, what they need and what keeps them coming back,” Ayota said, adding that distancing the customer from the management is just one of the dangers of digital technology and AI in particular, but others include safety of both the customer and the organisation’s resources, with the rising cybercrime and insider-enabled theft.
The Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Henry Musasizi, told the accountancy fraternity that the country is relying on them for national and economic growth, hence the need for utmost integrity. “As the profession evolves, accountants must embrace technology, strengthen their skills and uphold the highest standards of integrity to remain trusted partners in Uganda’s economic transformation,” the Minister said.
Referring to accountants as drivers of economic transformation through supporting transparency, accountability, investment and sound decision-making, he emphasised the importance of stronger public financial management and ensuring proper budgeting, resource utilisation and accountability for public resources.
He says that technology and innovation, embracing AI, digital financial management systems, blockchain and other emerging technologies, will go a long way in building a sustainable economy and organisations, is well nurtured.
”As a forward-looking profession, accountants must anticipate change, provide practical solutions and remain strategic partners in Uganda’s transformation.”
CPA Timothy Ediomu, President, ICPAU, challenged participants at the 31st Annual Seminar to think beyond the numbers and embrace the changing role of the accountant. He emphasised the need to harness technology, continuously build relevant skills, uphold integrity and provide trusted, strategic advice as the business environment evolves.”Accountants must move beyond traditional number-crunching and adapt to technology, skill-building, integrity, and strategic advisory roles in evolving business environments.”
His message is in line with the broader global trends in the accounting field, where professionals are increasingly expected to provide tech-savvy and forward-looking guidance amid digital transformation and changing economic demands. This is because the role of the accountant is shifting from traditional compliance, historical reporting, and routine number-crunching (“bean counting”) toward that of strategic adviser, business partner, data interpreter, and trusted navigator.
This evolution is driven primarily by technology, especially AI and automation, rising client and organizational expectations for proactive insights, and expanding responsibilities around sustainability (Environmental, Social Governance) reporting and risk.
Prof. Engineer Bainomugisha, College of Computing and Information Sciences, Makerere University, says generative AI has changed the conversation, as tools can now generate text, images, videos and more, making AI accessible to a much wider audience.
”We need AI creators, and universities must continue developing the technical talent capable of building and advancing AI technologies. We also need AI users and professionals across accountancy, banking, business and other fields need the skills to use AI effectively in their work,” he says, but adds that AI will can’t everything needed for transformation. “Understanding the basics and knowing how to apply AI is increasingly important. Technology alone can’t create transformation; institutions need people with the right skills to turn technology into meaningful results.”-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
