(Kaieteur News) – President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has issued a bold challenge to accountants across the Caribbean — adapt to a world being reshaped by artificial intelligence, climate change, and shifting markets, or risk being left behind.

Delivering the feature address at the opening of the 43rd Annual Conference of the Inter-American Accounting Association (ICAC) on Friday, President Ali welcomed more than 300 delegates from across the region to Guyana and called for a fundamental reimagining of the accounting profession — one built on innovation, strategic thinking, and real-world problem-solving.

At the heart of the president’s address was a pointed warning about the double-edged nature of artificial intelligence. While acknowledging AI as a powerful enabler, he cautioned against passive dependence on it.