Accountants told adapt to AI while protecting public trust

Artificial intelligence is transforming auditing, but accountants must adapt to the technology while safeguarding public trust, the president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados (ICAB), Damien Skeete, said on Friday.

He told the ICAB annual conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre that artificial intelligence and data analytics were transforming the profession, particularly auditing.

He noted that tasks that once required teams of auditors to examine thousands of transactions manually could now be enhanced by technology that can analyse entire populations in real time and identify anomalies, trends and risks more efficiently.