Tech innovation needed in accountancy, experts say

Accounting professionals urged Thursday, Nov. 5, both academe and industry to innovate as businesses start to utilize technology amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

UST College of Accountancy visiting faculty Professor Yew Kee Ho said that accounting education in its current form is “very crowded” and “busy,” stressing that the need to “incorporate” digital skills into the traditional basic and soft skills. 

Ho, who is also a professor from the Singapore Institute of Technology, acknowledged that there are technological and manpower-related challenges to be addressed to achieve a digital-based approach. 

“It reminds us that we are really short of accountants, educators in this digital domain space,” Ho said.

SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co. consulting partner Allan Ocho encouraged accountants to “reimagine” how they can contribute to the industry’s growth, stressing the necessity for a transformational mindset among companies. 

“Business enterprises would have to change the way they are changing and they need to be disruptors instead of being the ones who are disrupted,” Ocho said. 

Despite technology being the key in dealing with the health crisis to stay afloat, Ocho advised other professionals to find ways on utilizing it to easily adapt to the digital age while still remaining “customer-centric.”

“Technology is just there to enable us but we should put humans at the center, focusing on the needs and wants of customers and employees,” he said. “Leveraging technology is no longer an option.”

Despite gradual reopening of some businesses after months of lockdown, Ocho stressed that everyone has a responsibility to contribute to economic recovery. 

Department of Finance Assist. Secretary Dakila Elteen Napao echoed Ocho, saying that accountants play a vital role in economic recovery in the time of crisis. 

“Accountants are in a very unique position to be part [of] every informed and critical financial decision of companies, schools, or even in the government,” Napao said. 

The lecture titled, “The Accountants’ Role in the Revival of the National and Global Economy,” is an annual event organized by UST-AMV College of Accountancy during its founding anniversary, featuring accounting professionals as guest speakers. 

Artlets Student Council (ABSC) announced on Wednesday, Oct. 28, the new interim secretary and public relations officer for the academic year 2020-2021.

Last May 21, the University’s Commission on Elections postponed both local and central student council elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The motion gave power to council presidents to appoint interim officers in vacant positions. 

“The position as PRO closes the gap between the students and the officers,” dela Cruz told TomasinoWeb. 

Aside from providing reliable information, dela Cruz said that the council should also act as a support system for the student body. 

“Yung gusto kong mangyari right now is to actually be closer to the students, prioritize them more because we know that everyone is struggling right now with online classes,” Dela Cruz said. 

Yayen said that one of the challenges she is expecting during her term as the interim secretary is adapting and reaching out to students in the new learning environment.

“The challenge is how can the council be their voice during this time so that no student would be left behind,” Yayen also told TomasinoWeb. 

Both interim officers said that the council is continuously communicating with the class presidents of each section to address students’ concerns and queries regarding online classes. Raheema Velasco