JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's adoption of fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies is low, with only 13 percent of companies currently using artificial intelligence, an ongoing conference of accountants has heard.
The South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA) is this week holding a conference in Cape Town focusing on 4IR and its impact on the accounting profession.
In a statement on Wednesday, the institute quoted World Wide Worx chief executive Arthur Goldstruck as telling delegates that 4IR technologies would kill the accounting profession "only if accountants remain the same and refuse to embrace it".
Goldstruck cited research carried out by World Wide Worx which showed that, of those companies currently not using artificial intelligence, just 21 percent planned to adopt the technology in the next 12 to 24 months. Many cited cost as the main constraint for not doing so.
"The software itself is cheap and readily available as online services," he said. "Rather, it is the skills and expertise required to make it work that are lacking, with that scarcity driving expenses up."