Speakers at a webinar said the chartered accountants should have multi-expertise during the time of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
They also said the current audit practice in Bangladesh is mostly based on manual or hard copy documentation. It consumes more time and is complex to monitor by the governing authorities concerned, like - The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).
They speakers opined that digitisation of audit practice is not only inevitable, but also a matter of existence of the profession.
They also said if the chartered accountants want to find out financial fraudulences nowadays, they have to know not only accountancy but also every nitty-gritty of information technology (IT).
Speakers made the observations at a Virtual Members' Conference on 'Application of Technology in Audit Practice', organised by the ICAB on Saturday night.
Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of Bangladesh and Former Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, spoke at the conference as the chief guest.
The CAs have to achieve multi-expertise in auditing and business development in the competitive digital world, where everything is digitally integrated, he said.
Describing some of his observations in the last five years in CA profession in Bangladesh, he stressed on the need of necessary IT-based CA curriculum to cater to the future need.
He further said all the CA firms in the country should be converted into multi-disciplinary firms. The firms cannot survive only on rendering one type of education, as the world is changing drastically in the age of 4IR.
"The revolution will compel you to learn. The accounting profession is much influenced by the development of IT nowadays. So, without academic and professional development, you will be out of circulation," he cautioned.
Lead Financial Management Specialist of the World Bank Suraiya Zannath Khan said in today's technology-driven business world, there is no other option but to take IT in the audit profession.
"Digital audit and technological transformation are matters of our existence, and we have to have preparedness for the future accounting profession."
She noted that CA profession in the country is not at par with the pace of accounting transformation that the digital world needs. The CAs have to have strategies on how to adopt and maintain IT in their works.
They also have to look at digital fraud through acquiring in-depth knowledge on it to peg the holes of misusing technology, she added.
ICAB President Muhammad Farooq FCA said an audit is performed to ensure that a particular transaction meets all of the established rules and standards, which is a complex and time-consuming process.
He noted that while no business or industry is spared from rising complexity in regulations and diversified processes, the auditors will have to find ways to capitalise on the opportunities presented, or face the risk of being left behind with digital innovations.
Mr Farooq also said with use of digital technologies, the auditors can ensure increased audit quality and efficiency; save time, cost and effort; reduce duplication of effort; and improve accuracy of data captured during an audit.
The CA firms need to take the opportunities of automation to meet the increasing demand of quality audit by the stakeholders. The ICAB Committee on Project Development and Capacity Building has taken the initiatives to develop an integrated audit software for the CA Firms of Bangladesh, he further added.
Kamrul Abedin, the ICAB Member Council and its Past President, presided over the Members' Conference as the session chairman, while Maria Howlader, Member Council, introduced the theme of the conference.
The paper presenters in the programme were Sk Md. Tarikul Islam FCA, Partner, Hoda Vasi Chowdhury and Co - Chartered Accountants; Ali Amjad Choudhury FCA, Partner, Howladar Yunus and Co - Chartered Accountants; Al Amin Redwanur Rahman ACA, Senior Manager - Assurance, A Qasem and Co - Chartered Accountants; and Md. Abdul Wahab Akanda ACA, AGM and Head of Corporate Finance, Expo Group, Bangladesh.
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