ICAS celebrates cutting edge research from Scotland’s top academics

Ewan McCall, Research and Thought Leadership Manager, discusses future skills, case studies from our latest research and the latest British Accounting and Finance Association (BAFA) Scotland annual conference.

What do loans to AI firms, voluntary carbon markets, and accounting practices in the Inca Empire all have in common?

This month, they were all the subject of papers presented to the BAFA Scotland annual conference at the University of the West of Scotland.  

In total, 36 papers were presented by students and academics working at the forefront of global innovation in the sector. Before the presentations got underway, those present took part in our global survey on the future of skills, reporting what they think is next for the profession. With some of the brightest minds in accountancy academia in attendance, tech and AI literacy came out as the top priority, followed closely by professional adaptability and ethical leadership.  

The ICAS-sponsored award for best paper went to Dr Shahenda Shehata, assistant professor at Heriot-Watt University. Her paper, Metricised Minds: Performance Measurement Systems, Accountability and Academic Wellbeing in UK Business Schools explored the emotional impact of measurement systems. Speaking after the conference, Dr Shehata described some of the implications of her findings as highlighting “the pressures created by targets and rankings, and how these can influence managerial behaviour, workplace relationships, and decision-making.” 

Insights like these matter. Applied in practice, they can help drive productivity, growth and trust, giving CAs a competitive advantage. Building on this, we've recently launched two major research calls on the profession’s contribution to building trust in society, and the future skills, knowledge and capabilities of accounting professionals. The first stage of these calls, worth £32,000 in total, closes on Friday 17 July.  

In the meantime, we have this week launched several use cases for AI, split across four distinct areas of human-AI interactions. Unlike best practice cases, these real-world use examples of generative AI show where real professionals encountered risks, learnt from mistakes, and applied professional judgement. You can find them with our recent report ‘Generative AI and Professional Judgement in Accounting’.

If you’d like to get involved in Shaping the Profession, our programme to map out an ambitious future for accountancy, reach out to research@icas.com.

Learn more about Shaping the Profession