ICAS ICAS logo

Quicklinks

  1. About Us

    Find out about who we are and what we do here at ICAS.

  2. Find a CA

    Search our directory of individual CAs and Member organisations by name, location and professional criteria.

  3. CA Magazine

    View the latest issues of the dedicated magazine for ICAS Chartered Accountants.

  4. Contact Us

    Get in touch with ICAS by phone, email or post, with dedicated contacts for Members, Students and firms.

Login
  • Annual renewal
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Find a CA
  1. About us
    1. Governance
  2. Members
    1. Become a member
    2. Newly qualified
    3. Manage my membership
    4. Benefits of membership
    5. Professional development
    6. CA Wellbeing
    7. Mentoring
    8. Member rewards
    9. Area networks
    10. International communities
    11. Get involved
    12. Top Young CAs
    13. Career breaks
    14. Proud to be a CA
    15. ICAS podcast
    16. Newly admitted members 2022
  3. CA Students
    1. Student information
    2. Student resources
    3. Learning requirements
    4. Learning updates
    5. Learning blog
    6. Totum Pro | Student discount card
  4. Become a CA
    1. How to become a CA
    2. Routes to becoming a CA
    3. CA Stories
    4. Find a training agreement
    5. Why become a CA
    6. Qualification information
    7. University exemptions
  5. Employers
    1. Become an Authorised Training Office
    2. Resources for Authorised Training Offices
    3. Professional entry
    4. Apprenticeships
  6. Find a CA
  7. ICAS events
    1. CA Summit
  8. CA magazine
  9. Insight series 2022
    1. Finance + Trust
    2. Finance + Technology
    3. Finance + EDI
    4. Finance + Mental Fitness
    5. Finance + Leadership
    6. Finance + Sustainability
  10. Professional resources
    1. Anti-money laundering
    2. Audit and assurance
    3. Brexit
    4. Charities
    5. Coronavirus
    6. Corporate and financial reporting
    7. Business and governance
    8. Ethics
    9. Insolvency
    10. ICAS Research
    11. Pensions
    12. Practice
    13. Public sector
    14. Sustainability
    15. Tax
  11. Regulation
    1. Complaints and sanctions
    2. Regulatory authorisations
    3. Guidance and help sheets
    4. Regulatory monitoring
  12. CA jobs
    1. Hays | A Trusted ICAS CA Jobs Partner
    2. CA jobs partner: Rutherford Cross
    3. Resources for your job search
    4. Advertise with CA jobs
    5. Director of Finance and Company Secretary | Glasgow
    6. Hays | A Trusted ICAS CA Jobs Partner
  13. Work at ICAS
    1. Business centres
    2. Meet our team
    3. Benefits
    4. Vacancies
    5. Imagine your career at ICAS
  14. Contact us
    1. Technical and regulation queries
    2. ICAS logo request

Shahbaz Mirza CA on changing the CA's mindset to cope with the race to digital

  • LinkedIn (opens new window)
  • Twitter (opens new window)
By CA Today

7 June 2019

About Shahbaz Mirza CA:

  • Shahbaz moved from a career in audit to management consultancy and tech advisory after seeing the impact of technology across all sectors.
  • He believes the accountancy profession will face significant disruption as a result of technology, and these changes will require investment.
  • He co-founded Ramadan Legacy, an award winning organisation and app after seeing the need for tools to help Muslims observe their faith in an increasingly fast-paced world.

Dynamic, credible and ethical. These are the words Shahbaz Mirza CA uses to describe the ICAS qualification, but they could equally be applied to Mirza himself.

Shahbaz Mirza heads up Digital Transformation at Campbell Dallas, one of Scotland’s leading CA firms and part of the CogitalGroup. It’s a job title for our fast-changing times and one that may not sound familiar.

As Shahbaz explains: “It’s difficult to define the role because it is constantly evolving and changing over time, and because technology is constantly evolving and changing how the business operates. I would say that the role is bringing in key stakeholders in the firm to drive change initiatives that are going to improve the business model, the technology model, and the people model for the firm as a whole.”

Shahbaz believes accountancy is fast approaching its own “Uber moment” when the profession will have to face up to significant disruption as a result of technology. The challenge is how a traditionally “bricks and mortar” business can go digital.

This will require investment, he stresses: “Clients’ expectations are rapidly changing… they’re now expecting on-demand professional services, which hasn’t really happened in the past. So there’s an investment required in IT infrastructure but then also, once your IT is good, your client service also needs to be good, and your people need to be upskilled to cope with the change.”

This means that “digital transformation” is about more than apps – it’s about the people too. As Shahbaz puts it: “If you look at the traditional accountant, they’re very siloed… we’re ensuring that our people learn collaboratively, and through teamwork and problem-solving. That’s not something an accountant typically does. I think if we can focus on people and put people on top of the amazing technology which is coming out, we can crack the code.”

Faith and spirituality is something which is not often spoken about within the natural fabric of society… never mind in the workplace!

Shahbaz grew up in Kilmarnock, south of Glasgow, and had initially thought of pursuing a career in medicine, before seeing the appeal of a career with the CA qualification. At PwC he soon realised that technology is driving and shaping all sectors and moved from audit into management consulting and tech advisory.

On leaving PwC he gained international experience, first in New York and then in Dubai and Bahrain, helping the very traditional Middle Eastern financial sector to adapt to the technology of today.

On returning to the UK, he worked as an independent consultant before finding Campbell Dallas as the ideal match. He says: “I was looking for an entrepreneurial role in a high-growth firm with a drive for innovation and change, and where I would be empowered to lead that change.”

“Putting the heart back into finance” is also central to what motivates Shahbaz. For example, he is passionate about religious education and used his skills to co-found an award-winning educational organisation and app, Ramadan Legacy. The app now has nearly half a million users and has been featured in media from the BBC to Forbes magazine.

As Shahbaz puts it: “Faith and spirituality is something which is not often spoken about within the natural fabric of society… never mind in the workplace! I saw there was a need for user-friendly tools to help young professionals and adults keep their faith strong in a fast-paced world.”

He’s also been very happy to get involved with the #ProudtobeaCA campaign at ICAS and you can see his video online.

Shahbaz says: “Just because you’re a CA doesn’t mean you have to fit into a stereotype… when you go to ICAS events you appreciate how many different types of CAs there are, and what they do, and what they’ve achieved, and that’s really inspiring.”

2022 06 camag 2022 06 camag
ICAS logo

Footer links

  • Contact us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Privacy notice
  • CA magazine

Connect with ICAS

  • Facebook (opens new window) Facebook Icon
  • Twitter (opens new window) Twitter Icon
  • LinkedIn (opens new window) LinkedIn Icon
  • Instagram (opens new window) Instagram Icon

ICAS is a member of the following bodies

  • Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (opens new window) Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies logo
  • Chartered Accountants Worldwide (opens new window) Chartered Accountants Worldwide logo
  • Global Accounting Alliance (opens new window) Global Accounting Alliance
  • International Federation of Accountants (opens new window) IFAC
  • Access Accountancy (opens new window) Access Acountancy

Charities

  • ICAS Foundation (opens new window) ICAS Foundation
  • SCABA (opens new window) scaba
© ICAS 2022

The mark and designation “CA” is a registered trade mark of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), and is available for use in the UK and EU only to members of ICAS. If you are not a member of ICAS, you should not use the “CA” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to accountancy, tax or insolvency services. The mark and designation “Chartered Accountant” is a registered trade mark of ICAS, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and Chartered Accountants Ireland. If you are not a member of one of these organisations, you should not use the “Chartered Accountant” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to these services. Further restrictions on the use of these marks also apply where you are a member.

ICAS logo

Our cookie policy

ICAS.com uses cookies which are essential for our website to work. We would also like to use analytical cookies to help us improve our website and your user experience. Any data collected is anonymised. Please have a look at the further information in our cookie policy and confirm if you are happy for us to use analytical cookies: