Streamlining financial operations: Singapore optimistic towards AI

When it comes to streamlining financial operations, Singapore shows strong optimism towards AI to improve business and financial resilience, said BlackLine recently when releasing results of its survey.

An overwhelming majority of Singapore respondents said that generative AI (88%), new kinds of AI (85%) and cloud computing (85%) are essential for streamlining financial operations and improving business resiliency in the face of future disruption, the firm pointed out. 

The survey, conducted recently by independent research agency Censuswide, asked 1,339 C-suite and F&A professionals around the world (US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Australia, and Singapore) about their views on emerging technologies and their potential impact on F&A and businesses more broadly, said BlackLine. 

Survey highlights

• US and Singapore respondents displayed the highest confidence towards AI, with close to 9 in 10 believing that AI could effectively prepare F&A departments for disruption (US: 91%, Singapore: 88%). 
• In contrast, confidence among European respondents was lower, with percentages ranging from 72% in the UK to 57% in Germany. 
• When asked specifically about how AI could positively impact their industry, top benefits identified by Singapore respondents include enhanced audit capabilities, automation of repetitive tasks, and the ability to process large volumes of financial data at high spee
• Respondents also recognised the hurdles the F&A industry will need to overcome to adopt AI technology effectively. 
• The most commonly identified in Singapore, and globally, is training AI models to understand and interpret complex financial data accurately (41%).
• Trusting the outputs of AI (34%) and ensuring robust governance frameworks to stop the potential misuse of AI (34%), were also key concerns.
• As businesses explore how they can harness these technologies, most concede that they lack sufficient expertise in these areas. 
• The accountancy sector in Singapore has been experiencing a talent crunch, with more than three in five respondents (64%) believing their organisations don’t have enough team members with deep technical knowledge to identify and resolve complex accounting issues. 
• Bringing these skills into F&A departments is also proving particularly difficult. 
• Nearly two-thirds (69%) struggle to recruit and retain enough skilled F&A employees to fulfil internal control responsibilities. 
• The current shortage of skills in F&A could be exacerbated by a lack of skills in these new technologies, putting further strain on the skills gap. 
• Just over one-third (39%) said their F&A department currently has the skills to be able to use new technology or software.