Pres. Ali challenges Caribbean Accountants to evolve or risk irrelevance in age of AI and climate change

Jun 27, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali has issued a bold challenge to accountants across the Caribbean — adapt to a world being reshaped by artificial intelligence, climate change, and shifting markets, or risk being left behind.

Delivering the feature address at the opening of the 43rd Annual Conference of the Inter-American Accounting Association (ICAC) on Friday, President Ali welcomed more than 300 delegates from across the region to Guyana and called for a fundamental reimagining of the accounting profession — one built on innovation, strategic thinking, and real-world problem-solving.

At the heart of the president’s address was a pointed warning about the double-edged nature of artificial intelligence. While acknowledging AI as a powerful enabler, he cautioned against passive dependence on it.

“AI is a tool to help us, but if we allow AI to be the tool that directs us, then we will have challenges,” he told participants, urging the profession to move decisively beyond traditional bookkeeping and number-crunching into the realms of policy analysis, strategic planning, and data-driven decision-making.

He noted that AI-powered dashboards now provide government executives with instant summaries of delayed projects and cost overruns — work that once fell squarely within the accountant’s domain.

“If a system can generate all the numbers, then what becomes the role of the accountant? The accountant of the future must use the data — not simply generate it,” President Ali declared.

His broader message was equally direct: “Professions around the world are changing because of systems. We have to decide whether people drive systems or the system is driving people.”

President Ali also pressed Caribbean accounting professionals to take the lead in developing market-based frameworks for valuing the environment — a matter of existential urgency for the region.

“We are definitely the most impacted and affected when it comes to climate change,” he said. “A body like this must be able to develop a monetised, market-based model that can be shared across the region.”

He called on accountants to help design systems that place concrete economic value on biodiversity and environmental preservation, arguing that the Caribbean’s vulnerability to climate change demands that its professionals be at the forefront of building financial tools that reflect ecological realities.

On the question of financing sustainable development, President Ali urged Caribbean nations to find creative ways to mobilise liquidity and pension resources. He pointed to Guyana’s exploration of diaspora bonds and citizen investment vehicles as models that could allow ordinary people to participate meaningfully in large-scale economic ventures — and encouraged the broader region to develop similar instruments.

The president also turned his attention to the pipeline of future talent, praising the partnership between the University of Guyana and ACCA, which provides students with pathways to internationally recognised qualifications.

He urged regional universities to align academic programmes with the evolving demands of the industry, warning against insular thinking in curriculum design. “You can’t be inward looking — education must prepare students for absorption into the economy,” he said.

The future accountant, he argued, must be a hybrid professional — one who combines technical financial expertise with market intelligence, strategic foresight, and policy awareness.

Amid the push for transformation, President Ali reminded delegates that the profession’s greatest asset remains its credibility. He called on accountants to fiercely guard their ethical standards and ensure that professional integrity is never compromised by political interests.

With Guyana undergoing one of the most rapid economic transformations in the hemisphere — driven by infrastructure expansion, foreign investment, and emerging industries — President Ali said demand for high-calibre accounting and advisory services will only intensify.

He challenged the ICAC conference to move beyond structured dialogue and deliver practical, actionable outcomes that strengthen Caribbean competitiveness, deepen financial inclusion, and cement the accounting profession as a genuine driver of regional development.

“We have to produce not simply more accountants,” he said, “but the right accountants.”

The 43rd ICAC Annual Conference continues in Georgetown, Guyana. (Modified from DPI)

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• accountants, AI, Caribbean, climate change, risk irrelevance

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