INTHEBLACK July/August 2023 - Magazine - Page 44
F E AT U R E
Left: Artificial intelligence
and machine learning
offer organisations
greater access to
information than ever.
“We’ve got automation in the robotics revolution and
augmented and virtual reality, which are improving the
safety of workers and improving efficiency.”
TANÉ HUNTER, FUTURE CRUNCH
“I think organisations are still struggling
to understand that you can’t view risks like
climate change, water security and biodiversity
loss as somehow siloed and not part of the
overall risk profile,” Viljoen says.
To Viljoen, sustainability is a pillar of overall
business resilience. “If you view things through
a sustainability lens, it opens up your ability
to recognise risks that potentially could come
your way.
“If you view them purely from a financial
perspective, you’ll be blindsided,” Viljoen says.
What is financially material may differ from
the impending risks from climate change, for
example. “It may not be financially material to
you at the moment, but it is definitely coming
down the line,” Viljoen explains.
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44 INTHEBLACK July/August 2023
SURPRISING POSITIVES
Despite a polycrisis, Tané Hunter, co‑founder
of Melbourne‑based think tank Future
Crunch, is optimistic about the state of the
world. He says opportunities are already
arising to alleviate the strain.
“The clean energy revolution is arguably
the largest economic opportunity that we’ve
seen in ages, and it’s going gangbusters around
the world, especially in Australia,” Hunter
says. “We’ve got automation in the robotics
revolution and augmented and virtual reality,
which are improving the safety of workers
and improving efficiency.”
Thanks to new AI and machine learning
capabilities, organisations that “get it right”
have an extraordinary collection of knowledge
at their fingertips.
“We’re seeing that sweeping across the
developing world as well, giving people access
to free online education from some of the best
educational institutes in the world,” Hunter
says. “We’re also seeing huge developments
in biotechnology.”
Hutley agrees that economic opportunities
are emerging from the climate crisis.
“In the UK, industry is worth tens of
billions of pounds in the green economy.
It’s only just starting, and it’s got a growth
rate of more than 10 per cent per annum.
“Look at what’s happening in the US
with the Inflation Reduction Act and the
amount of investment that it is promoting
and stimulating. It is going to get close to
a trillion dollars in the initial investment
phase,” Hutley says.
There is also the prospect that addressing
one overlapping challenge within a polycrisis
may also help to alleviate others.
“We’ve got to think of our economy in
terms of what it will become, and we have to
take advantage of that,” says Hutley.
Viljoen adds that crises must be viewed
from every angle and that accountants have
the skills required to address the challenges.
“Accountants have an ability to view
problems holistically. Dollars and cents
will always be our bread and butter.
However, the ability for accountants to
also factor in non‑financial information
and non‑financial risks and to look at the
problem more broadly is a really vital skill.
“The ability to evaluate the impact
of decisions over the longer term is so
important, because risks like climate
change aren’t going away,” Viljoen says.
