ITB December 2024/January 2025 - Magazine - Page 7
“There’s no way, with the fast pace of change in the
world, you can stop and say, ‘I’ve learned enough’.”
DR ASHELEY JONES, CPA AUSTRALIA
It’s important to make sure members have the
required base knowledge. Then it’s about honing
specialisms, whether it’s sustainability, forensic
accounting, cybersecurity or specialisms of
the future.
2. In your experience, is the pace of change
in education accelerating?
Absolutely. We have access to exponentially more
data than ever before, which is why just-in-time
learning is the way of the future.
People will have more agency in career design.
They will build their own lifelong learning plans
and determine how they will develop their careers.
3. Do you have thoughts on how AI will affect
how we are educated and evaluated?
In education, AI is front and centre in everyone’s
minds. It’s being utilised in several different ways
across the learning journey, from developing
randomly generated multiple choice questions,
to providing simulated case studies and
supporting student learning interventions.
In the CPA Program we are looking at AI-bot
tutoring assistance. In addition, AI assists
in identifying when students are struggling
with a particular concept, which affords us the
opportunity to intervene and help them.
READ
an INTHEBLACK article about
why you should never stop learning
4. Which personal attributes should young
accountants be working on and why?
Resilience, patience, strategic thinking and
mindfulness are key.
Accounting education used to be focused
on black-and-white thinking. In the future, we will
concentrate on the nuances that exist in business.
The way we assess students will change the focus
to how knowledge is applied.
This change will better equip young accountants
to deal with the “grey” ethical dilemmas that happen
in the application of real-world business decisions.
5. What are three reasons why lifelong learning
is important?
Firstly, there’s no way, with the fast pace of change
in the world, you can stop and say, “I’ve learned
enough”. The following saying has become overused,
but it’s true: AI won’t take your job, but the people
who can use it certainly will.
Secondly, lifelong learning is fun. It allows you
to explore passions and interests outside of your
everyday job. In fact, it might take your career
in an unexpected direction.
Lastly, you can meet people outside of your usual
sphere of influence. You will be exposed to a diversity
of opinion you may not have encountered before
— and that’s exciting. ●
LISTEN
to a With Interest podcast
on filling skills gaps in your resume
EXPLORE
CPA Australia’s range of courses
and online learning offerings
CAREERS intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 7
