INTHEBLACK May 2025 - Magazine - Page 38
F E AT U R E
“Choosing the right tech for a business is really about
remembering what problem they’re trying to solve.
It’s easy to lose focus on the outcome and become
distracted by the marketing ploy.”
MELANIE MARKS, ELEVENM
the federal government plans to spend
A$17 million on four organisations that
will assist small and medium-sized
businesses to adopt artificial intelligence
as part of its AI Adopt Program. This will
provide businesses access to AI expertise
and provide them with free training to help
staff develop skills to effectively manage AI.
In Singapore, up to 50 per cent of SME
tech expenses, including pre-approved AI
tools, will be subsidised by the government,
as part Singapore’s digitisation plans
outlined in the Digital Enterprise Blueprint.
Building on this, the Singapore Government
announced in its 2025 budget that it
will set aside up to S$150 million for
the new Enterprise Compute Initiative.
Under this initiative, eligible enterprises
will be partnered with major cloud-service
providers to access AI tools and computing
power, as well as expert consultancy services.
There is growing interest in AI in Singapore,
with 22 per cent of SMEs noting that it was
their biggest technology investment in 2024,
up from 15 per cent in 2023.
While government policy may help to
kickstart SMEs’ uptake of AI, many are still
asking how they should integrate these tools
into their operations seamlessly and securely.
GROW WITH AI
The potential power of AI is no longer
in question. While the “human element”
of accounting remains as vital as ever,
AI-powered systems and data analytics
enable practitioners to interpret huge
amounts of data in a matter of seconds,
identifying trends, optimising resource
allocation and responding swiftly
to market changes.
Results of CPA Australia’s report show
tech uptake creates a competitive advantage
among businesses. For example, 94 per cent
of businesses that used digital payment
technologies experienced increased profit
38 INTHEBLACK May 2025
in the preceding 12 months. Meanwhile,
only 5 per cent of businesses that did not
undertake any technology initiatives reported
similar gains.
The survey results also reveal that
profitable businesses are more likely
to invest in technology upgrades, modernise
their systems and build tech knowledge
through upskilling and reskilling initiatives.
However, while most businesses have
adopted AI to some extent, only 10 per cent
report significant integration into their
operations. This indicates huge untapped
potential for better-leveraging AI across
business operations.
“The level of businesses that said they
are adopting AI is up from the previous
survey but, for most businesses, it’s not a tool
that they use daily,” says Gavan Ord, business
investment and international policy lead,
policy and advocacy, CPA Australia.
Of the businesses using AI, Ord says
the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.
“In terms of the negative impacts,
9 per cent had trouble integrating AI with
their existing technologies, 8 per cent said
it raised data and privacy concerns and
6 per cent said it raised ethical concerns,”
he says. “But 27 per cent said it improved
efficiency, 24 per cent said it improved
productivity and 22 per cent said it
improved decision-making.”
WHAT’S HOLDING SMES BACK?
AI adoption comes with challenges for
organisations of all sizes. A recent survey
of SMEs by the Human Technology
Institute at University of Technology
Sydney (UTS) with elevenM, shows
that knowledge gaps and costs are
major challenges.
“We found that 34 per cent of
responding SMEs said their understanding
and knowledge of AI was a barrier to
implementing it in their business,” says
