INTHEBLACK September/October 2025 - Magazine - Page 37
GREG UNSWORTH FCPA
DIGITAL BUSINESS AND RISK SERVICES LEADER,
PWC SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE
Greg Unsworth FCPA has spent much of his
career helping businesses drive human-led
and technology-enabled changes. He believes
technology can support businesses to achieve
their goals more effectively.
“With any digital transformation program, there
will be specific technology risks to consider at the
outset,” says Unsworth, who is also president of the
Singapore Divisional Council of CPA Australia.
“As businesses look to capitalise on the business
benefits of AI, they need to manage increased
cyber-exposure and data-protection considerations,
and ensure AI solutions are producing outcomes
that are free of bias and unintended consequences.
The key is building in ‘controls by design’, then
regularly and rigorously monitoring to ensure the
necessary controls are operating as intended and
managing digital risks effectively.”
SHAHAN PIERIS FCPA
VICE PRESIDENT, CREDIT RISK MANAGEMENT
SERVICES, CITI
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA
Technology is advancing rapidly, but
Shahan Pieris FCPA has always aimed to keep
a step ahead of it. “In my opinion, many companies
adopt technology for the sake of it, but I believe we
first need to ask ourselves some questions,” he says.
“Does it deliver economic value? Does it improve our
control and risk mitigation? Are we creating more
work by implementing a technological platform
just because we think we should?
“I strongly emphasise to my team that we need
to know how technology can be used,” he adds.
“We need to be a step ahead whenever we
implement something, because technology
becomes outdated. You need people in your
team who can mix technology and finance skills
and see beyond the current status, and I think
that has been my strength.”
Unsworth began his career in an audit role at
PwC more than 35 years ago. Through serving
technology, media and telecommunications clients,
he became fascinated with the impact of technology
in reshaping businesses and industries. This led to
a range of technology-focused leadership roles.
An important lesson Unsworth has learned about
digital transformation is to “not chase every bright,
shiny object”.
“It is important to be agile and move fast. It is
also important to properly evaluate technology
options to ensure investment decisions fit with the
business vision and mission, and that those decisions
are supported by a clear business case and align with
the organisation’s culture and workforce,” he says.
While technologies like AI will have an impact on
the finance profession, Unsworth says there is no
replacing the human qualities of leadership, creativity
and empathy.
“It will be important for finance professionals to
stay nimble and take part in regular and continuous
upskilling to futureproof their careers and contribute
for the longer term.”
Pieris has worked in the multinational banking
sector for more than 25 years and has a background
in management accounting. He says he has always
been curious about the transformative potential
of technology.
He has led the development of many interactive
digital solutions to automate manual processes while
improving efficiency and accuracy.
“Following a global mandate, a significant amount
of manual touch points have been automated,”
he says. “There have been instances where a manual
report would take us one and a half hours to prepare,
and now we can get it done in three minutes. We have
automated the system, but it is interactive, allowing
the user to override certain things with proper controls
in place. Humans are always in the loop.”
As technology evolves, Pieris sees the role of
accountants expanding rather than contracting.
“At a strategic level, businesses are creating more
jobs,” he says. “Yes, technology has taken over the
mundane and repetitive tasks, but it will not take away
our careers. It will only enhance them.”
GLOBAL GAME CHANGERS intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 37
