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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Organizational Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1419766
This article is part of the Research Topic Transformational Competences and the Fourth Industrial Revolution View all 5 articles

Chartered Accountants' perception of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Provisionally accepted
Brands Chené Brands Chené 1Claude-Hélène Mayer Claude-Hélène Mayer 1*Prof Rudolf M. Oosthuizen Prof Rudolf M. Oosthuizen 2
  • 1 University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
  • 2 University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is an era of enormous technical progress that has impacted professionals across industries, including Chartered Accountants (CAs). This study explored how CAs view the impact of the 4IR on their profession, focusing on the shifting roles, competencies, and challenges they face during this transitional period. The research adopted a qualitative approach to data collecting, including 14 semi-structured interviews with participants from various CA backgrounds. This research provides a thorough knowledge of the 4IR's consequences for the profession and the perceptions of CA`s of the 4IR. Rapid task automation via technologies such as AI is posing a challenge to traditional CA roles, forcing a change towards more analytical thinking and strategic insight. CAs need to develop critical thinking abilities and data analysis ability. Older generations might need support to adapt to the technological changes. Despite fears about job loss due to technology, members were largely optimistic about the 4IR's professional development potential. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations are given.

    Keywords: Chartered Accountants (CAs), Fourth industrial revolution (4IR), Automation, acceptance, Adoption, Technology, Perception

    Received: 18 Apr 2024; Accepted: 30 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chené, Mayer and Oosthuizen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Claude-Hélène Mayer, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, 2092, Gauteng, South Africa

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.