As with any technology, with power comes responsibility. And in the case of machine learning, ethical considerations are never far away. Professional accountants need to consider and appropriately manage, potential ethical compromise from decision making by an algorithm. In this podcast, Narayanan Vaidyanathan, who is leading on ACCA's futures research is speaking to some of the leading voices in finance and digital. They talk about AI and machine learning and some of the ethical considerations that come with these emerging technologies.

In this podcast @jimmygreer talks to entrepreneurs, policy makers and academics about what has become known as the future of work. We discuss the challenges and opportunities of online platform working; why it is so important and to make this new way of working fair; how some freelancers are making the most of digital; the impact of automation (or should that be ‘automatability’?) on emerging and developing country jobs; and what to do about the so-called ‘rise of the robots’. This podcast is the first in a series exploring the themes from our research into business models of the future. Click here to read a short summary of our latest report on Business Models of the Future https://tinyurl.com/y3an5trg Thanks to our guests: Willem Pieter de Groen (Centre for European Policy Studies), Romain Trébuil (Yoss), Ellen Thijs (B-Hive), Natalya Sverensky (NOBL), Brando Benifei (MEP), Luke Schlögl (University of Vienna). Music and production by @snowlionmedia.

The so called ‘intangibles gap’ refers to the difference between the stock market value of companies and the net asset value that accountants are reporting. There are concerns that financial statements no longer reflect the underpinning drivers of value in modern business. Such concerns are particularly relevant to accounting for ‘intangibles’, including R&D costs. In this podcast, Richard Martin, head of corporate reporting in the professional insights team at ACCA is joined by Alan Teixeira, global director of IFRS Research at Deloitte. Together they walk us through the challenges that come with the option to either capitalise or expense the R&D costs of a company.

The opportunities for organisations to drive advantage from the digital world have never been stronger. Clive Webb, Senior Insights Manager at ACCA Professional Insights leads the conversation with, Jens Madrian, CFO & CCO Reactive Technologies, Bryan Furness, Global Consulting Lead, PwC London and Jamie Lyon, Portfolio Lead, ACCA Professional Insights.Their discussion focuses on:How CFOs and their team can ensure their goals including technology implications are fully aligned with those of the organisation overall Four steps a CFO can take towards digitalisationSkills implications for finance organisations/teamsThe culture change required

What’s all the hype about initial coin offerings? Narayanan Vaidyanathan, Head of Business Insights in our Professional Insights team, briefly explains the background, process and risks of ICOs - and how it links to professional accountants.

In this podcast @jimmygreer talks to entrepreneurs, policy makers and academics about what has become known as the future of work. We discuss the challenges and opportunities of online platform working; why it is so important and to make this new way of working fair; how some freelancers are making the most of digital; the impact of automation (or should that be ‘automatability’?) on emerging and developing country jobs; and what to do about the so-called ‘rise of the robots’. This podcast is the first in a series exploring the themes from our research into business models of the future. [Click here to read a short summary of our latest report on Business Models of the Future] https://tinyurl.com/y3an5trg Thanks to our guests: Willem Pieter de Groen (Centre for European Policy Studies), Romain Trébuil (Yoss), Ellen Thijs (B-Hive), Natalya Sverensky (NOBL), Brando Benifei (MEP), Luke Schlögl (University of Vienna). Music and production by @snowlionmedia.

This episode is part of our Race for Relevance campaign on technology and the finance function. Harry Small, a partner in the IT/Commercial department of Baker McKenzie's London office, shares the legal risks involved in procuring technology that finance teams should be aware of.