Let the robot manage the finances

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More than 60% of business leaders say that they believe robots will replace corporate finance professionals in the next five years
More than 60% of business leaders say that they believe robots will replace corporate finance professionals in the next five years

Dubai - A large majority of consumers believe that robots can help with managing finances by assisting to detect fraud, reduce spending, and make stock market investments

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Rohma Sadaqat

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Published: Wed 17 Feb 2021, 2:58 PM

Residents are now more comfortable with the idea of a robot managing their finances compared to a human, new research has found.

According to a global study by Oracle which surveyed over 9,000 respondents in 14 countries including the UAE, 70 per cent of consumers and business leaders trust a robot more than a human to manage finances.


The study also found that 79 per cent of business leaders trust a robot more than themselves to manage finances, and that 81 per cent trust robots over their own finance teams. In addition, 94 per cent of business leaders believe that robots can improve their work by detecting fraud, creating invoices, and conducting cost/benefit analysis. When it comes to consumers, the study showed that sentiment was a bit more subdued, with 60 per cent of consumers saying that they trust a robot more than themselves to manage finances, while 65 per cent said that they trust robots over personal financial advisors. In addition, 76 per cent of consumers believe robots can help with managing finances by assisting to detect fraud, reduce spending, and make stock market investments.

“Financial processes in our personal and professional worlds have become increasingly digital for many years, and the events of 2020 have accelerated that trend,” said Juergen Lindner, senior vice president, global marketing, Oracle.


“Digital is the new normal and technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and chatbots play a vital role in managing finance. Our research indicates that consumers trust these technologies to accelerate their financial well-being over personal financial advisors and business leaders see this trend reshaping the role of corporate finance professionals. Organisations that don’t embrace these changes risk falling behind their peers and competitors; hurting employee productivity, morale and well-being; and struggling to attract the next generation of AI-empowered finance talent,” he said.

Oracle’s study also highlighted several forward facing trends, with 64 per cent of business leaders saying that they believe robots will replace corporate finance professionals in the next five years. In addition, 92 per cent of business leaders want help from robots for finance tasks, including finance approvals, budgeting and forecasting, reporting, and compliance and risk management. In turn, business leaders want corporate finance professionals to focus more on communicating with customers, negotiating discounts, and approving transactions.

“Managing finances is tough at the best of times, and the financial uncertainty of the global pandemic has exacerbated financial challenges at home and at work,” said personal finance expert, Farnoosh Torabi. “Robots are well-positioned to assist – they are great with numbers and don’t have the same emotional connection with money. This doesn’t mean finance professionals are going away or being replaced entirely, but the research suggests they should focus on developing additional soft skills as their role evolves.”

The change in sentiment towards technology was similarly recorded in a previous study by Oracle, which found that employees consider robots to be better managers than humans in the workplace. An unbiased approach to salary increases, promotions, and hiring were some of the reasons listed as to why Artificial Intelligence-enabled robots will make good managers. The results of the second annual AI at Work study also showed that 64 per cent of people would trust a robot more than their manager, and over half said that they have turned to a robot instead of their manager for advice.

When asked what robots can do better than their managers, UAE respondents said that robots are better at maintaining work schedules, problem solving, and providing unbiased information. The survey also revealed that 26 per cent of workers believe that AI will help them achieve faster promotions, while 18 per cent hoped to secure a higher salary.

rohma@khaleejtimes.com


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