Financial Services Association, August 22 (Reporter Guo Songqiao) A Financial Services Association reporter learned from the CPA Australia (CPA Australia) that the agency's latest survey results show that the proportion of mainland Chinese companies applying artificial intelligence (AI) has grown steadily over the past three years. At the same time, the proportion of mainland Chinese companies that are expected to increase AI applications in the next 12 months will also increase dramatically. Nearly half (48%) of mainland Chinese accounting and finance professionals surveyed expect that their companies will increase AI applications in the next 12 months, more than double the same period last year (20%).

According to the Australian Institute of Certified Public Accountants's “2024 Business Technology Application Survey”, 44% of mainland Chinese respondents said their companies have increased their investment in technology or upgrades over the past 12 months. When asked about their intention to apply technology in the next 12 months, 81% of respondents in mainland China expect their companies to increase technology applications in the next 12 months, followed by AI (48%) as the first choice, data analysis and visualization software (43%), and business intelligence software (37%).

According to the survey, 72% of respondents in mainland China said their companies have applied AI in the past 12 months, and this percentage has continued to grow over the past three years. Furthermore, 29% of mainland Chinese respondents said their companies had been using AI in the past 12 months, an increase of 10 percentage points compared to last year.

Jin Ke, vice chairman of the East China and Central China Regional Committee of the Australian Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a senior Australian certified public accountant, told the Financial Federation: “A series of supportive policies and measures introduced by the government in recent years, combined with the rapid development of generative AI and big model technology (LLM), have created favorable conditions for mainland Chinese companies to apply AI. By applying AI, enterprises can better analyze data, improve decision-making, automate repetitive tasks to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The strategic application and investment in AI can not only strengthen the competitive advantage of enterprises, but also enhance the contribution of enterprises in the value chain, paving the way for enterprises to achieve innovative growth under the wave of the digital economy.”

Jinke said, “Judging from the survey results, mainland Chinese enterprises are currently still in the early stages of applying AI. 72% of respondents in mainland China said their companies only applied AI to a limited or moderate extent. In order to promote the deep integration of AI and the real economy, in the future, enterprises should continue to invest in improving data acquisition, application and management capabilities, thereby expanding the commercial application scenarios of AI and helping enterprises transform to a more intelligence-driven business model.”

Financial costs and low return on investment are the main challenges that respondents in mainland China and the Asia-Pacific region have faced in applying technology over the past 12 months.

In response, Jinke said, “Considering the increasing uncertainty in the global economy and the complexity of investing in forward-looking technologies, including generative AI and large model technology, it is recommended that companies first focus on their core business. At the same time, enterprises need to use more comprehensive evaluation mechanisms or return on investment models to monitor and measure the actual impact of technology applications on operational performance, and use this as a basis for technology investments and upgrades.”

At the same time, Jinke also suggested, “In addition, it is recommended that enterprises should incorporate technological innovation and digital transformation strategies into their own globalization strategies as soon as possible, carry out overall planning and layout, and provide solid technical support for enterprises to go overseas and seize opportunities in the global digital economy.”

The continuous spread of digital technology has attracted the attention of enterprises to the security of technology applications. According to the survey, cybersecurity became the most used technology (91%) by the companies of respondents in mainland China in the past 12 months. Three-quarters of mainland Chinese respondents said their companies have been using cybersecurity software, and more than half (55%) of mainland Chinese respondents said their companies have strengthened network information security in the past 12 months.

The survey showed that investment in the field of cybersecurity brought positive feedback. Nearly half (48%) of respondents in mainland China believe that their company's cybersecurity level in the past 12 months was at or above average, up 3 percentage points from last year. Furthermore, 60% of mainland Chinese respondents said their company had not lost any time or money due to cybersecurity incidents in the past 12 months. As a result, 36% of respondents expect their companies to further increase their investment in cybersecurity software over the next 12 months.

Chen Jianfeng, vice chairman of the South China Regional Committee of the Australian Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a senior certified public accountant in Australia, said, “Effective corporate governance is essential to fully utilize the potential of advanced technology and effectively reduce risk. As cybersecurity threats become more complex, traditional cybersecurity and data security precautions can no longer meet risk management needs. Businesses must regularly review existing cybersecurity tools and measures to ensure that relevant software can effectively protect against emerging technologies and cybersecurity threats.”

Chen Jianfeng warned, “In addition, considering that various markets around the world, including the European Union, have begun formulating or introducing relevant laws and regulations on AI regulation, it is recommended that mainland Chinese enterprises planning to expand overseas markets should also consider taking relevant measures to improve AI governance to meet compliance requirements. For example, consider establishing clear policies and procedures to guide the responsible development, deployment, application, and monitoring of AI technology within the enterprise.”

The survey also showed that 39% of mainland Chinese respondents said their companies had hired additional employees with technical and data analysis skills in the past 12 months, which is 8 percentage points higher than last year. Furthermore, 53% of mainland Chinese respondents said that their companies have addressed the challenge of the shortage of technical personnel by upgrading their existing talent skills and/or retraining within the past 12 months.

Chen Jianfeng pointed out, “Building a talent team that adapts to the future and is proficient in collaborating with machine learning and AI will be a key competitive advantage for enterprises to achieve medium- to long-term sustainable development. We recommend that companies continue to focus on building a culture of innovation and provide comprehensive skills upgrading or reshaping resources for talents at all levels.”

The Australian Institute of Certified Public Accountants conducted this survey from June to July 2024. A total of 1,060 finance, accounting and finance professionals from various industries were interviewed from various major markets in the Asia-Pacific region, including mainland China, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Australia. Among them, there were 207 respondents from mainland China. Of these, about one-third were corporate executives or senior management.