Philippos Soseilos: We are only beginning to comprehend the magnitude of the change AI will bring

Philippos Soseilos, CEO & Chairman of PwC Cyprus, points to the pressing need for continuous reinvention, suggesting that advisory services have the greatest growth potential and noting the impact that AI-driven automation will have on accountancy firms.

Given the rapidly evolving global business landscape, what role do you expect accounting firms to play in the future and how do you envision their function and influence?

The accounting profession has been redefining itself and evolving beyond traditional services into a broader trusted advisor role. Within the rapidly evolving global business landscape, the profession has a significant part to play in helping its clients not only navigate increasingly complex issues such as regulatory compliance, risk management and sustainability reporting but also in supporting them on the necessary journey of business model reinvention by leveraging advanced technologies like AI (artificial intelligence). In essence, accounting firms are crucial stakeholders in reshaping the business ecosystem and helping businesses achieve resilience and success while meeting increased stakeholder demands for transparency and reliable real-time information.

What are the most significant challenges you currently face as CEO and Chairman of a prominent professional services firm?

Our firm has completed a bold two-year geopolitical de-risking and business reorientation transformation, which has reshaped our revenue streams while maintaining our leading position in our industry in Cyprus. This transformation has revamped our go-to-market approach – investing in pursuing new opportunities within our local market and further exporting our services outside Cyprus in support of international clients and PwC network member firms. At the strategic level, our most significant challenges currently stem from the need to remain internationally relevant and competitive. This necessitates continuing our responsible business model reinvention, riding the trends with speed and agility, and investing in the rapid adoption of AI-driven tools and upskilling. At the macroeconomic level, our biggest challenges come from the weakness and slowdown of European economies and the prevailing uncertainty that inhibits financial transactions. From a country-level risk perspective, despite the strong improvements achieved, the Cyprus economy remains vulnerable to exaggerated and politically motivated external reputational undermining, necessitating a more proactive and responsible internal ecosystem response.

With revenue streams from professional services evolving significantly, how do you see the future of traditional services like audit/assurance, tax, and advisory/consultancy? Which service lines do you anticipate seeing the most growth over the next five years and are there emerging areas or new opportunities that you are exploring?

The evolution of our revenue streams will follow our ability to provide value to our clients as their needs and expectations constantly change. Audit and third-party independent assurance services remain as relevant as ever, given the increasing need by multiple stakeholders for reliable, trusted and independently verified data, including non-financial information. Tax advisory and tax compliance services remain relevant and future-fit in a globally competitive world, adapting to the introduction of AI and more cost-effective delivery models. The greatest growth potential comes from multidisciplinary advisory services that will successfully tap into clients’ needs to reinvent themselves and rethink what value they create, how they deliver that value, and how they monetise it. Exciting opportunities are emerging as we support our clients in re-imagining the entirety of their business with AI, to enhance value and productivity, redefining workforce skills and capabilities, managing new investments and risks, adapting strategies, refining culture and transforming customer interactions.

What major trends, both global and local, do you see reshaping the professional services industry and how is the accountancy profession adapting to these changes?

I believe that the accounting profession is at an inflection point as it faces three pivotal shifts. Firstly, changing stakeholder expectations: clients are seeking more tech-enabled, sophisticated solutions that deliver outcomes faster and cheaper. Regulators, investors and the public demand more transparency, reliability and real-time information, including non-financial data such as ESG reporting. Secondly, new services: in its role as a trusted advisor, the profession is called upon to support clients on their journey of business model reinvention and redefinition of what success looks like. Finally, the AI-driven internal transformation: AI has been hailed as the industrial revolution of knowledge work and we are only beginning to comprehend the magnitude of the change it will bring. AI will accelerate the shift of the profession’s focus towards a more strategic and business analysis impact, as AI capabilities will undertake much of the traditional, routine accounting work. Adapting to these trends requires speed and agility. The necessary AI-driven digital transformation will lead to the rapid development of tools and robust adoption. The automation of routine tasks will redefine workforce planning, skills acquisition and development. We will also witness an acceleration in the internal operational integration of large accounting firm networks, given the competitive pressure to service global clients cost-efficiently. This will enable better leveraging of the available global talent pool and capabilities within these networks.

How do you envision the future of Cyprus as an international business hub and what steps are essential to enhance the country’s global appeal and competitiveness?

Cyprus has great potential to become an even more successful and attractive international business hub. We can achieve this by leveraging our historic and innate strengths, which include the quality of our people and services, a business-friendly environment, our strategic location, etc. However, our most important task is to improve our ability to operate as an interconnected ecosystem that adapts rapidly to international trends and developments. Our interconnected ecosystem should address current infrastructure gaps, the need to continue strengthening our regulatory environment, the effective use of innovation and technology and the improvement of the overall investor experience by better attending to both corporate needs, as well as personal and family needs.

As the industry evolves, what new skills or competencies do you consider critical for your workforce to maintain a competitive edge in the professional services sector?

As the professional services industry evolves, several new skills and competencies are becoming increasingly critical for our workforce to maintain a competitive edge. At the heart of our effective upskilling lies a mindset of continuous learning and a culture of client-centricity, collaboration, agility and innovation. Beyond technical expertise, some broader critical skill categories include leadership skills, including inspiration, empowerment and capacity building; digital literacy and technology proficiency (data analytics, AI, etc.); strategic thinking, commercial acumen and problem-solving; client-centric skills such as relationship management and communication; innovation and design thinking; and operational efficiency and project management.

(This article was first published in the November issue of GOLD magazine. To view it click here)