Learning for the future

March 29, 2019

Md. Kausar Alam,

MBA (IBA), FCCA, FCS, ACA (ICAEW), FCMA
Chief Financial Officer and Company secretary
Shun Shing Group Bangladesh Operations (Seven Ring Cement)
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 Contents
1. Definition of Learning ?
2. Why Learning is important?
3. How Learning is evolving and shaping the future?
a) Changing world of Accountants
b) Preparing to change
c) Future learning landscape
4. Recommendations.

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 What is learning?
1. Learning is the process of acquiring new or modifying existing
knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences.
2. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals, and some
machines; there is also evidence for some kind of learning in some
plants.
3. Some learning is immediate, induced by a single event (e.g. being
burned by a hot stove), but much skill and knowledge accumulates
from repeated experiences.

Definition from wikipedia

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 Why learning is important?
1. In business “innovative and learning” oriented companies are the
leaders – apple, google, facebook, amazon, microsoft, followed by
Cocacola, toyata, AT&T etc
2. To tackle the future job challenge to human came from the man-made
machines - AI & Robotics are taking away human jobs
3. Learning gives self fulfillment – 13 times world richest man Mr. Bill
Gates read 50 books a year - at least one hour a day.

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 Most Valuable brands of the world

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 Why learning is important?

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 Digital Transformation Waves

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 Digital Disruption – only winner or losers

These are business platform become the biggest businesses itselves.

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 What is Future learning?
1. School will take many forms, sometimes it will be self-organized.
2. Learning will no longer be defined by time, place and age.
3. Learning will be more and more individualized based in interest, goals and values.
4. Life Long Learning will be a must for human to remain relevant with the digital disruption.
5. Educators jobs will be diversified since many new learning agents will be emerged.
6. Wide range of digital platforms will be added for learners and educators with rich
information supports. – google, Wikipedia, linkedin etc
7. Geographic and virtual communities will take ownership of learning-anywhere & anytime.
8. Work will change so rapidly that continuous career readiness will become the new
normal – life long learning to remain employable.

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 Accountants Role evolution?
1. Up to last 20 years: Treasurer, Accounts Manager, Costing and
Analysis Manager, Management Accountants, Auditor, Reporting
Manager, Operations Accountants, Credit controller, Revenue
controller, Chief Accountants etc
2. Evolved in the last 20 years: ICT Manager, General manager, Risk
Manager, Marketing and Sales role, General Management role,
Directors, Chief Executive Officers etc. So many jobs extinguished
and many is in the process.
3. Future role of Accountants? Will be significantly new?

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 Changes to Work: 4th Industrial Revolution

1. Steam Engine IR 1
2. Telephone, Bulb,
textile – IR 2
3. Electronics – IR3
4. AI & Robotics – IR4

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 The research

15 17 20
interviews interviews interviews
with L&D with with learning
experts employers providers

37 65 5
roundtables articles and interviews
held across research with other
15 different documents professional
countries consulted bodies
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 Global survey of ACCA students and affiliates

7,798
survey
responses from
147 countries

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 How Learning is evolving?

Four factors Preparing to Future learning

of change change landscape

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 Four dynamics of change
Technology in
accounting

Learning
Flexibility Evolving
in career
in the workplace
workplace

Self-curated learning

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 Technology in accounting

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 Technology in Accounting

1. Artificial Intelligence & Robotics  - Artificial intelligence and robotics is automating complex

and repetitive tasks and processes, with extreme accuracy, reducing operating costs
and increasing efficiency.  - Big Data, ERP, BI etc
2. Cloud-Based Accounting – is a type of Internet-based computing that provides shared computer
processing resources and data to computers and other devices on demand.
3. Innovations in Tax Software - The tax mgt. software of today has helped improve accuracy
while reducing margins of error - something businesses want to embrace in order to avoid tax
penalties and prevent issues with stake holders.
4. Block Chain – a system of integrated ledger and digital currency for cross boarder payment.
Banks jobs will be eliminated.
5. Social Media - Social media has become an essential tool for firms wanting to engage with their
current and potential clients while expanding their brand reach.

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 Digital Transformation Waves

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 Evolving workplace

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 Future of Job?

1. Technology is rapidly changing, so is workplace technology.

2. Specialization become a must for human, because predictive and
repetitive jobs are being taken over by AI & Robotics.
3. Working style changing to Work-Life Integration - any where, any time
and work life is changing to Life Long Work due to demographic
factors.
4. Method and scope of learning is changing – MOOCs. google,
Wikipedia etc. are great sources learning.

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 The New Work Place Reality?

1. Keeping employable is more important that being employed.

2. Experts estimate average 8 -12 jobs changes over career life
cycle.
3. Specialized skills and capabilities separates required workers from
the crowd.
4. Duel Loyalty - loyalty with the professions/learning and loyalty with
the job / employers will be new career balance.

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 Professional Ecosystem

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 Recent evolution of Corporate learning

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 Evolution of corporate learning

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 Five ways work culture will be changes by 2030
- Gwen Morgan

Technology, talent shortage, and trust are just a few of the issues that
will challenge workplace culture over the next decade.
a) Teams will be more diverse and inclusive than ever – geographic.

b) Being effective communicator is going to be tougher – too much machine

communication.

c) The trust factor will be trickier – machine will be more trusted.

d) Knowledge workers will continuously up-skilling to remain relevant.

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 Evolving workplace – bring your own device. BYOD

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 Flexibility in career

Direction of travel

Ladder career path Lattice career path

showing options

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 Flexibility in career

Direction of travel

• Single track, no cross functional
diversity
• Within sub-function only
• Limited growth opportunity
• Homogeneous workforce
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• Multi track/matrix org, skill and cross functional
role diversity
• Accommodate diverse people
• Same person play multiple different role in career
– Finance & Accounts, Operations, CEO etc.
• Heterogeneous workforce
 Self-curated learning

Top 5 ways to learn

Now Three to five years from now

Reading articles Online courses
Work-based learning Online tutorials
Online tutorials Work-based learning
Online courses Webinars
Face to face short courses Reading articles

Source: ACCA surveys of members and students. July 2018

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 Self-curated learning

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 Openness Responsibility
2. Preparing to
change

Culture Ecosystem

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 Openness – the continuous learning mind-set

44%
Continuous learning is an
essential mind-set
‘If you are closed to learning,
then that’s going to be quite a
career limiting attitude’
Of ACCA students and affiliates see
their professional body as their
1. Duel Loyalty : loyalty to career/learning
main source of learning in the
vs. loyalty to employers
workplace
2. Life Long Learning attitudes
3. On The Job Learning – learning through
doing.
4. Remaining relevant in the age of digital
disruption

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 Openness – Learning Organization

Component of Learning Organization:

• Shared vision
• Mental Models
• Personal Mastery, encouraged
• Team Learning, encouraged

Benefit of becoming a learning organization?

1. Happier and more full filled employees – employee attraction , retention etc.
2. More innovation – apple, Microsoft etc.
3. Improved collaboration – more productivity.
4. Sustained business result – most profitable enterprise.

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 Learning Responsibility

Employer Expectation gap

Employee
I provide I want you
you to do to give

Employees want to be in the ‘flow of work’

Employers and their learning teams cannot manage this
 Traditional comfort zone
 Perceived external pressure

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 Learning Responsibility

- John Adair

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 Learning Responsibility

Employer Expectation gap

Employee
I provide I want you
you to do to give

1. Employee should identify skill gap.

2. Have life long Learning Plan to overcome those gap.
3. Employer should invest in employee rather that hiring foreign employees.
4. There might be tax benefits allowed on corporate training and development expenses to
reduce FX outflow and enrich national skill bank.

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 Culture, that supports learning

Example: learning culture

Teach your people to learn rather
than teaching them what they need
to do in their job

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 Learning Culture?

Learning culture, is one in which employees continuously seek, share,

and apply new knowledge and skills to improve individual and
organizational performance.

The importance of the pursuit and application of learning is expressed in

organizational values and all aspects of organizational life.

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 Organization Culture Building

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 Organization Culture profile

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 Learning ecosystem
Learners needs

Professional bodies Future of L&D

and regulators learning community

Managers and sponsors

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 Learning ecosystem

A learning ecosystem is a system of people, content, technology, culture, and

strategy, existing both within and outside of an organization, all of which has
an impact on both the formal and informal learning that goes on in that
organization.

- An ideal organization should act as a living University – Hindustan Unilever

- Real learning starts after finishing educational qualifications at work place.
- 67% of the respondent said they learn most on the job, project work

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 Different
Constants
needs?
Future Learning Landscape

L&D
Open access community

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 Constants

Concrete
experience

Active Reflective
experimentation observation

Abstract
conceptualisation

Source: David Kolb, Experiential Learning, 1984

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 Constants of learning

People learn through discovery and experience - Davis A Kolb

For any learning activity to be successful we need to internalize and form

our own rules – which we then apply modify and evaluate.

• People centered thinking will help in improving quality of learning

• Coaching : an instructor or trainer’s help – the best cricketer need coach
• Mentoring : an experience and trusted advisor’s supports - the best CEO need
mentor.

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 Different needs?
Knowledge as an asset
 Organization should figure out different
learning need in a customized manner
for employees
 learn how to apply knowledge not to
retain knowledge.
 We learn more from what we get wrong
than by getting it all right
 Learn seamlessly from different devices
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Social learning
 enables us to connect and reinforce our
learning experiences.
 Enables us form global local tribe
bounded by trust, pride and purpose
 These are neither owned nor controlled
by any organization at all.
- Facebook, Linkedin, google etc,
 Open access

 Changing landscape of learning due

to IOT and learning platforms.
 Learners in control – MOOCs
 Social Learning – facebook, linkedin
 Ease of access to rich content
 Forget what you have done - do what
you need to do!

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 L&D Community
Today
 Organizers of structured
learning
 Developers of programmes
 Schedulers of events
 Advocates of the informal
 Linked to HR
 Players in talent agenda
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Tomorrow
 Curators of knowledge
 Coaches and advocates
of development
 Closely aligned to business goals
 Users of structured learning as a last
resort
 Linked to knowledge as much as HR
 Leaders in the talent agenda
 Recommendations –
embracing changes

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 For employee…

Time to learn and to sustain or grow

 Growth is natural human need
 Knowledge and skills in the now
 Flexibility in career – the personal journey,
have your learning vision, mission, objectives
 Relationship with professional body - CPD
 Variability in career – remain employable
 Hard work overrules talent, good student are
always not good careerist.
 Be within the top 10% of the profession.

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 For the employer…

Change in existing norms

 Learning as a benefit, not as a cost
 Learning linked to business strategy
 Learning in the flow of the day
 Learning as a culture of the organization.
 Business information driven learning
 Remember the benefit is in the application
 Simplicity not complexity
 Lead in the culture of learning

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 For the L&D Community…

Alliance with Business:

 Remain continuously updated with new knowledge. Create competitive edge.
 Establish alliance with business, be strategic partner of business.
 Ensure that learning programs are align with strategic goals.
 Develop talent for adding value to clients – produce business needed graduates
 Technology centered learning strategy by the L&D community will be a must
 Flexible approach in learning – curators of knowledge
 Develop more individual focus learning design - anybody, anywhere anytime

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 Thank You

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