Episode 32: Rebuilding Trust and Shaping the Future in Accounting

Rebuilding Trust and Shaping the Future in Accounting

Episode 32 of the Chartered Accountants Global Update highlights how chartered accountants continue to drive positive change across the profession.

One standout story features Sitali Chiuyu, part of the Young Difference Makers series. After moving from engineering into audit, Sitali now works in the public sector strengthening governance and accountability. He emphasises how education, governance, and technology are interconnected, and how strong internal audit helps ensure public resources reach the people and services they are meant to support. He also highlights the need for responsible AI in public services, stressing transparency, bias testing, and human oversight. 

The episode also looks ahead to the CA ANZ UK Conference on 21 March in London, where professionals will explore topics such as AI, sustainability reporting, taxation, and ethics under the theme “Shaping Tomorrow: Accounting for Impact, Innovation and Relevance.”

Finally, Season 4 of the “Difference Makers Discuss” webinar series launches on 19 March, featuring global speakers sharing insights on AI, leadership, social impact, and the future of audit.

Together, these stories highlight a profession that continues to evolve while making a meaningful impact on society.

Transcript

Hello and welcome back to the Chartered Accountants Global Update — the audio newsletter from Chartered Accountants Worldwide, keeping you connected to the ideas, people, and events shaping our global profession. This is Episode 32.

We've got a good mix for you today. We're going to talk about a young professional who's using his CA skills to tackle some of the most fundamental challenges in public governance. Then we'll look ahead to two upcoming events you won't want to miss —the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand's UK Conference, coming up very soon, and the launch of a brand-new season of Difference Makers Discuss. Let's get into it.

We'll start with something that gets to the heart of why many of us chose this profession in the first place.

The latest episode in our Young Difference Makers series features Sitali Chiuyu — a professional whose career pivot from engineering into audit has turned into something much larger: a mission to rebuild trust in public institutions.

What makes Sitali's story compelling isn't just where he ended up, but how he connects the dots. He sees education, governance, and technology not as separate domains but as deeply interlocking systems. Fix one without fixing the others, and the problem simply moves. It's a way of thinking that more people in our profession would benefit from.

In the conversation, Sitali breaks down the practical work of internal audit in public sector settings — how you follow the money, stress-test controls, and close off the gaps that, left unchecked, become the scandals we read about later. But he's clear that internal audit is more than a compliance exercise. Done well, it's a bridge between policy intention and real-world delivery. It's how you give students, staff, and communities confidence that resources are actually reaching their purpose.

He also speaks thoughtfully about responsible technology — and this is particularly timely. As AI tools become embedded in public services, Sitali argues that the standards we apply need to be explicit: transparency in how systems work, active testing for bias, and meaningful human oversight. The Chartered Accountants skillset — with its grounding in evidence, risk, and accountability — puts us in a strong position to help get that right.

And then there's his closing message, which is simple but worth sitting with: start where you are, use what you have, do what you can. Even a small candle cuts through the dark.

If you haven't listened to the Young Difference Makers episode with Sitali Chiuyu yet, I'd encourage you to go back and find it. It's the kind of conversation that reminds you what the profession is actually capable of.

Now, if you're a Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand based in the UK — or you're planning to be in London later this month — this one is for you.

The Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand's UK Conference is taking place on Saturday the 21st of March at Convene, 133 Houndsditch, right in the heart of Central London. This is the flagship event of the year for Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand in the UK, and the 2026 edition looks like a strong one.

The theme this year is "Shaping Tomorrow: Accounting for Impact, Innovation and Relevance" — and the programme has been designed to match that ambition. Sessions span IFRS, Ethics, Taxation, AI, Sustainability Reporting, Economics, and a Young Chartered Accountants panel, among others. There are also breakout sessions returning this year, so you can tailor your day around what matters most to you.

The conference runs from 8:30 in the morning through to 7 in the evening, offering a full eight hours of CPD. For Chartered Accountants Worldwide members, there's a discounted rate of £242 including VAT — use the code CAW2026 at checkout.

Registration is open now. Head to the events section on charteredaccountantsworldwide.com for the link and full details. Given the date, if you're interested, don't leave it too long.

And finally — something we're genuinely excited about here at Chartered Accountants Worldwide.

Season 4 of Difference Makers Discuss is launching this month, and it might be the strongest lineup yet.

For those new to the series, Difference Makers Discuss is our flagship webinar series — live, unscripted conversations with chartered accountants who are doing genuinely remarkable things. Every episode is free to attend. No travel required. Just log on and listen.

Season 4 kicks off on the 19th of March and runs fortnightly through to late May. Six episodes, six guests from across the globe.

The confirmed speakers include Nicholas Riemer — co-founder of Invigilator, an AI platform that's transforming professional assessments worldwide. He'll be talking about what it really means to embrace AI as a financial professional, and why those who do will become more powerful, not less relevant.

Then there's Caitríona Jennings — FCA, CPA, aviation finance professional, London 2012 Olympic marathon runner, and holder of a 100-mile world record set just last November. Her episode is titled "From PwC to World Records," and I think that title speaks for itself.

Manuel Rodrigues joins us to talk about merging commercial success with social impact — building a micro-economy in rural Mozambique working with over 69,000 smallholder farmers. And Liswaniso Namatama makes the case for why audit, at its core, remains a deeply human business — one that no algorithm can fully replicate.

Two further guests will be announced in the coming weeks.

All episodes are free to attend live, and recordings will be available on demand afterwards. You can register for the full season in one go — head to the events page on charteredaccountantsworldwide.com and you'll find the Difference Makers Discuss Season 4 listing. Sign up, put the dates in your calendar, and come ready to be inspired.

That's everything for Episode 32 of the Chartered Accountants Global Update. 

Until next time — thank you for listening.