Episode 46: Navigating risk, innovation and opportunity in a changing world of work

The latest episode of the Chartered Accountants Global Update brings together three topics that are generating serious conversation across the global finance profession: the compliance risks hidden inside cross-border remote working, the growing threat of AI-enabled fraud, and the talent opportunity that social mobility represents. Here is a quick overview of what we covered.

Remote working across borders: more complex than it looks

Flexible and hybrid working arrangements have become the norm for many organisations. But when employees work across jurisdictions, that flexibility can quietly create significant legal and regulatory exposure. Cross-border remote working can trigger unintended permanent establishment risk, payroll complications, employee residency issues, and broader governance challenges.

The problem is often not deliberate. Businesses approve remote arrangements without fully mapping the implications, and by the time the complexity becomes visible, it can be costly to unwind. The solution lies in proactive governance: clear policies, structured approval processes, and close collaboration between HR, finance and tax teams. Flexibility and compliance are not mutually exclusive, but getting both right requires deliberate planning.

AI-enabled fraud: same playbook, much bigger scale

Artificial intelligence is transforming how businesses operate. It is also transforming how criminals operate. Deepfake technology now allows fraudsters to clone voices and generate convincing video content from minimal source material, and the tools to do so are increasingly accessible and low-cost.

What makes this threat particularly important to understand is that the underlying fraud is not new. Impersonation, false urgency, manipulation of trust: these are the same mechanisms that have always underpinned financial crime. AI has simply made them faster, more scalable and harder to detect. For finance professionals, the response is clear: strengthen verification processes, invest in internal controls, and maintain the kind of professional scepticism that treats even seemingly authentic requests as worth double-checking.

Social mobility: a strategic response to the talent gap

Skills shortages continue to constrain growth across the profession. Yet the talent pool being drawn from remains narrow. Around 90% of senior roles in accountancy are held by individuals from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, a figure that points not to a shortage of talent, but to a shortage of access.

Forward-thinking firms are already responding: building school-leaver programmes, creating accessible entry routes alongside traditional graduate pathways, and embedding social mobility into their culture rather than treating it as a box-ticking exercise. The broader argument is compelling. Addressing the diversity of the talent pipeline is not just an inclusion priority; it is a practical and strategic response to one of the sector's most persistent challenges.

Transcript

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Hello! And welcome to the Chartered Accountants Global Update. This is episode 46. In this edition, we're covering three topics that are very much front of mind for finance professionals right now. First, the hidden risks that come with cross-border remote working. Second, how artificial intelligence is being weaponized by fraudsters. And third, why social mobility could be the profession's most underused tool for tackling the talent shortage. Let's get into it. Remote and hybrid working has become a fixture of modern business. For many organizations, the ability to work from anywhere has been one of the most positive legacies of the pandemic era. But there's a complication that doesn't always get the attention it deserves. What happens when working from anywhere means working from another country? The reality is that cross-border remote working creates a range of regulatory and tax complexities that can catch businesses off guard. We're talking about things like unintended permanent establishment risk, where an employee working remotely in another jurisdiction could inadvertently create a taxable presence for the company. On top of that, there are payroll obligations, employee residency issues, and broader compliance challenges that vary depending on where in the world someone is based. What makes this particularly tricky is that many organizations are still approving remote working requests without a full understanding of what's at stake. It often starts with the best of intentions, a valued employee wants to work from abroad for a few months, and the business wants to accommodate that. But without proper governance in place, those short-term arrangements can create long-term headaches. The message here is clear, flexibility is a competitive advantage, but it needs to be managed carefully. Organizations that get this right are the ones building proactive policies, establishing clear approval frameworks, and making sure their HR, finance and tax teams are all working in alignment. Chartered Accountants Worldwide has a dedicated event exploring this topic in more depth. Details are on our website if you'd like to learn more. Now let's turn to something that has been generating a lot of conversation across the profession. The role of artificial intelligence in financial fraud. AI is doing extraordinary things in business. It's accelerating decision making, improving efficiency, and opening up new possibilities across every sector. But it's also being used by criminals, and they're using it well. The clearest example of this right now is deepfake technology. We're at a point where fraudsters can clone a voice or generate convincing video content using only a small amount of source material. And the tools to do this are increasingly accessible and low cost. What that means in practice is that scams can be scaled and personalized in ways that simply weren't possible a few years ago. But here's an important nuance. These aren't entirely new types of fraud. The underlying playbook, impersonation, creating false urgency, manipulating trust, is as old as the con itself. What AI has done is changed the delivery mechanism. It makes these scams more believable, harder to spot, and much easier to deploy at scale. There's a phrase from a recent piece on this on the CAW website that sums it up well. Same fish, new wrapper. For finance professionals, the implication is straightforward, even if the challenge is significant. Verification has never been more important. Stronger internal controls, robust authorization processes, and a culture of professional skepticism are the foundations of a resilient defense. When something looks authentic, that's exactly the moment to pause and verify. The third topic for today is perhaps the most forward-looking and, in many ways, the most hopeful. It's about talent and the untapped potential that exists when we think differently about where the next generation of finance professionals comes from. Skills shortages remain one of the most persistent challenges facing the accountancy profession. Firms are competing hard for a relatively small pool of candidates, and the pipeline isn't keeping up with demand. But there's a dimension to this challenge that doesn't always get called out directly, who we're drawing that talent from in the first place. The data is striking. Around 90% of senior roles in accountancy are currently held by individuals from higher socioeconomic backgrounds. That's not a reflection of where talent exists, it's a reflection of where access has historically been concentrated. Leading firms are starting to address this by creating school lever programs, building accessible entry routes beyond traditional graduate pathways, and embedding social mobility as part of how they think about culture and talent development rather than treating it as a standalone initiative. The opportunity here is real. There is a significant underutilized talent pool that the profession is not currently reaching. Addressing that isn't just the right thing to do from an inclusion perspective. It's also a genuinely strategic response to one of the sector's most pressing challenges. Across all three of these topics, a common thread emerges. The need to adapt proactively to a more complex and interconnected environment. Whether that's managing the regulatory implications of global mobility, strengthening defenses against AI-driven fraud, or rethinking how the profession attracts and develops talent, the finance professional's role is increasingly a strategic one. It's about balancing risk, embracing change, and helping to build a more resilient and inclusive profession. That's it for episode 46 of the Chartered Accountants Global Update. Thanks for listening. You can find links to all the resources and articles referenced in this episode on our website at Chartered Accountantsworldwide.com. Until next time.