Episode 49: Trust, Technology and the Questions Every Business Should Be Asking Right Now

Trust, Technology and the Questions Every Business Should Be Asking Right Now

Three stories crossed our desk this month, and although they look unrelated at first glance, they all circle back to the same question: as technology and global ways of working accelerate, what actually earns trust?

Governance will define the winners of the AI era

In a recent piece for Chartered Accountants Worldwide, Fauzia Safdar Khan, Senior Director for Sustainability and Climate at Crowe Pakistan, makes a case worth sitting with. Most conversations about AI focus on speed and competitive advantage. Her argument is that neither determines whether AI creates lasting value. Governance does.

This is especially true in sustainability, where stakeholders have moved past accepting pledges and now expect evidence, backed by reliable data and clear oversight. AI can help process that evidence, but the technology itself is far from weightless. It runs on physical infrastructure: data centres, semiconductors, water and electricity, all of which carry their own environmental cost. Fauzia calls this one of the defining paradoxes of the next decade, and her answer isn't to slow adoption down. It's to govern it properly, using frameworks such as ISO 42001 the same way financial controls have long supported reporting.

Her conclusion lands squarely in familiar territory for Chartered Accountants: the organisations that succeed won't be the ones with the most advanced technology. They'll be the ones people trust most.

Have your say in our global AI study

Chartered Accountants Worldwide, working with our member institutes and Ipsos, has launched the second wave of a global study into how AI is reshaping the profession. Wave one gave us an initial picture. Wave two tracks how perspectives are shifting across traditional AI, generative AI and agentic AI.

It takes about fifteen minutes to complete, every response is confidential, and results are only ever published in anonymised, aggregated form. The findings will directly shape strategy and leadership decisions across the global profession, so the accuracy of that picture depends on members taking part.

Click here to launch the survey

The hidden risks of remote working across borders

A special edition of Difference Makers Discuss, recorded for our UAE community, tackled a scenario that plays out in offices everywhere: an employee asks to work from another country for a few weeks, and someone says yes without thinking it through. Host Carla Wilson was joined by international tax specialist Hugo van Zyl and HR leader Sarah Brooks to unpack what that yes can actually cost.

The biggest misconception is that a visa decides tax status. It doesn't. Countries count days differently, and a UAE employment contract earning no personal income tax at home doesn't mean the income stays tax free abroad, particularly if part of the salary is recharged to a branch in the country the employee is working from.

Then there's permanent establishment risk, where a business itself becomes taxable in another country. The usual trigger isn't a laptop in a hotel room. It's a senior person who habitually signs contracts on behalf of the employer while abroad, and the consequences can extend well past a single tax bill.

The advice from both speakers was consistent: treat remote working as a governed exception, not a casual perk. Put a written policy in place, document approvals properly, and don't run the decision on WhatsApp.

Governance is the thread running through all three stories this month. Whether it's AI, sustainability data or a request to work abroad for a few weeks, the organisations that come out ahead are the ones that can explain their decisions, not just make them quickly.

Hear the full conversation on all three topics in Episode 49 of Chartered Accountants Global Update, available now.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello! And welcome back to Chartered Accountants Global Update. Three stories for you this episode, all connected by the same underlying question. As technology moves faster than ever, what actually earns trust? We'll look at why governance, not innovation speed, is set to define the winners of the AI era. We'll flag the second wave of our global AI study and why your voice belongs in it. And we'll unpack the hidden tax and payroll risks lurking inside something as ordinary as a remote work request. Let's start with a piece from Fausia Safdar Khan, Senior Director for Sustainability and Climate at Crow Pakistan, on AI sustainability and what she calls the trust imperative. Her argument cuts against the usual AI conversation. Most of what we hear focuses on speed, efficiency, and competitive edge. Faucia's point is that none of that determines whether AI actually creates lasting value. What determines that is governance. Can decisions be explained? Can they be challenged? Can they be trusted? This matters especially in sustainability, which has quietly shifted from ambition to execution. Stakeholders no longer want net zero pledges. They want evidence, and that evidence depends on reliable data and strong governance behind it. There's a sharper point too. AI isn't virtual, it runs on data centers, semiconductors, water, and electricity, which means the technology many are using to accelerate sustainability outcomes carries its own environmental cost. Fausia calls this one of the defining paradoxes of the next decade. And her answer isn't to slow AI down, it's to govern it properly, with frameworks like ISO 42001 doing for AI what financial controls have long done for reporting. Her closing point is the one worth sitting with. The organizations that win won't be the ones with the most advanced technology. They'll be the ones people trust most, and trust is exactly the territory chartered accountants have always occupied. Next, a quick and genuinely important ask. Chartered Accountants Worldwide, together with our member institutes and Ipsos, has launched the second wave of our global study into how AI is reshaping this profession. Wave one gave us a first picture. Wave two tracks how that picture is changing across traditional AI, generative AI, and agentic AI, the systems that don't just respond to a prompt but take a sequence of actions on their own. It takes about 15 minutes, every response stays confidential, and results are only ever published in anonymized, aggregated form. The findings will directly shape strategy and leadership decisions across the global profession, which means the accuracy of that picture depends entirely on people like you filling it in. You'll find the link in the show notes. Finally, a special edition of Difference Makers Discuss recorded for our UAE community. Host Carla Wilson sat down with international tax specialist Hugo Van Ziel and HR leader Sarah Brooks to unpack what happens when an employee asks to work from another country for a few weeks. And someone says yes without thinking it through. The headline misconception is that your visa decides your tax position. It doesn't. Countries count days differently, and Hugo's advice was blunt. If you're uncertain, get advice before you get on the plane. There's a UAE specific trap too. No personal income tax at home doesn't mean income stays tax-free abroad. If your employer recharges part of your salary to a branch in the country you're working from, that income can become taxable there from day one, regardless of how many days you've spent in the country. Then there's permanent establishment, the point where a business itself becomes taxable in another country. The usual trigger isn't a laptop in a hotel room. It's a senior person who habitually signs contracts on behalf of the employer while abroad. Get that wrong, and the consequences run well past a single tax bill, into registration obligations, payroll withholding, and in some countries, exchange control. Sarah's advice was simple and worth repeating. Don't run this on WhatsApp. Put a written policy in place, document the approval, and treat remote working as a governed exception rather than a casual perk. Three stories, one thread running through all of them. Governance is what turns fast moving change into something an organization and a profession can actually stand behind. Thanks for listening. Until next time.