Finance pros cannot escape geopolitics in a changing world, says deputy finance minister

Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong emphasized the need for finance professionals to adapt to the rapidly changing global landscape influenced by geopolitical, climate, and technological factors.

Speaking at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Leadership Exchange Forum 2026, he highlighted the necessity for accountants to enhance their understanding of geopolitics and sustainability challenges to navigate evolving risks in investment, technology, and supply chains.

Additionally, Liew stressed the importance of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) advancements into financial practices while maintaining professional judgment and trust.

The forum aims to explore the role of AI in reshaping finance and its impact on business growth.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 — Finance professionals must adapt to a rapidly changing global landscape shaped by geopolitical shifts, climate and sustainability challenges, artificial intelligence (AI) and growing concerns over trust.

Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong said the transformation of the global environment in recent years had created new challenges for businesses and finance professionals, requiring them to rethink how financial systems and structures are designed.

“If you are the ‘architect’ of a financial structure, you cannot run away from geopolitics. This is the time for accountants to equip themselves with geopolitical and geoeconomics knowledge to deal with the challenges to come,” he said in his keynote address at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Leadership Exchange Forum 2026.

Liew said the years ahead would be different from the period preceding 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent geopolitical conflicts transforming the global landscape.

As such, he emphasised the need for financial professionals to understand geopolitical developments worldwide, particularly as businesses face growing risks to investment, technology and supply chains.

He said supply chain resilience was one of the key issues, noting that for a long time, businesses had assumed goods would move automatically by container ships without having to consider their sources or the need for alternative sources of raw materials and what to do in the event of supply chain disruptions.

“I think these are the questions that those in the financial systems will have to ask,” said Liew.

On climate and sustainability, he said these are issues that accountants can no longer avoid, adding that the profession needs to consider ways to measure and manage them.

At the same time, he noted that accountants and businesses would need to adapt and transform their practices to maximise the benefits that AI has to offer.

The Leadership Exchange Forum, themed “Finance as Architect: Aligning Policy, Practice and Technology in the Age of AI”, brings together policymakers, finance leaders, technology experts and industry practitioners to examine how AI and data are reshaping the finance function and its role in driving business growth.

The forum will examine how finance professionals can bridge the gap between technology and human expertise while maintaining professional judgement, ethics and trust. — Bernama

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财政部副部长刘振东强调，金融专业人士需要适应受地缘政治、气候和技术因素影响而快速变化的全球格局。

在 2026 年特许公认会计师公会领导力交流论坛上，他强调会计师必须提高对地缘政治和可持续性挑战的理解，才能应对投资、技术和供应链中不断变化的风险。

此外，刘强调了将人工智能 (AI) 的进步融入金融实践的重要性，同时保持专业判断和信任。

本次论坛旨在探讨人工智能在重塑金融领域的作用及其对企业增长的影响。

吉隆坡，9 月 22 日讯——金融专业人士必须适应快速变化的全球格局，这一格局受到地缘政治变化、气候和可持续发展挑战、人工智能 (AI) 以及对信任日益增长的担忧的影响。

财政部副部长刘振东表示，近年来全球环境的变化给企业和金融专业人士带来了新的挑战，要求他们重新思考金融体系和结构的设计方式。

“如果你是金融结构的‘架构师’，你就无法逃避地缘政治。现在是会计师们掌握地缘政治和地缘经济知识，以应对未来挑战的时候了，”他在2026年特许公认会计师公会领导力交流论坛的主题演讲中说道。

刘先生表示，未来几年将与 2020 年之前的时期有所不同，新冠肺炎疫情及其引发的地缘政治冲突正在改变全球格局。

因此，他强调金融专业人士需要了解全球地缘政治发展，尤其是在企业面临投资、技术和供应链方面日益增长的风险之际。

他表示，供应链韧性是关键问题之一，并指出，长期以来，企业一直认为货物会通过集装箱船自动运输，而无需考虑货物的来源或替代原材料来源的需求，以及在供应链中断的情况下该怎么办。

“我认为这些是金融体系中的人们必须提出的问题，”刘说。

关于气候和可持续性问题，他表示，这些都是会计师无法再回避的问题，并补充说，该行业需要考虑衡量和管理这些问题的方法。

与此同时，他指出，会计师和企业需要调整和转变他们的做法，以最大限度地发挥人工智能带来的好处。

以“金融架构师：人工智能时代政策、实践与技术的协调”为主题的领导力交流论坛，汇聚了政策制定者、金融领导者、技术专家和行业从业者，共同探讨人工智能和数据如何重塑金融职能及其在推动业务增长中的作用。

本次论坛将探讨金融专业人士如何在保持专业判断、道德操守和信任的同时，弥合技术与人类专业知识之间的差距。——马新社

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