Digital Day 2019: What does innovation cost?

On 19 November, we held our 3rd Digital Day on the cost of innovation. Over 100 participants joined our debate on the full impact of digitalisation, addressing:

• How much does it cost to go digital?
• How environmentally friendly is it?
• Do we go digital in proportion with our business needs?

During Digital Day 2019, we celebrated our members’ most promising digital initiatives with the first Digitalisation Awards, see who won.

Watch our interviews with some of the speakers from Digital Day

Twitter: #DigitalDayEU and @AccountancyEU

Technology is transforming our lives

Matthew Griffin (Founder and CEO, 311 Institute) highlighted the range of new technologies that are coming and how they can change how we do business and live. The accountancy profession can offer a thought-leadership role to clients on how to harness digitalisation effectively.

Watch Matthew Griffin’s keynote speech

Digital environment: synergies between technology and environment

Mats Engstrom (Analyst, Growth Analysis), Martha Ivanovas (Government Affairs Manager EMEA, DELL Technologies) and Olivier Boutellis-Taft (CEO, Accountancy Europe) noted that:

• companies need expertise to measure the environmental impact of digital tools – accountants can help develop tools to measure and disclose the carbon footprint of going digital
• there needs to be a holistic perspective to assess where the environmental impact starts and where it ends – from materials sourcing and manufacturing, to use and disposal
• benchmarks, standards and multidisciplinary expertise help prevent greenwashing – more emphasis is expected by policymakers and regulators on ecolabelling, standardisation and certification of digital products and services

Watch the panel here 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the EU 

Watch Dana Eleftheriadou’s keynote speech here

Digital economy: digital in proportion with SME business needs

Louis van Garderen (Founder, JOINSON&SPICE), Aynsley Damery (CEO, Clarity) and Sebastiano Toffaletti (Secretary General, Digital SME Alliance) discussed that:

• small businesses power the entire economy – before investing in technology, it is essential to understand the challenges SMEs are facing, why small businesses may fail and how technology can help
• investing in technology is more than just buying a product off the shelf – it’s about becoming a digital company, changing the mindset and business model
• the real challenge is how to adapt SMEs practices to new digital solutions

Watch the panel here

Digital accountants: how to measure innovation & how to introduce new technologies

Jeanne Boillet (Global Assurance Innovation Leader, EY) spoke about how accountants can help businesses assess their investment in technology and understand its environmental impact, adding that:

• innovation is a must – even more important than measuring the cost of innovation, is the cost of not innovating and the risk of being disrupted
• purpose can serve as a guiding light through uncertainty and disruption to inspire, transform and grow organisations

As well as measuring the cost of innovation, companies need to consider the “cost of not innovating” and risk of being disrupted, says @JeanneBoillet at @AccountancyEU’s #DigitalDayEU #innovation #BuildingABetterWorkingWorld — Ivan Mannino (@TheIvanMannino) November 19, 2019

Watch the session here

In the second interview, Bart Van Coile (President, IAB/IEC) addressed the struggles that SMEs face in introducing digitalisation, stressing that:

• change management is key – get the staff and clients on board to the idea of the change
• trust is essential for clients to be willing to give access to their data
• the accountancy profession will offer new and more services in the future

Watch the session here 

Conclusions

Watch the full event video 

Speakers:

• 1.02 Florin Toma, President, Accountancy Europe
• 5.25 Matthew Griffin, Founder and CEO, 311 Institute
• 52.04 1st Panel on “Digital environment: synergies between technology and environment”
• 1:52.2 Dana Eleftheriadou, Head of Advanced Technologies Team, DG GROW, European Commission
• 2:22.46 2nd Panel on “Digital economy: digital in proportion with our business needs”
• 3:09.56 3rd Panel on “Digital accountants: how to measure innovation” – with Jeanne Boillet, Global Assurance Innovation leader, EY
• 3:37.02 3rd Panel on “Digital accountants: how to measure innovation” – with Bart Van Coile, President, IAB/IEC
• 4:17:42 Digitalisation Awards ceremony, presented by Eva Kaili, Member of the European Parliament
• 4:36:36 Closing speech by Olivier Boutellis-Taft, CEO, Accountancy Europe
• 4:44:30 How honest are we? Our ecological impact by Eleni Kanelli, Head of Advocacy, Accountancy Europe