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Business Technology Report 2023 - Final
Business Technology Report 2023 - Final
Business Technology
Report 2023
A survey of technology usage by businesses
in the Asia-Pacific
ISBN
978-1-922690-48-7
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Cybersecurity 33
Recommendations 48
“Increased cybersecurity protections” and Respondents from larger businesses or The most common action taken to
“increased technology investment/ businesses that reported their profitability improve or implement data governance
upgraded technology” were the most increased were more likely to build their was providing data privacy and
popular technology initiatives of the technology talent from within by upskilling security training to staff.
past 12 months. and reskilling existing staff than
respondents from smaller businesses or
businesses that reported their profitability
remained largely the same or shrank.
Respondents from larger businesses or Most respondents expect artificial A notably higher percentage of
businesses that reported their profitability intelligence (AI), including generative AI respondents from larger companies expect
increased were more likely to rate their such as ChatGPT, will have an impact their business to take various actions to
employer’s cybersecurity proficiency as
on their job in the next 12 months. improve technology adoption in the
“above average or “excellent” than
next 12 months than respondents from
respondents from smaller businesses or
businesses that reported their profitability smaller companies.
remained largely the same or shrank.
strategy in businesses
– by size
88%
A significantly higher percentage of larger
businesses have a digital transformation
Yes
strategy than those that are smaller. Of
note, 88 per cent of respondents from
businesses with 500 or more employees 500 or more employers
stated that their business has a strategy.
In comparison, only 45 per cent from
businesses with fewer than 50 employees
said they have a strategy.
This digital chasm between larger and
smaller companies is most likely due to
resourcing issues.
Government and professional support for
No
44%
56% No
55%
45%
smaller companies may encourage them
to digitally transform.
by performance 53%
Upskilled the technology capabilities of staff
41%
More respondents from enterprises that
50%
reported their profitability increased Reviewed the business’ technology for improvement
40%
indicated their business undertook the
listed technology initiatives. The Worked with technology companies/vendors to 50%
difference is most notable in actions improve the business 40%
related to building technology talent from
within by upskilling and reskilling existing Sought professional advice from IT 48%
consultants/technicians 47%
staff.
As global competition for technology Increased the number of employees with technology 37%
skills 30%
talent continues, it would be sensible for
companies to allocate adequate time and
Increased the number of employees with data 34%
resources to upskill or reskill employees analytical skills 20%
and use innovative ways to attract and
retain talent. Added technology expertise to senior management 27%
and/or the board 15%
4%
Did not undertake any technology initiatives
9%
CPA Australia Business Technology Report 2023 Profitability increased Profitability remained largely the same
75%
Increased cybersecurity protections 52%
39%
Most popular recent 65%
technology initiatives –
Increased technology investment/upgraded
45%
technology
38%
36%
Smaller businesses were less inclined 55%
than larger businesses to have Upskilled the technology capabilities of staff 41%
38%
undertaken technology initiatives in the
52%
past 12 months. This may reflect Worked with technology companies/vendors to
40%
considerable asymmetries in resources, improve the business
32%
data assets and access to technical 49%
Sought professional advice from IT
expertise between smaller and larger consultants/technicians
44%
45%
businesses.
46%
Increased the number of employees with technology
23%
skills
15%
39%
Increased the number of employees with data
17%
analytical skills
12%
30%
Added technology expertise to senior management
14%
and/or the board
7%
1%
Did not undertake any technology initiatives 10%
12%
CPA Australia Business Technology Report 2023 500 or more employees Fewer than 500 employees Fewer than 50 employees
ACTIONS TO IMPROVE OR
IMPLEMENT DATA
GOVERNANCE
5%
Implemented a data breach response plan
7%
10%
My business or employer took no action
10%
48% 52%
48% 59% 65%
51%
68% 64% 64% 61%
86% AI including chatbots
AI including chatbots 60% CRM software 81%CRM software
82% 78%
Business intelligence software
Business intelligence software
500 or more employees Fewer than 500 employees Fewer than 50 employees Profitability increased Profitability remained largely the same or shrank
technology adoption –
28%
28%
33%
by size Cost savings 33%
36%
23%
Organisational culture of innovation 15%
A comparatively greater proportion of 11%
respondents from larger businesses 19%
Support from senior management and/or the board 17%
chose “organisational culture of 10%
innovation” and “pressure from 16%
competitors” as factors to adopt Improve collaboration between employees 18%
17%
technology than respondents from 16%
smaller businesses. Increase profit 16%
21%
13%
Pressure from competitors 7%
5%
12%
Improve communication with stakeholders 12%
9%
12%
COVID-19 17%
16%
11%
Attract new customers 11%
15%
10%
Expand into new markets 11%
11%
CPA Australia Business Technology Report 2023 500 or more employees Fewer than 500 employees Fewer than 50 employees
CHALLENGES TO
TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION
by size 22%
23%
Cybersecurity concerns 21%
22%
20%
Respondents from larger businesses Immature business process / procedures 20%
20%
were substantially more inclined to
19%
nominate “complex legacy systems” as a Poor data quality 13%
7%
challenge to technology adoption than 18%
respondents from smaller businesses. Data privacy concerns
15%
19%
CPA Australia Business Technology Report 2023 500 or more employees Fewer than 500 employees Fewer than 50 employees
Technology skills
shortage
undertook to address a
Outsourced to a third-party provider 34%
shortage of technology
talent Increased investment in automation 26%
It is pleasing to see that only a small Paused or cancelled projects that required
percentage of respondents (five per cent) 5%
technology talent
said their business paused or cancelled
Paused business operations and processes that
projects due to a shortage of technology required technology talent
3%
talent. This shows that they are finding
ways to deliver technology improvements My business or employer took no actions to address
9%
this
in this environment, although they may be
pairing back what they are delivering.
There was no shortage of technology talent 9%
CPA Australia Business Technology Report 2023
Actions businesses Upskilled and/or reskilled existing employees
34%
40%
10%
There was no shortage of technology talent
6%
CPA Australia Business Technology Report 2023 Profitability increased Profitability remained largely the same or shrank
Actions businesses Upskilled and/or reskilled existing employees
36%
36%
undertook to address a Increased investment in automation
35%
9%
There was no shortage of technology talent
9%
Poor
5% Excellent
Below 15%
average
9%
Above
average
29%
Average
39%
8% 5% 7%
19%
25%
21%
23% 25%
35%
37%
49%
46% 48%
34%
29%
12%
12%
12%
7% 9% 5%
6% 6%
2% 5% 4% 5%
1% 2%
1%
500 or more employees Fewer than 500 employees Fewer than 50 employees Profitability increased Profitability remained largely the same or shrank
Note: Responses may not add up to 100 per cent due to rounding. Excellent Above average Average Below average Poor Don’t know
27%
Results by business size followed a 30%
similar pattern to earlier findings. A higher Improve cybersecurity protections 23%
percentage of respondents from larger 20%
8%
It would be advantageous for companies, Add technology expertise to the board/senior
6%
particularly smaller organisations, to management
7%
reach out to external advice to support 10%
Will not undertake actions to improve technology
technology adoption. adoption
14%
8%
CPA Australia Business Technology Report 2023 500 or more employees Fewer than 500 employees Fewer than 50 employees
EXPECTED INCREASE IN USE
OF TECHNOLOGY
22%
use more in the next 12 32%
CPA Australia Business Technology Report 2023 500 or more employees Fewer than 500 employees 50 employees
Fewer than 500 employees
THE IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE ON
ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE
PROFESSIONALS
Significant
No impact 19% impact 27%
73%
expect to be
impacted
48%
47% 47%
44% 50%
20% 20%
21%
16% 15%
6% 8% 5% 5% 7%
500 or more employees Fewer than 500 employees Fewer than 50 employees Profitability increased Profitability remained largely the same or shrank
Business operation
• Invest in technology tools and software that turn quality data into valuable and actionable insights, such as data analytics and
visualisation software. Small businesses could consider intelligent automation and software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications.
• Automate repetitive processes such as through RPA tailored to the business’ needs.
• Prioritise and regularly review technology initiatives based on their potential return on investment (ROI), relevance and
effectiveness.
Risk management
• Allocate appropriate resources to raise employees’ data governance and cybersecurity awareness.
• Implement measures to mitigate the risks of cybersecurity incidents. Businesses could refer to mitigation resources from
the Australian Cyber Security Centre, such as their Essential Eight.
Talent support
• Provide upskilling or reskilling training to employees to improve the effectiveness of the technology tools and software deployed.