INTHEBLACK May 2022 - Magazine - Page 14
GET SMART
// R E V I E W S
REVIEWS DEREK PARKER
GOOD
READS
TALENT
By Tyler Cowen
and Daniel Gross
St Martin’s Press
Recruiting and managing creative people
is a different process than that used for
people with technical skills, according to
Tyler Cowen and Daniel Gross, who have
been studying and consulting on the issue
for many years. In Talent, Cowen and Gross
provide advice on how to understand an
applicant’s thought process and willingness
to embrace new thinking. In the interview,
they suggest examining what the person
does in their after-hours time. Nonwork activities are more likely to reveal
personality than the dry lists of a resume.
In fact, the interview should be more of a
free-flowing discussion than a structured
Q&A. There is an appendix of questions
that might help to assess creativity and
work attitudes.
The authors point out that creative
people often have a very different
work style, so there might be a need to
reconsider job design and supervision
arrangements. Along the way, Cowen and
Gross discuss how to effectively conduct
online interviews, and how recruiting
creative women differs from recruiting
creative men. In terms of managing
and retaining creative people, the key is
keeping them stimulated and challenged,
with rewards that are appropriate to
the individual. All this takes effort and
innovation from the employer, but the
returns can be well worth the investment.
14 ITB May 2022
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CPA Library
ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
FOR ASSET
MANAGEMENT
AND INVESTMENT
By Al Naqvi
Wiley
Al Naqvi is the CEO of the American
Institute of Artificial Intelligence, so he
is understandably enthusiastic about
the subject of AI. In this book, he argues
that few companies operating in the
investment space are using AI properly,
and he has good points to make about
the capacity of AI systems to scan
huge amounts of information, finding
anomalies and patterns. This can form
the basis of investment strategy and risk
management. He claims, for example, that
the Institute’s AI system predicted the
COVID-19 pandemic through scattered
mentions of a viral outbreak in China.
At the same time, AI can generate vast
improvements in asset use and customer
relations. According to Naqvi, AI can turn
virtually all aspects of business into a
science. He offers a model for adopting
AI across company operations, including
execution aspects.
Naqvi acknowledges that many senior
managers might be reluctant to turn
over large sections of the business to a
computer system. He is dismissive of such
concerns, taking the view that those who
do not accept AI will be left behind by
those who do.
PACIFIC
ACCOUNTING
REVIEW
Edited by David
Ding, Julie Harrison,
Martien Lubberink,
and Chris Van Staden
Emerald Publishing
This ebook special issue of Pacific
Accounting Review brings together a
collection of articles looking at how the
finance profession in the region has dealt
with the COVID-19 pandemic. It covers a
wide range of topics, from accounting for
support provided by governments and
provisioning standards, to insolvencies
arising from the pandemic. Several articles
deal with taxation issues and accounting
regulations, and there are pieces dealing
with auditing and the non-profit sector. On
the investment side, research shows that
the usual strategy of diversification was
ineffective, as there were no ‘safe havens’
on the investment spectrum. In relation to
subsidies provided to companies, there are
issues for CFOs, especially in cases where
the impact of the pandemic was relatively
minor.
Several articles look ahead to the period
in which the pandemic winds down and
consider paths for long-term reform. This
is particularly relevant in the recognition of
tax losses, while there are other questions
relating to sustainability reporting.
A follow-up issue of Pacific Accounting
Review (volume 33, number 5) discusses
the impact that the pandemic has had on
global economies and assesses the role
that the financial sector has played in
managing the crisis.