University Don and Professor of Accounting and Financial Reporting, Professor Salisu Abubakar, has advised accountants and other professionals to adapt to emerging technological trends to remain relevant in the rapidly changing global economy.

Abubakar made the call while delivering the inaugural lecture of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, titled “From Financial Reporting Gobbledgook to Inevitability: Human Resource Assetization in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Era and Beyond,” at the Yusufu Bala Usman Hall, ABU, Zaria.

The professor said the world had moved from the information era into a knowledge-based era, driven largely by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, adding that the transformation was already creating new demands for professionals across different fields.

According to him, the rapid technological transformation is also paving the way for another era, the Fifth Industrial Revolution, as service-oriented companies continue to increase at a faster rate than manufacturing businesses.

He said the development had created significant challenges for accountants, particularly in responding adequately to changes in the way businesses operate, measure value and report financial information.

Besides, Abubakar explained that accountants had responded to some of these challenges by expanding the scope of the profession and embracing more innovative and inventive approaches.

He identified human resource accounting as one of the innovations emerging within the accounting discipline, stressing that human resources could no longer be viewed solely from the traditional perspective.

The inaugural lecturer said the formal adoption of Human Resource Accounting in financial reporting was no longer a question, given the changing nature of business and technology.

The University Don noted that the boundary between technology and traditional accounting metrics would continue to lose relevance if accounting remained anchored solely to the material world.

Abubakar therefore called for deliberate measures to move Human Resource Accounting from a theoretical concept to an operational reality in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and beyond.

He said such a transition required action at multiple levels, particularly in academic and professional development.

According to him, professionals of the future must be equipped with multidisciplinary skills to enable them audit, manage and interpret human asset data effectively.

He stressed that accountants could no longer rely solely on conventional accounting knowledge, as the increasing influence of technology required professionals to understand developments beyond their traditional areas of specialisation.

The professor’s position underscored the need for continuous professional development and stronger integration of technology into accounting education and practice.

Meanwhile, speaking at the event, the Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Prof. Adamu Ahmed, described the university’s people as its greatest assets.

He listed professors, researchers, lecturers and students among the institution’s most important assets, alongside its infrastructure and professionals.

Ahmed stressed the importance of investing in people, noting that while infrastructure remained essential to the development of institutions, it was people who created, preserved and transmitted knowledge.

He said the university had often faced demands concerning infrastructure, particularly from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), but maintained that investment in people was equally critical to institutional development.

The Vice-Chancellor commended Prof. Salisu Abubakar for focusing his inaugural lecture on human resources and the emerging challenges created by technological transformation.

Ahmed said the issues raised in the lecture represented an important challenge that could benefit institutions in Nigeria, Africa and beyond.

He also said the future of the Fourth Industrial Revolution would not be determined by technology alone, stressing that artificial intelligence should not be viewed as a limitation to other opportunities for changing the way societies and institutions operate.

The Vice-Chancellor said the evolving technological environment should instead encourage institutions and professionals to rethink how they invest in people, knowledge and innovation.

He reiterated the importance of investment as institutions navigate the changing global environment, while congratulating Prof. Abubakar on the successful delivery of the inaugural lecture.