PQ tech the news
EDDIE HERBERT Carbon accounting adds value – and profit As climate change becomes a top priority for governments and companies worldwide, more accountants and bookkeepers are stepping up to offer carbon accounting services to their clients. With new regulations mandating disclosure of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the ability to help clients measure, report and verify carbon footprints is becoming an essential skill set for accountancy professionals, which can also create a new income stream. By partnering with organisations such as Net Zero Now for carbon accounting services, accountants can help clients understand their climate impacts, identify emission reduction opportunities, and comply with evolving carbon reporting requirements. Core services include conducting GHG inventories, calculating Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and tracking performance against reduction targets. As trusted advisors with extensive financial and operational insights, accountants and bookkeepers are wellpositioned to help clients accurately measure and reduce these emissions. Offering carbon accounting demonstrates an accountant’s commitment to their clients’ success in a low-carbon future. As climate consciousness grows, this emerging service allows accountants to showcase a new area of expertise. With demand increasing rapidly, carbon accounting know-how promises to become a key competitive advantage for forwardlooking accounting practices. At Net Zero Now we can partner on carbon accounting services, so you can provide them to clients while having a trusted expert on your team. We can work together to help clients succeed in a low-carbon future. Eddie Herbert, Comm ercial Account Executive, Net Zero Now
Beware the deepfake CFO
A multinational company recently lost £20 million in a highly sophisticated deepfake scam after a finance employee at its Hong Kong branch was fooled into paying out the money. Police confirmed the incident involved a digitally recreated version of the CFO ordering money transfers in a video conference call. The employee was fooled after the CFO was joined by what looked like other members of the team. Senior superintendent Baron Chan Shun-ching told broadcaster RTHK: “In the multi-person video
conference, it turns out that everyone he saw was fake.” It appears the scammers used publicly available conference material from the past and then
added voices using deep fake technology. They also used email and WhatsApp to lend credence to the con. Believing everyone on the call was real, the finance worker paid out HK$200 million – about £20 million, the police said. It was only six days later that the truth came out, when the finance clerk spoke to the company’s HQ. Chan said that these sorts of crimes are getting more common and it recently made 6 arrests six arrests in connection with such scams.
Google invests £800m in UK data centre Google has said it will be investing $1 billion (£800m) to create its first UK data centre. Work has already begun on a 33-acre site at Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire. It is set for completion in 2025. This latest investment follows Microsoft’s announcement late last year that it would be ploughing some £2.5 billion into its UK artificial intelligence data centres over the next three years. The UK government said the investments are testament to the fact that the UK is a centre of excellence in technology and
has huge potential for growth. In a statement, Alphabet’s CFO Ruth Porate said: “The new data centre will help meet the growing demand for AI and cloud services and bring
crucial computing capacity to businesses across the UK while creating construction and technical jobs.” Google currently employs 7,000 people in Britain.
Food delivery by Pixie
The University of Edinburgh is conducting trials to deliver food to its students using autonomous vehicles. Known as Pixie, these carts travel around campus (on private roads), with students ordering food or drinks via an app. The project is a collaboration between the university and Kings
Building catering service, and it is hoped the trials will show the potential of using such vehicles in airports and on NHS premises. The creator of Pixie is university student Ebtehal Alotaibi. She is now on Pixie 2.0, and her robots can navigate traffic lights and pedestrian
crossings. The robots are electric, autonomous and equipped with LED rays to help sanitise food cartons. Alotaibi believes these features will help address any concerns customers may have about hygiene, cost and greenhouse emissions. She is hoping that if successful on campus, then Pixconvey can start trails on the roads outside.
verification. Its technology at the time could age someone aged between 13-24 to within 1.5 years. All those deemed to be 25 or under were still made to show ID.
support companies looking to scale their companies through AI. To help with this it has expanded its free online AI training courses to 18 languages. Adrian Brown, from the Centre for Public Impact, who is working with Google, said: “Research shows that the benefits of AI could exacerbate existing inequalities – especially in terms of economic security and employment.” He felt the new initiative will help develop skills ensuring “no one is left behind”.
US bans AI-generated calls A US federal agency has made ‘robocalls’ from AI-generated voices illegal. Announcing the move, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said the ban was effective immediately. The move means that states can now pursue the bad actors behind the calls. FCC’s Jessica Rosenworcel said: “Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities and misinform voters.”
Tech briefs AI to be used to age shoppers Artificial intelligence will soon be used by UK supermarkets to automatically scan shoppers’ faces to determine their age at selfservice tills. This news comes after the Home Office confirmed it looking to allow software to determine whether a buyer is over 18 and can buy alcohol. Successful UK trials took place in 2021 using AI from Yoti, a company that specialises in digital identity 12
New £25m AI training fund Google has pledged around £25 million to help Europeans learn how to use AI. The tech giant said the monies would be made available through social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations. Google also plans to run a series of ‘growth academies’ to help
PQ Magazine March 2024
