CPDStore Ireland

AI tools now draft reports, reconcile accounts, summarise legislation and even suggest advice. For accountants, that raises an uncomfortable question: which of my skills will still be valuable in five years? Most responses focus on “upskilling” — chasing the next technical qualification or software. This session, based on Dr. Vivienne Ming's research in Robot-Proof, argues that no technical skill is permanently safe from automation, but a specific, learnable set of human capacities is.

Attendees will leave with a clear framework for identifying and developing those capacities in themselves and their teams, and a practical method for using AI that sharpens professional judgement rather than eroding it. For practices, this means a stronger advisory offering, better-developed staff and a more confident answer to clients asking what value their accountant adds when software does the numbers.

Terry Harmer will cover the following topics during this webinar:

• Why “upskilling” is a treadmill: what AI is changing in professional work and why no routine skill is robot-proof
• The five meta-learning capacities (cognitive, emotional, social, metacognitive and creative) that research shows predict long-term career success
• The hidden risk of “cognitive offloading”: how over-reliance on AI tools can quietly erode professional judgement
• The “Grad Student Model”: using AI as a sparring partner rather than a replacement for your own thinking
• Building “productive friction” into daily practice: simple habits that keep your judgement sharp and your advice defensible

By attending this session you will be able to:

• Understand why chasing technical skills alone is a losing strategy in an AI-driven profession
• Identify the five human capacities that predict career resilience and assess your own strengths and gaps
• Recognise when AI use is weakening rather than strengthening your professional judgement
• Apply a structured questioning technique to challenge and verify AI-generated output
• Leave with one practical habit to build into your own AI-assisted workflow

This session will be of particular interest to practising accountants, partners and practice owners, practice managers, team leaders responsible for developing staff, accountants in business and industry, and early-career professionals planning their development. Relevant to anyone using or considering AI tools in their day-to-day work.

Course Level: Intermediate