“Professor Niran Subramaniam delivered an insightful lecture at VUT on the AI revolution in finance, highlighting opportunities, challenges and South Africa’s digital transformation journey.”
18 November 2025 | Story: Tshepiso Kaibe| Photo: Peter Masela
3 minutes read time.
The Vaal University of Technology (VUT) hosted a thought-provoking public lecture on Friday, 14 November 2025, led by the distinguished Professor Niran Subramaniam from the United Kingdom. The session opened with welcoming remarks from Dr Speech Nelana, the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation, Commercialisation and Internationalisation, who introduced the guest speaker before the programme moved seamlessly into the lecture.
Professor Subramaniam carries an impressive scholarly and professional lineage. His qualifications include a PhD in Information Systems Management from the University of Warwick, an MBA in Finance and e Business from the University of British Columbia, and a degree in Computer and Information Engineering from the University of London. He is a Fellow Chartered Management Accountant (FCMA) and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). He currently serves as an Associate Professor of Financial Management and Systems at Henley Business School.
His lecture, titled All in Finance: The South African Revolution – AI Powered Financial Transformation: Global Trends and South African Realities, examined the accelerating influence of artificial intelligence on financial systems across the world. He began by outlining the global investment surge, noting that more than $250 billion dollars has been poured annually into AI over the past five years. This investment, he argued, signals a decisive shift from human led processes to AI augmented financial operations. For South Africa, he stressed, the moment is urgent: embrace AI driven transformation or risk deepening economic marginalisation. In this context, AI emerges both as a gateway to global competitiveness and as a practical tool to confront local socio-economic challenges, including financial access, inequality and organisational efficiency.
Drawing on Deloitte’s 2024 Global AI in Finance Survey, Professor Subramaniam illustrated the extent to which AI is reshaping global financial institutions, from fraud detection and customer service to investment management and credit evaluation. He reflected on the continent’s growing readiness, noting that South Africa ranks third in Africa, with the AI sector expected to exceed $16 billion dollars by 2030.
Turning to South Africa’s specific landscape, he pointed to opportunities to expand financial inclusion for the 11 million adults who remain unbanked, close SME financing gaps and modernise agriculture, while also improving regulatory compliance and addressing entrenched inequality. A case study from Capitec Bank demonstrated the real-world value of AI enabled fraud prevention through faster detection, improved accuracy and significant cost savings.
As the lecture progressed, Professor Subramaniam shifted his focus to the evolving role of accounting. Describing it as the enduring language of business, he highlighted its twin purpose of reporting and decision making. In the digital era, he said, this language is acquiring new vocabulary through innovations such as triple entry accounting, big data analytics and AI supported decision making. These advances demand precision, efficiency and real time interpretation.
In closing, he emphasised that AI is no longer a peripheral tool but a strategic imperative for long term relevance and competitiveness. He encouraged institutions and organisations to establish AI centres of excellence, pilot high return projects, invest in future focused talent pipelines and position themselves at the forefront of AI enabled finance and accounting.
The programme concluded with a stimulating question and answer session. Ms Thembi Rafube, a lecturer in the Accountancy Department, shared her reflections, describing the lecture as both insightful and affirming of her passion for AI. Professor Chengedzai Mafini, the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences, delivered the vote of thanks. He expressed appreciation to the guest speaker and urged colleagues to draw inspiration not only from Professor Subramaniam’s expertise but also from his commitment to engaging with South Africa’s context despite being based abroad. He encouraged academics to match this spirit of dedication in their own work, scholarship and research.