The recent wave of concern that has gripped many education institutions was largely expected. The latest fear is that the use of AI tools by students could negatively impact the credibility of online examinations. This has made at least the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the world’s largest accounting body, to pull back from online examinations. The institute recently said that its students will largely be required to sit exams in person from March. This has brought to an end a practice introduced during the Covid pandemic. Remote exams will only be permitted in limited and exceptional cases. On the surface, this policy change is not anything alarming. All education bodies have the right to set specific standards for their examinations. What is troubling here is how AI tools are seen as a catalyst for misconduct.
While it is indeed disappointing that many people exploit the opportunity, an end to remote examinations could hurt those students who do not live in the urban centres of their respective countries. A single exam for them would mean bearing the additional costs of travel and lodging. This, however,does not deny the many challenges that online exams have created. In 2022, the Financial Reporting Council, the UK’s audit and accounting watchdog, described cheating as an active concern across major firms, including top-tier auditors such as the Big Four. That year also saw EY fined $100 million by US regulators after employees were found to have cheated on ethics exams and the firm was accused of misleading investigators. What is needed at this point, especially at a time when the world is pouring billions in AI advancement, is to find a balance between technology and traditional teaching methods. At a time when basic messaging apps allow users to ask AI to write or complete messages for them, it is quite difficult to imagine a world where examinations could be free from any AI influence.
With everything that is going on, it seems that academic institutions will also have to be innovative. It is also important for institutions to realise that we now have a generation that is being raised on LLMs and other AI tools. The issue is not limited to exam halls, but dependency on AI is even greater during the learning process. In this fast-paced, highly distracting environment, students are bound to look for ways to reduce academic burden. They turn to AI to summarise articles or give them the key takeaways – the exercises that students used to go on their own. In the world of shortcuts, asking AI for help is just a good strategy. Naturally, when they enter the exam hall, they are more inclined towards AI tools. Besides conducting on-site examinations, accountancy bodies like ACCA should also introduce changes in curriculum and teaching methods. Instead of yearly exams, there could be short assessments throughout the year with more focus on group activities instead of individual tasks. The organisation can also team up with accountancy firms to give students the exposure they need to understand accountancy concepts better. An AI-less world is now wishful thinking; the way forward is to bring some modernity to teaching and learning.
