You know, friends, I don't consider myself a great writer. Rather, my strength lies in science and logical thinking. But there are moments that cannot be left unshared - one of them is the GGI European Conference, which took place this year in Marbella, Spain.
The conference brought together nearly 300 specialists and managers from across Europe and beyond. The GGI Global Alliance is a global network of independent accounting, tax, legal and business advisory firms. It enables members to share knowledge and provide support to their clients on an international level. We, Grow Finance, have been members of this network for ten years.
This time I gave a presentation "Digital Transformation in Tax Administration". The presentation was followed by a lively discussion and I received a lot of positive feedback. As is customary these days – this time too, the focus of the conference was artificial intelligence or AIAlmost no professional meeting is complete without it.
We discussed how different countries are at different stages of development in digitalization, automation, and AI adoption, and what we can learn from each other. Someone asked me, “If we all automate so much, aren’t we afraid for our jobs?” The honest answer is – I am not afraid..
We have a funny but apt saying in Estonia:
"How does an Estonian rest? He replaces one job with another."
This reflects our national work ethic well. But I believe that all people have an innate ability to create something new and valuable, you just have to find the time. History has repeatedly confirmed this. However, we must not forget – Education and training are prerequisites for creativity.
Today, Estonia is faced with the fact that our population pyramid is upside down – too few children are being born and the working-age population is shrinking. At the same time, the number of people employed in Estonia is one of the highest in developed countries. This means that the more we can automate processes, the better we can maintain competitiveness and quality.
A very inspiring panel discussion was given by our Minister of Energy and Environment Andres Sutt and Spanish economist Dr. Daniel Lacalle Fernández, who discussed the economic and political challenges facing Europe and the world.
In his presentation, Andres Sutt also talked about the digitalization of Estonia, startups, unicorns, and the strengths of the IT sector.
This is something that we Estonians can be happy about and that is appreciated in the worldBut this sector also needs constant care and development to remain competitive: be it security, user-friendliness, or compliance with various requirements and cybersecurity.
Estonians continue to be known and appreciated for our strong digital skills, and with our presentations at the conference, we further enhanced this image. In addition, there were several other inspiring speakers on stage, from whom I received new ideas and encouragement. I am sincerely grateful to all of them!
Although attending conferences may seem like one big party and a lot of fun from the outside, — especially when you look at those beautiful pictures we share on social media — the reality is something more. Just being present is not really being present. Being truly present means delving into, taking an interest in the values and activities of other people. It is a very powerful experience, but also emotionally and mentally draining. But this energy expenditure later brings with it something much more — a new freshness of thought, a deeper connection and inspiration that lasts longer than any photo.
Finally, I will summarize my participation in conferences with two proverbs:
"He who stays at home remains foolish — wisdom is found on the road."
"The world is wide and glory does not come at the door."
I am deeply grateful to have the opportunity to speak at the GGI network. This year I was appointed GGI Tax Group Regional Vice Chairperson for Europe – it is a great responsibility and an even greater honor.
See you on the road,
Wolf
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