The Future of the Accounting Profession - ACCA.

At its annual London Dinner, ACCA’s (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) global president and finance director of the University of Birmingham, Gill Ball, set out her vision of the future of the profession.

Ball said: “Over the next ten years, I believe that there will be fundamental changes in how, and on what, accountants report and in what – and who – an accountant is. How we adapt to these challenges will be crucial in maintaining the reputation of the UK-based profession.

“We already face a generation obsessed by immediacy, text, soundbites and online communication. People want to engage with others in all parts of the world on a 24/7 basis. At the same time, progress towards the adoption of, and convergence with, international accounting standards continues apace, with the US closer than ever before to taking IFRS on board. Assuming we get to a point where all entities use one, common reporting framework, how will we deliver financial information which suits the real time media age globally?”

Ball adds: “This will pose a real challenge to our current concept of printed report and accounts, and the industry which goes into producing these well-presented documents. Today the focus of the accountant’s role is still largely on reporting and commenting on the numbers and financial performance. I suspect we would all agree that this remains – and will remain – fundamental to the accountancy work. However, we may be able to conceive of a future in which much of the financial analysis is automated, or generated by outsourced teams, supported by enhanced technology.

“We are already seeing an increased emphasis on non-financial reporting. And I suspect this is just the start of a long-term trend where the skills and training of accountants can be positioned to provide this added value. In reporting on broader business performance, tomorrow’s finance professions will need to look at impact on society and environment and ethical dimensions and in doing this provide a broader commentary and tangible analysis and data on business performance and prospects.

“As this wider reporting becomes ever more important, one of the initiatives of which ACCA can be most proud is its leadership in the promotion of sustainability reporting – both in the UK and across the world. ACCA really has been a pioneer here, with a track record of spearheading thinking in this field for nearly two decades now.”

In looking at tomorrow’s accountant, Ball comments: “ACCA’s own research suggests that finance professionals will continue to become more strategic, require greater specialist skills to reflect complex legislation and will move away from generalist roles. While we need to retain our traditional model of the professional accountant, we also need to ensure our training is relevant to the new generation of financially astute entrepreneurs with whom we shall work and support in the future. Looking ahead, it is also inevitable that people will continue to become even more internationally mobile. As a result, we will need to ensure that global standards in accountancy continue to underpin our profession. But to add value, these standards need to focus on principles, not rules.

“There are elements of a high tech future which I am sure we should all wish to avoid: that is seeing our reputation for reporting on a true and fair view and our ability to use judgement and synthesis replaced by a tick-box approach. We do not want to see an audit profession where the intellectual challenge is removed, making it an exercise in mere back-room compliance. Otherwise we risk realising what must be Dr Who’s worst nightmare – an army of robot accountants.”