THE ACCOUNTANT_AUTUMN_2018_VER-7-L

FEATURE
management need their business accountants to provide
a fuller and more candid picture of value creation, and
accountants will need to continue to demonstrate their
professionalism in line with their Code of Ethics in all aspects
of their contribution to business.
Public expectations on business has never been greater
and society is demanding that businesses do well, not only
form a profitability point of view but also by doing good.
This means that strong values of integrity and trust need to
align with the value created for investors and shareholders
as unprecedented levels of transparency and regulation
are being introduced. Accountants in Business are now the
custodians of this. Emerging and significant sources of risk such
as climate change, cyber, fraud and corruption, and modern
slavery, demand greater transparency as more uncertainty
and complexity is added to decision making.
Over recent years, IFAC’s Professional Accountants in
Business Committee2 has been exploring the future for
professional accountants as business partners and value
enablers. The committee’s discussions were based on
members’ experiences of business and finance function
leadership. The accountancy profession can adapt to its
changing environment and ultimately transform towards
improved capacity and sustained relevance. Several roles
were identified that are growing in importance for professional
accountants as well as the ones that will remain cornerstones,
namely growth, germination, conservation, and creative
destruction areas.
The Growth areas that build on current areas of
importance:
Co-Pilot. As a member of the leadership team, the
accountant needs to think strategically to drive the growth and
development of the organization. This is achieved by inspiring
others, driving key values, developing overall vision, identifying
growth and value-creating opportunities, and executing major
change initiatives such as digital transformations.
Navigator. Steering the organization toward achieving
sustainable value creation and enabling integration and
connectivity across the organization to deliver objectives. This
is achieved by aligning strategy, managing risk, and connecting
the organization, that is, people, processes and systems, and
financial and non-financial information.
Brand Protector. Moving beyond stewardship of company
assets and financial performance to ensuring the protection of
all critical tangible and intangible assets. This involves fostering
business integrity and sound reputation through effective
governance, risk and control, stakeholder engagement, and
financial discipline, as well as ensuring decisions are based on
sound financial and sustainability criteria.
Influencer. Facilitating change by influencing people and
their actions. This is achieved by building strong relationships
across the business, and the ability to push ideas forward,
as well as supporting and motivating people and teams to
perform towards their objectives.
The Germination areas that are in their infancy but will
become a key part of the role in the future:
Storyteller. Enlightening internal and external
stakeholders on how the business is creating value over time,
and the opportunities and challenges it faces.
Technology and Digital Enabler. Enabling a data-driven
business that utilizes technology and automation, digital and
artificial intelligence, and data in ways that drive decisions and
growth.
The Conservation areas that will remain cornerstones:
Trusted Professional. The accountant must remain
professionally objective and sceptical, challenging the
organization and oneself when needed.
Analyst. Providing decision-relevant insight into
performance and decisions. In addition to traditional areas of
financial expertise, the insights provided need to also cover
various aspects of the business model, including data from
internal and external sources.
The Creative destruction that challenges the status quo:
Transaction and Process Expert. The accountant needs
to ensure efficient and effective end-to-end process and
work flows in and across the business. This needs to be done
through both manual processing and reconciliations, that is
data entry and reporting increasingly automated and unseen,
as well as by deploying technology such as robotic process
automation, artificial intelligence and blockchain to enable a
more effective and efficient finance function.
On a final note, the accountant in business should not fear
the issue of technology and the challenges this poses. The fear
that this will make accountants redundant is totally unfounded
and, on the contrary, technology should be embraced as it
makes the accountant ever more relevant in today’s world.
As aptly said by economist Philip Auerswald3, “Whenever
machines and tools substituted one type of human capability,
new human experiences and capabilities actually emerged”.
1. Source: IBM C-suite Study 2018
2. Source: Information for this part of the article was obtained, by kind
permission, from the working papers of the IFAC PAIB Committee
regarding the Future Fit Professional Accountant Profile.
3. Philip E. Auerswald is an American author, economist, and co-founder and
co-editor of Innovations. He currently leads the Global Entrepreneurship
Research Network, an initiative of the Kauffman Foundation.
48 Autumn 2018