An ACCA survey has revealed that global business leaders expect finance professionals to take on a more strategic role, with more than half of respondents believing the ethical integrity of finance professionals will become increasingly important. This report shows accountants will bring greater oversight and supervision in an increasingly global regulatory environment, and help organisations manage risk more effectively.
"Indeed, two-thirds (67%) of respondents placed risk management and internal control among the top skills required of accountants going forward," said ACCA chief executive Helen Brand. She added that the new research builds on a compelling body of evidence about the significant role accountants play as "value creators" in the business world by serving the public interest, restoring stakeholder confidence and ensuring long-term sustainable wealth creation.
Speaking at November's World Congress of Accountants in Malaysia - at which the survey was officially launched - CIMA professor of accounting and financial management at the London School of Economics, Wim Van der Stede, said: "There remains substantial pressure for finance professionals to move into roles that add more value to their organisations and broaden their responsibilities beyond traditional accounting tasks. 'The role played by finance professionals is evolving into activities that directly guide and support an organisation's strategic direction, that is, from scorekeepers to co-pilots," he added.
Panellist Dr Wang Jun, China's Vice Minister of Finance, said this had been shown by the global financial crisis, as the accountancy profession had helped to prevent the crisis from escalating and speeded up recovery. "In the face of the global financial crisis, accounting professionals worldwide united and acted promptly, fully leveraged its unique strengths and advantages, and emerged as an important force for maintaining market confidence and defusing the financial crisis," Wang said.
"In the process of promoting prosperity of the global economy, we have created value, we are creating new value and we will continue to create even greater value in the future."
Full paper
© ACCA - Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Key
Hover over the blue highlighted
text to view the acronym meaning
Hover
over these icons for more information
Comments:
No Comments for this Article