ITB December 2024/January 2025 - Magazine - Page 35
FACES OF
THE FUTURE
How should the accounting profession evolve, and what needs
to change to ensure it is fit for tomorrow? The profession’s
emerging talent shares their thoughts.
WORDS SUSAN MULDOWNEY
T
he accounting profession has experienced
transformation in recent decades. Reporting
requirements have expanded, artificial
intelligence (AI) takes care of repetitive tasks,
cloud computing has revolutionised the real-time
sharing of financial data, and sustainability underpins
business decisions more than ever.
Themin Suwardy FCPA, associate professor
of accounting (practice) at Singapore Management
University, School of Accountancy, highlights digital
transformation and sustainable living as two key
forces of change for the profession. He adds that
there are higher expectations on an accountant’s
technical expertise and business acumen.
“Technical competence includes analytical skills
and critical thinking, but instead of focusing on past
financial and operational data, accountants need
to be capable of doing better with unstructured
and incomplete data, be more comfortable dealing
with uncertainties and scenario modelling in helping
companies in long-term scenario planning, and in
dealing with climate-related risks and opportunities.”
Dr Michelle Cull FCPA, associate professor
in accounting and financial planning at
Western Sydney University, notes that technology
has “always been a key force of change for
the profession”, but that accountants will need
to apply their professional judgement to data
even more in the future.
“I think it’s going to be even more critical for
accountants to hone their communication skills
to be that trusted source of information, because
they need to analyse data and bring it all together
to tell a story,” she says. “I think that’s where the
accounting role will change even more.”
Accountants play an ever-growing vital role in
business strategic planning, and technology will
continue to shape its future direction, but what else
is around the corner for the profession? And what
should the future direction look like?
Who better to ask about the future of the
accounting profession than members with their
gaze fixed on their career horizon — CPA Australia
Associate members (ASAs).
CPA Australia Associate
members are called ‘ASAs’.
ASAs are members currently
studying the CPA Program or
completing their experience
requirement to become a
fully qualified CPA.
CAREERS intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 35
