INTHEBLACK June 2026 - Magazine - Page 14
MEMBER PROFILE
Dr John Miller AO FCPA argues
that the true value of accounting
lies not in recording past results
but in management accounting
that connects financial data to
operations, context and strategy,
to explain and influence
performance.
Through early industry
experience, Miller learned
that simplicity and strong
communication — focusing on
a few key variables rather than
overwhelming detail — are
essential for accountants to have
real impact on decision-making.
As technology automates
routine tasks, he believes the
future of accounting depends
on strategic insight and
interpersonal qualities such as
courage, empathy and integrity,
positioning accountants as
leaders rather than reporters.
Not your
average
accountant
Few careers capture the evolution of
accounting as clearly as Dr John Miller’s.
Fewer still show how the discipline can
shape decisions and organisations.
Words Chris Sheedy
Photography Jarrod Barnes (care of Mayflower Brighton)
14 INTHEBLACK June 2026
MUCH ACCOUNTING IS, BY ITS NATURE,
backward-looking. It measures and records, and is
then asked to explain what has already happened.
Dr John Miller AO FCPA, whose accounting
career in industry, public practice, government and
academia has been celebrated widely, decided early
on that the real value of accounting lay elsewhere.
At 15 years of age, his general career path was
set not by lofty ambition but instead by his father’s
quiet assessment. “My father was a bank manager,”
the 96-year-old says. “Being a bank manager
and knowing what I was interested in, he thought
I should be a cost accountant.”
