INTHEBLACK June 2026 - Magazine - Page 17
that training, you tend to be a less interesting
and less convincing person,” he says.
THE STRATEGIC PATH
Over the course of Miller’s career, the
accounting profession has undergone
repeated change. Some of the shifts have
been structural and others technological.
All have reshaped the accounting role.
One of the most significant, he says,
was the move from manual bookkeeping
to automated systems.
“Accountants began as bookkeepers,”
Miller says. “But as we moved to automation
it left more scope for strategic work.”
This transition is continuing today, with
rapid advances in data processing, analytics
and artificial intelligence. As routine tasks
are increasingly automated, the value of the
accountant lies less in recording information
and more in interpreting it for a company’s
needs, Miller says.
Success in this changing environment
requires a shift in mindset. The profession
has long placed emphasis on compliance,
reporting and standards — and these are
still essential. However, they are no longer
sufficient to offer maximum value from
the accounting role. What brings that value
today is strategic insight. It is the ability to
identify and communicate financial data
to influence excellent business decisions.
“My guru, who wrote a textbook on
management accounting, was a Chicago
professor named James O. McKinsey, who
later founded a little consulting firm,”
Miller smiles. “He showed the importance
of management accounting’s input into
strategy development.”
As Miller himself moved from practice
to industry, through consulting, academia
and the public sector — holding such roles
as head of the School of Management at
the David Syme Faculty of Business
at Monash University and president
of CPA Australia — the core skills of
management accounting remained relevant.
“That is where management accounting
ONE PIECE OF ADVICE
“You cannot progress without
self-improvement and the key
to that is education. Select what
suits your needs from a wide
range of professional development
courses that CPA Australia offers.”
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 17
