The accounting industry has changed dramatically in recent times, from the traditional number-crunching function to a broader role involving strategic business thinking, corporate governance and environmental issues.
Alex Malley, chief executive of CPA Australia, believes the profession needs to make more of a concerted effort to explain its diverse business services to the public.
'Recent global events are demanding that accountants now show their credentials in business leadership, strategy and financial management,' he said. 'As a profession we need to explain how wide-reaching our activities actually are. Strong and visionary leadership is needed to restore confidence in the global financial system. As a profession, we need to be comfortable in our discipline and comfortable communicating what we do and why we do it.
'We should not be afraid to explain our role in pushing forward on good governance, ethics, rigour in financial reporting and measuring and reporting on our actions. Ultimately, these add up to good business leadership and strategies, and ensure financial stability.
'The accounting industry primarily used to be about managing tangible assets, but the breadth and influence has changed, with about 90 per cent of resources now intangible or environmental. We need to do a better job of explaining this.'
Malley said issues including greater emphasis on sustainability and carbon trading had created a major opportunity for accountants to provide advice on the practical measures needed to achieve sustainability initiatives and carbon-reduction goals.
'As financial reporting becomes intractably coupled with non-financial reporting, trained strategic resources managers, accountants are primed to provide analysis and thought leadership,' Malley said. This could include environmental reporting, human resources, corporate governance and social responsibility concepts.