PART 1 – 360º VIEW.
In the last decade, the accounting profession has been challenged and has presented responses to a veritable avalanche of mutations that interfere in people’s daily lives and affect their assets. The following stand out: the phenomenon of globalization, the advancement of technology, the complexity of the legal environment, the internationalization of accounting standards, the relevance of social and environmental issues, the increase in regulation; the emergence of new businesses, professions and activities.
This avalanche took accounting professionals out of the comfort zone, at first transforming their mechanical activity into digital, followed by the internationalization of accounting practices prioritizing principles over rules, making room for the use of professional judgment and forcing them to search for continuing education;
However, it is expected that the mutations of the last decade will occur in increasingly shorter periods, requiring from accounting professionals a permanent state of alert and looking to the future.
The accounting profession will have to live with sophisticated technologies, globalized financial flows, frequent innovations, regulated businesses, local and international taxation.
In this complex scenario, there is a knowledge gap that includes the form of measurement, regulation of disclosure, interconnectedness of financial and non-financial reports, creation of more inclusive corporate reports with fewer numbers and more narrative about the performance of companies.
The Academy is a key player in this environment of constant change and the gap in existing knowledge should primarily, from the configuration of this diagnosis, act quickly in the search for this knowledge and prepare its faculty, making them able to train the accounting professionals of the future.
It is necessary to have a 360º view. on the future of accounting, which takes into account at least: this transformation period; and some preferential focuses such as knowledge in Technology and the skills that Accounting Professionals who work in the areas of Auditing, Accounting Entrepreneurs and Academics.
Regardless of the preferred focuses indicated, one thing is certain, the change in the “mindset” mentality to transform the traditional business model into a new accounting service provision model in line with social, technological, environmental and regulatory advances is increasingly clear in the horizon of these professionals.
In other articles, we will pragmatically address the impact and trends that the avalanche of changes has caused in the daily lives of accounting professionals, seeking to emphasize the following areas: Technology, Auditing, Accounting Organizations and Academia.
