Thumbnail: 

The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released for comment a consultation paper that highlights how employer expectations of professional accountants in business are expected to change in light of global trends and evolving organisational needs.

The paper analyses these expectations in relation to eight drivers of sustainable organisational success—what companies need to do to achieve and sustain success in the changing global economic landscape.

The drivers were defined based on an analysis of three long-term trends influencing organisations: globalisation, complexity, and technology. The drivers provide the framework for key activities that professional accountants will be expected to perform. These activities are highlighted under the following four roles that form the cornerstones of the services provided by professional accountants: creators, enablers, preservers, and reporters of sustainable value.  Previously defined in the proposed PAIB Strategy and Work Plan 2010-12, these roles have received wide support so far.

“This employer-based view of the expectations of professional accountants in business will help accountants prepare for the roles they will be expected to fill in the future," says IFAC PAIB Committee Chair Roger Tabor. "The world is changing, organisational needs are evolving, and professional accountants need to adapt their skills and competences to these changing requirements and circumstances. Our demand-driven approach will enable the global accountancy profession to ensure that its members are positioned to help drive their organisation’s sustainable performance.”

The discussion questions that precede the consultation paper ask for feedback on, for example, the usefulness of developing an international competency framework that would cover the roles and domain of professional accountants in business, among other key topics.

MORE STORIES ON IFAC, EXPOSURE DRAFTS

Quote Image: