The modern accountant

The shifting sands of our economic landscape are leaving many accountants on the back foot, as they desperately try to comprehend their role in today’s dynamic business environment. The traditional accountant finds their proficiency in advanced double-entry algorithms hopelessly inadequate in the face of complex organizational operations, fluctuating cash flows, a global recession and stiff competition. Coupled with increased scrutiny by investors, regulators and other stakeholder’s, most accountants are baffled by the sheer scale of expectations on them. However, all is not lost. Acquiring practical experience in different roles enables an accountant to adopt a mindset that encompasses five key areas: Organizational and Enterprise-wide awarenessThe accountant has to be cognizant of other disciplines such as inter-personal skills, project management, to be technologically savvy and lead the implementation of non-financial activities. This is fundamentally critical for them to reconcile operational performance with strategic aims. Accountants in the finance departments will only be able to perform their roles better when equipped with a wider understanding of organizational operational data e.g. customer data and market intelligence. With this arsenal, the planning, forecasting and management of working capital is likely to be much more useful and relevant to the organization. Unfortunately too many accounting personnel do not even understand their own business from the grassroots, yet this insight is critical as they intervene in the non-financial decisions in the organization. Professionalism and EthicsToday’s accountant needs to be identified as the benchmark of ethical practice within their organizations. They support the organization’s code of conduct through their own demeanor and deeds. As always, the tone from the top with regard to ethical matters has to be clear and consistent or else, the accountants will find themselves in murky waters. The professional accountant understands the rationale for business integrity (not merely integrity for integrity’s sake), but for its unshakeable link with business success. An organization that regularly places a good accountant in an awkward spot will soon be looking to fill a vacancy in that position. Professional JudgmentThe wide range of circumstances arising in organizations today renders the production of a handbook on professional judgment futile for guiding management decisions. The accountant needs to balance organizational dexterity and instinctive decision making with the need for evidence based decisions. Thus, the caliber of professional judgment becomes a differentiating factor for high performing professional accountants. The most successful CFO’s will undoubtedly achieve a balance between maintaining a healthy relationship with their organization while maintaining the fiduciary stewardship and objectivity required of them by the stakeholders of the business. A Wide stakeholder focusTop level accountants, notably CFO’s and Finance Directors are often expected to manage relationships with investors, regulators and other major stakeholders. They need to reflect on a wide range of expectations in order to effectively manage the long term interests of the various stakeholders. Effective engagement with investors and other stakeholders enables the accountant to play a central role in the detection and resolution of material sustainability issues as well as key opportunity and risk areas. Hence, the accountant needs to be well positioned in order to address these challenges and establish how various expectations can be accommodated in the longer term. Dealing with change, uncertainty and complexityJust like their organizations, accountants typically operate in a rapidly changing environment that requires them to apply professional skills and judgment to ambiguous and imperfect information as well as adapt to changing circumstances. However, whatever the stage of evolution of the company and its structures and systems, the accountant needs to be prepared to manage uncertainty and provide strategic decision making with a heightened focus on risk management, control and effective governance. It is hardly conceivable that these competencies will have been developed by the time of professional qualification; rather, they require cultivation throughout one’s accounting career. Organizations that create an enabling environment for intellectual growth ensure that their finance staffs are better equipped to advice on the strategic decisions and operational intricacies of the enterprise. Accounting staff retention and rotation, inside and outside the finance department, provides invaluable hands on experience as well as enterprise wide awareness. The author is a Certified Public Accountant. He can be contacted on charlesmaina@yahoo.com.