In the future, while an accountants knowledge of business aided by analytical and technical skills will be essential, a wider skillset will be necessary to meet market demands in this changing profession. The traditional accountants role was centered on analyzing historical financial data, creating financial statements, and providing interpretations of financial data and documents to facilitate business decisions. The expectations for the modern CPAs, increasingly, call for the more intimate role of leadership in demonstrating financial implications for many additional facets of the business, including its overall operations, strategy, data management, human resources, and technical resources. In consulting roles, accountants are being asked for guidance on broad issues, including business development, evaluating strategic opportunities, assessments of risks and threats, and strategies for using massive databases to identify promising directions for developing new products, improving customer service, and evaluating new lines of business to gain competitive advantage. Beyond just technical expertise, these kinds of participation require thorough knowledge of the clients business and the markets in which they operate.

The following trends have emerged and are contributing to the additional roles of the modern accountant:

Fewer restrictions from physical and geographic boundariesWith increasing globalization, many foreign-based firms are interacting with firms based elsewhere around the world. Coupled with modern technology, accountants and clients in other countries are working together remotely. An accountant based at a company office, or at an office-in-the-home, in Omaha, Nebraska, can provide services to a client located in Singapore.

Social media have changed relationships and the way business is conductedModern accountants establish professional relationships through active participation through social media. No longer do CPAs rely on face-to-face interactions at occasional professional meetings. Social media such as LinkedIn provide platforms for at-your-fingertips remote interactions allowing exchanges of information, professional advice, and temporary collaborations among accountants to serve clients in need of particular skill sets. New business opportunities arise, too, when accountants use a social networking presence to establish their business reputations.

Effectiveness as a communicator is a must for the accountantCommunication skills are vital in the modern accountants role in advising clients on global business trends and strategic perspectives. The accountants thorough knowledge, to be leveraged into meaningful advice, must be communicated to clients on time, clearly and convincingly, both verbally and in writing. Effectiveness can be critical in a variety of communications contexts, ranging from formal presentations, to ad hoc interactive group meetings, to one-to-one informal conversations, either face to face or remotely.

Project management in the accountants expanded roleServing as project manager is becoming commonplace for accountants because they provide guidance on the clients strategy, overall operations, and business development. These broad-based issues typically involve large-scale teams of specialists requiring long-term participation in activities such as financial forecasting, product and process engineering, financial interpretations, cost estimation, and human resources analysis. Success depends on the project managers ability to decompose the project into manageable tasks, gain acceptance of task assignments, encourage timely reporting by task groups, and merge the projects many steps into coherent conclusions.

It is evident, then, that tomorrows accountants need to be prepared with more than just traditional skills. They need to know the nature of the clients business and its competitive environment so that they can assist the client in gaining greater competitive advantage.32

Questions

15-30.Consider the restrictions on CPA services by provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Sarbox). In what ways, if any, does this cases description of the modern accountants activities conflict with Sarbox? Explain your response.

15-31.Ethics has a long-standing role in the accounting profession. Will the emerging role of the modern accountant bring with it a greater emphasis on ethics (as compared with traditional accounting)? Explain.

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