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You are the head of the oldest and most authoritative professional organization in the world. Now we can hear many futurological conclusions about the disappearance of the accounting profession in the near future. Do you agree with such dramatic predictions?

B.C.:  It is a great honour and privilege to be the CEO of the oldest and one of the most respected professional accountancy bodies. The world has seen considerable change since ICAS was founded in 1854. During that time the accountancy profession has evolved to ensure that it remains relevant, and this remains an essential driver for ICAS. There is no doubt that the current pace of technological development appears to be happening much quicker than has previously been the case.  This is evidenced by the scale of the investment in technology by the large accountancy firms who are investing hundreds of millions of pounds in data analytics and AI to improve the effectiveness and of course efficiency of the services that they provide, including audit. Other sizes of firms are also investing although at a much lower scale.

I view such developments as further enhancing our profession, just as we evolved in the early days of computerisation and more recently to the impact of the internet and subsequent use of ecommerce and cloud-based computing channels. So, whilst I appreciate that there will be challenges my glass is always half-full and therefore, I would rather focus on the opportunities and benefits that technological innovations present to the profession. Most technology experts currently agree that the optimum model, at least for the next twenty years or so, will be the augmentation of the human with AI and other technological advancements. To help ensure that our members have the required skills to better prepare them for such change and indeed wider changes in society, ICAS has recently undertaken a review of its training syllabus which has led to a significant increase in its technological content, with an enhanced focus on matters such as data analytics as well as cyber security etc.  

In summary, therefore, I do not agree that the accountancy profession will disappear. It will however need to evolve and I believe that it will rise to this challenge, just as it has over the 165 years of ICAS’ proud history to ensure that it continues to serve the needs of business and wider society.

What do you think about expanding professional responsibility in the field of new ESG-reporting?  Do accountants need to study these issues?

B.C.:  Increasingly, investors are placing greater emphasis on an entity’s non-financial impact and reporting thereon, as they seek a greater understanding and awareness of the risks and opportunities associated with and presented by these non-financial issues, specifically Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) factors.  In 2017, The EU Accounting Directive for Non-financial Information was passed which now requires large companies to disclose more information on how they respond to and manage social and environmental challenges.

Governments and society are also beginning to place a greater expectation on organisations to operate in a responsible manner and to be aware of, and report on, more than just their traditional economic impact but to include other matters such as the environmental and societal impacts of their activities. This is become increasingly urgent as we work towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and attempt to meet our Climate Change adaptation commitment.

It will generally fall to the accounting profession to advise entities about the risks and opportunities that ESG factors present to their activities to inform their decision-making process in the short, medium and longer term. It is important therefore that professional accountants have sufficient knowledge of how to identify and report on such issues and to consider how they might affect an entity’s ability to continue to create value. Hence, it is vital that professional accountants are appropriately trained and educated with the correct skillset to measure and report on an entity’s ESG impacts and dependencies to ensure that they are equipped to address these challenges and expectations in the future.

3.Great Britain leaves the EU, but does not refuse IFRS. Will the new «IFRS for UK» approval process be effective?

B.C.:  The UK is in the process of establishing an International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) endorsement mechanism that will work in a similar manner to that of the EU IFRS Endorsement process. Given that the UK and, in particular, the UK professional accountancy bodies have long been supporters of international standards, we would not anticipate too many problems as we transition to this new regime. We have to recognise that there are those, both in the UK and indeed elsewhere, who are not supportive of the use of fair value as a concept. However,   I believe it would be fair to say that most stakeholders recognise that the benefits of this form of measurement currently outweigh the alternatives.

It will also be interesting to see how closely the UK IFRS Endorsement Board will liaise with bodies such as the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). Of course this may be impacted by whether a withdrawal agreement between the UK and the EU is agreed and also the terms of any future trade deal.