Question

Case Scenarios: 1

‘The Evolving Dimensions of The Accounting Profession andThe 21st Century Expectations’

(Jeremiah & Daferighe, 2019)

The dimension of the accountancy profession is undergoing an increasingly expanding and unpunctuated global evolution. These 21st-century twists, however, tend to pose an identity threat to the profession. The much-celebrated software substitution of the traditional roles of the Accountant coupled with the apparent professional cross-carpeting of non-accountants aided by these emerging digital initiatives appears to ‘take-over' the seat of the Accountant. The following roles were identified for the discussion.

Evolving Dimensions
THE 21ST CENTURY PERSPECTIVE	THE FUTURE IMPERATIVES
The Accountant as a Corporate Pathfinder	Embrace an enlarged strategic and commercial role
The Accountant as a Guardian of the Corporate Model	Develop a global orientation
The Accountant as a Competent Communicator	Reinvent the talent pool

Task 1: Explain minimum of ONE new skill set required for a modern Accountant from the list above or from your own choice.

Answer 1

The iidimension iiof iithe iiaccountancy iiprofession iiis iiundergoing iian iiincreasingly iiexpanding iiand iiunpunctuated iiglobal iievolution. iiThese ii21st-century iitwists, iihowever, iitend iito iipose iian iiidentity iithreat iito iithe iiprofession. iiThe iimuch-celebrated iisoftware iisubstitution iiof iithe iitraditional iiroles iiof iithe iiAccountant iicoupled iiwith iithe iiapparent iiprofessional iicross-carpeting iiof iinon-accountants iiaided iiby iithese iiemerging iidigital iiinitiatives iiappears iito ii'take-over' iithe iiseat iiof iithe iiAccountant. iiThis iipaper iibegins iiwith iian iioverview iiof iithe iicross-centurial iievolution iiof iithe iiaccounting iithought iito iidate. iiIt iialso iireasserts iithe iiprofessional iidistinctiveness iiof iithe ii21st-century iiAccountant iiby iiredefining iiand iimarking iiout iihis iistrategic iiessence iiin iithe iilight iiof iithe iipresent iiday iiexpectations. iiWith iithe iicompendium iiof iiissues iiarticulated iiin iithis iipaper, iiAccountants iiwould iibe iimore iiorientated iitowards iiobtaining iiand iimaintaining iia iimeaningful iidistinctive iiprofessional iiand iiglobal iirelevance iiin iithe iicoming iidays.

EVOLUTION iiOF iiACCOUNTING iiTHOUGHT iiAND iiPROFESSION

old iipractice iithat iihas iibeen iiaround iisince iithe iiMesopotamia iiera. iiIt iioccurred iiin ii iithe ii iiancient ii iitimes ii iiof ii iiBabylon, ii iiAssyria, ii iiand ii iiSumerian. ii ii(Lee,2012). ii ii"The ii iiChanging ii iirole ii iiof iiAccountants" ii ii(2011) iipo iiinted ii iiout ii iithat iithe iihistory iiof iiaccounts iidid ii iinot iibegin iifrom iithe iicolonial iiera ii iiof ii iithe ii iiBritish ii iiEmpire ii iineither ii iidid ii iiit ii iibegin ii iiin ii iithe ii iifourteenth ii iicentury ii iiItaly, ii ii iiIt ii iiwas ii iialso ii iinoted ii iithat ii iifive iithousand ii iiyears ii iibefore ii iithe ii iiappearance ii iiof ii iidouble-entry, ii iithe ii iiAssyrian, ii iiChaldaean-Babylonian, iiand iiSumerian iicivilizations iiwere iiflourishing iiin iithe iiMesopotamian iiValley, iiproducing iisome iiof iithe iioldest iiknown iirecords iiof iicommerce. iiHowever, iithe iibearings iiof iiaccounting iihistory iiare iigenerally iialways ii iitaken ii iifrom ii ii1494 ii iiwhen ii iithe ii iiItalian ii iimonk, ii iiLuca ii iiPacioli, ii iipublished ii iihis ii iiSumma ii iide iiArithmetica, ii iiGeometria, ii iiProportioni ii iiet ii iiProportionalita ii iiwhich ii iienunciated ii iithe ii iidouble ii iientry iisystem ii iiof ii iibookkeeping ii ii(Smith, ii ii2011). ii iiPacioli ii iialso ii iiexplained ii iithe ii iiinterconnected ii iisystem ii iiof iicapital, iiincome, iiliability, iiand iiexpenses iias iiwell iias iithe iiethics iiof iiaccounting ii

Redefining iithe iiaccountant iiThe ii21 iist iicentury iiperspective

Davis ii ii(2015) ii iidefines ii iian ii iiAccountant ii iias ii iione ii iiwho ii iiperforms ii iifinancial ii iifunctions ii iirelated ii iito ii iithe iicollection, ii iiaccuracy, ii iirecording, ii iianalysis, ii iiand ii iipresentation ii iiof ii iia ii iibusiness, ii iiorganization ii iior iicompany's ii iifinancial ii iioperations. iiBrunelli ii ii(2015) ii iimaintains ii iithat ii iialthough ii iithe ii iiduties ii iiof ii iian iiAccountant ii iimay ii iivary ii iidepending ii iion ii iispecialization, ii iian ii iiAccountant, ii iigenerally, ii iicreates ii iiand iianalyzes iifinancial iireports iias iiwell iias iidesigns iiand iimanages iithe iifinancial iisystems iiused iito iirecord iitransactions. iiSimilarly, iithe iidefinition iiof iiaccounting iiby iithe iiAccounting iiStandards iiCouncil ii(ASC) iiimplies ii iithat ii iithe ii iiAccountant ii iiis ii iia ii iiprovider ii iiof ii iiquantitative ii. iiFrom iithe iiforegoing iitraditional iidefinitions; iithe iiscorekeeping, iiattention iidirecting iiand iiproblem-solving iiroles iiof iithe iiAccountant iiare iihighlighted. iiIn iithe iilight iiof iicurrent iirealities, iihowever, iithe iiscope ii iiof ii iithese ii iifunctions ii iihas ii iibeen ii iibroadened ii iito ii iiembody ii iia ii iimuch ii iimore ii iiextensive ii iiscope ii iiof iivertical iiand ii iihorizontal iiexpectations iiwhich iiredefine iithe iiessence iiof iithe ii iiAccountant iiin iithe ii21st iicentury ii iiRecently, ii iiin ii iia ii iibid ii iito ii iiguide ii iipublic ii iiawareness ii iiand ii iienhance ii iia ii iibetter ii iiunderstanding ii iiof iiAccountants' ii iiidentity, ii iiThe ii iiInternational ii iiFederation ii iiof ii iiAccountants ii ii(IFAC) ii iiproposed ii iia iimodernized iidefinition iiof iithe iiterm ii

1. Demonstrates iiand iimaintains iicompetence; ii ii

2. iiComplies iiwith iia iicode iiof iiethics;

3. iiIs iiheld iito iia iihigh iiprofessional iistandard; iiand, ii

4. Is ii iisubject ii iito ii iienforcement ii iiby ii iia ii iiprofessional ii iiaccountancy ii iiorganization ii iior ii iiother iiregulatory iimechanisms.

The iiaccountant iias iia iicorporate iipath iifounder

The ii ii21st-century ii iibusiness ii iienvironment ii iiis ii iihighly ii iivolatile ii iiand ii iihyper-competitive ii iiin ii iinature iiconsequently ii iiresulting ii iiin ii iia ii iisituation ii iiof ii iisurvival ii iiof ii iithe ii iifittest ii iifor ii iiorganizations. ii iiExpectedly, iitherefore, ii iicorporate ii iisurvival ii iiis ii iia ii iifunction ii iiof ii iithe ii iiability ii iito ii iicontinually ii iievolve ii iidynamic iistrategies ii iiand ii iiinnovative ii iiideas ii iithat ii iiwill ii iienable ii iithe ii iiorganization ii iito iipush ii iithrough ii iithe ii iithick iicloud ii iiand ii iimurky ii iiwaters ii iiof ii iicompetition ii iitowards ii iiits ii iigoal ii iiachievement. ii iiIn ii iithe ii iimidst ii iiof ii iithis iiturbulence, iithe iiorganization iilooks iito iithe iiAccountant iito iiact iias iia iipathfinder; iiarmed iiwith iihis iivast iiexperience ii iiand iianalytical ii iiskills, iihe iishould iibe iiable iito iichart iia iicourse ii iifor iithe iiorganization. iiThe iiimplication iiis iithat iithe iidata iigenerated iiserves iias ii iia ii iispringboard ii iior ii iiframework ii iibased ii iion ii iiwhich ii iithe ii iiAccountant ii iirecommends ii iipragmatic, iisituation-specific iiand iicontextually-congruent iidecisions. ii iiIn iiessence, iithe ii21st-century iiAccountant iiis iia iiStrategic iimanager iiand iimust iiunderstand iihis iiplace iias iisuch. iiHe iimust iicome iito iiterms iiwith iithe iifact iithat iihe iiwon't iibe iiable iito iiget iiup iithe iivalue iichain iiof iiprofessional ii iirelevance, ii iiconsidering ii iithe ii iichallenging ii iirealities ii iiof ii iiour ii iitimes, ii iiby ii iijust ii iithinking iiabout iithe iiproduction iiof iidebits iiand iicredits; iihe iihas iito iithink iistrategically ii(Elliot,1998).

The iiaccountant iias iia iiguardian iiof ii iithe iicorporate iimodel

Every iiorganization iihas iia iimission iiand iia iivision. ii iiThis iiis iia iimental iipicture iiof iithe ii‘what', ii‘where iito' iiand iithe ii‘why' iiof iithe iiorganization's iiexistence. iiIn iiother iiwords, iiorganizations iihave iisome iiform iiof iia iimodel iiof iiwhat iithe iiorganization iiwants iito iiachieve iiin iithe iishort iiand iilong iiterm iiand iithis iiserves iias iithe ii iimotivation ii iiand ii iithe ii iitouchstone ii iiof ii iisuch ii iiorganization. ii iiConsequently; ii iiperiodic ii iievaluations, iiemploying ii iiquantitative ii iiand ii iinon-quantitative ii iiparameters, ii iiare ii iiaimed ii iiat ii iiseeing ii iihow ii iiclose ii iithe iiorganization ii iiis ii iito ii iiattaining ii iiits ii iimodel ii iipicture. ii iiTo ii iithis ii iiend, ii iitherefore, ii iithe ii ii21st-century iiAccountant iiis iinot iiexpected iito iibe iia iispectator iior iian iiumpire iiburied iiin iithe iitask iiof iireporting iiwhich iiSiew ii ii(2011) ii iirefers ii iito ii iias ii ii"..a ii iinon-value-adding ii iirole..". ii iiThe ii ii21st-century ii iiAccountant ii iisits ii iiat ii iia iivantage iiposition iiand iiis iisaddled, iinot iionly iiwith iithe iitraditional iiresponsibility iiof iia ii‘watchdog' iibut iialso ii iiwith ii iithat ii iiof ii iiproactively ii iiguarding ii iiand ii iiguiding ii iithe ii iiorganization ii iitowards ii iiactualizing ii iiits iimodel. ii

Accountant iias iicompetitive iicommunictor

Business ii iidictionary.com ii iidefines ii iicommunication ii iias ii ii“a ii iitwo-way ii iiprocess ii iiof ii iireaching ii iimutual iiunderstanding, ii iiin ii iiwhich ii iiparticipants ii iinot ii iionly ii iiexchange ii ii(encode-decode) ii iiinformation, ii iinews, iiideas, iiand iifeelings iibut iialso iicreate iiand iishare iimeaning'. iiBasically, iithe iioutput iiof iiaccounting iiis iithe iifinancial ii iistatements ii ii(of ii iiperformance, ii iiposition ii iiand ii iicash ii iiflows), ii iiwhich ii iiaccording ii iito ii iiSiew, ii(2011) iiis ii iisimply ii iia ii ii"crunching iiof ii iifigures" ii iiand iithus iiin iiitself iiadds ii iino ii iivalue iito iithe iiorganization. iiAccountants ii iimust ii iiunderstand ii iithat ii iigiven ii iitheir ii iimandate ii iiof ii iiensuring ii iithat ii iithe ii iibusiness ii iiis iisustainable, ii iithat ii iicorporate ii iiobjectives ii iiare ii iirealized ii iiwhich iiwill ii iieventually ii iilead ii iito ii iishareholder iiwealth iimaximization; iithey iishould iicommunicate iiboth iifinancial iiand iinon-financial ii iiinformation iiso iithat iitheir iipresentations iiare iinot iia iisort iiof iione-sided iipicture iiwhich iiwould iinot iireflect iithe iifull iistory. ii(Elliot,1998). iiTo iithis iiend, ii21st-century iiAccountants iimust iihave iiexcellent iioral iiand iiwritten iicommunication iiskills iithat iiare iineeded iito iibe iiable iito iiexplain iihow iia iibusiness iioperates iiand iibe iiable iito iiexplain iiwhat iiall iithe iinumbers iimean, iinot iionly iito ii iimanagement iibut ii iialso ii iito iishareholders iiand iiother iistakeholders. ii

The iifuture iiimperative iiof iithe iiaccountancy iiprofession

The iifield iiof iiaccounting iihas iiseen iiconstant iitechnological iiand iiintellectual iiinnovation iiin ii iirecent iidecades ii iiand ii iithere ii iiis ii iino ii iireason ii iito ii iibelieve ii iithat ii iiAccounting ii iiwill ii iinot ii iicontinue ii iito ii iievolve ii iiin iiresponse iito iichanges iithat iiwe iiare ii iiexperiencing iiin iiour ii iitimes ii(Hendricksen ii& iiBreda, ii ii2001). iiThe iiimplication ii iiis ii iithat ii iiaccounting ii iiprofession ii iiis ii iinot ii iistatic. ii iiIt ii iikeeps ii iirevolving ii iion ii iithe ii iifulcrum ii iiof iiemerging iiideas iiand iiinnovations; iias iisuch iiAccountants iimust iibe iiopen-minded iito iinew iiideas, iinew iitechnologies, To iikeep iiup iiwith iithe iiglobal iiperspective iiand iimaintain iiglobal iiprofessional iirelevance iiin iithe iicoming iidays, iiACCA ii(2012) iioutlines, iiamong iiothers, iithe iifollowing iiimperatives: ii" ii ii

· Embarace iian iienlarged iistrategic iiand ii iicommercial iirole ii

As ii iibusinesses iiadapt iito ii iia ii iiturbulent iienvironment, ii iiopportunities iiare iiemerging ii iifor iiAccountants iito ii iiassume ii iifar ii iigreater ii iiorganizational ii iiresponsibilities. ii iiThe ii iipotential ii iiexists ii iito ii iileverage ii iithe iicapabilities ii iiof ii iithe ii iiAccountant ii iiacr iioss ii iiall ii iiaspects ii ii iiof ii iicorporate ii iideci iision ii iimaking, ii iifro iim ii iistrategy iiformulation iithrough iito iidefining iinew iibusiness iimodels. ii ii ii

· Develop iithe iiglobal iiorientation

The iipace iiof iiglobal iiexpansion iiof iifirms iifrom iideveloped iiand iideveloping iimarkets iialike iiis iiplacing iithe iispotlight iion iiaccountant's iiability iito iimaster iithe iitechnical, iilanguage iiand iicultural iichallenges iiof iicross-border iioperations

· Reinvent iitalent iipool

The iidiverse iirange iiof iidemands iiand iiimpacts iion iithe iiprofession iiis iiforcing iia iirethink iiof iieverything iifrom iitraining iiand iidevelopment iithrough iito iithe iitype iiof iipeople iibeing iirecruited. iiCharacteristics iisuch iias iientrepreneurial iispirit, iicuriosity, iicreativity iiand iistrategic iithinking iiskills iicould iiassume iifar iimore iisignificance iiin iithe iiselection iiof iitomorrow's iiAccountants. ii

Following ii iicenturies ii iiof ii iiprogressive ii iievolution ii iiof ii iiaccounting ii iiand ii iithe ii iiaccountancy ii iiprofession, iithis ii iipaper ii iisought ii iito ii iiboldly ii iiunderline ii iithe ii iiidentity ii iiof ii iithe ii iiAccountant ii iiby ii iihighlighting ii iithe iiemerging ii iiramifications ii iiof ii iihis ii iiduty iias ii iiwithin ii iithe ii iiperspective ii iiof ii iit iihe ii ii21st-century iiexpectations. iiThe ii ii21st-century ii iiAccountant ii iiis ii iinow ii iia ii iicorporate ii iipathfinder ii iisteering ii iihis ii iiorganization iithrough ii iithe ii iirough ii iiriders ii iitowards ii iiits ii iidestination. ii iiHe ii iiis ii iia ii iistrategic ii iimanager ii iiand ii iithinker. ii iiAs ii iia iiguardian iiof iithe iiorganizations iimodel, iihis iieyes iiare iion iithe iimap ii(the iimodel); iias iithe iiorganization iiproceeds ii iithere ii iiis ii iia ii iiperiodic ii ii"stop-and-check" ii iito ii iiascertain ii iiwhether ii iiit ii iiis ii iistill ii iion ii iicourse ii iiand iipossibly iihow iiclose iior iiotherwise iiit iiis iito iiits iimodel. iiThe iiAccountant iiis iithoroughly iifurnished iiwith iithe ii iianalytical ii iiand ii iitechnological ii iicompetence ii iiwhich ii iienhances ii iihis ii iiinformation ii iidelivery ii iifor iiorganizational iiprogress iiexpediting iidecision iimaking. ii ii iiThe ii ii21st ii iicentury ii iiAccountant, ii iitherefore, ii iimay ii iibe ii iidefined ii iias ii iia ii iitrained ii iiprofessional ii iiwho ii iiis iiequipped