Accountants aren’t superheroes. They don't don skintight uniforms and head out into the night solving crimes – although it would explain why they always look sleep-deprived.
In reality, accountants influence almost every part of modern life. They help businesses survive, charities flourish, governments function and investors make informed decisions. Increasingly, they're at the forefront of issues like climate change, ensuring that organisations are keeping their carbon-neutral pledges – at least we’d hope so, maybe a couple are smudging the numbers a bit.
Most of this good stuff happens behind the scenes, which is probably why accountants don't always reap the rewards. It’s not the sexiest work, so it’s unlikely to get you the plaudits that you so richly deserve.
So, for this week's Briefcase, we thought we'd ask some of our favourite AccountingCPD authors a simple question: How can accountants change the world?
Here are their answers.
Ross Maynard
Firstly, get involved. Accountants have the skills and experience to play an invaluable role in the voluntary groups and charities that are so influential in civil society.
Secondly, drive the green transition. We are moving beyond purely financial transactions to develop the expertise needed to monitor and measure the environmental impacts of the organisations we work in and, therefore, be drivers of their sustainability strategy.
Jim Power
The key challenges facing governments, businesses and individuals are climate change and sustainability, AI adoption and its implications, trust, and ageing populations in many countries. In relation to all of these issues, radical uncertainty is probably the defining characteristic.
Accountants are synonymous with trust. The accountancy profession can and must help governments, businesses and households understand and address the implications of climate change and encourage a focus on sustainability, assist in the ethical and appropriate use of AI in delivering positive outcomes, assist in ensuring businesses and households can deal with inheritance, succession and prudent financial management and planning, and help businesses achieve trust and integrity. The accountancy profession can act as a bulwark for achieving stuff that matters – such as sustainable and responsible business behaviour, achieving financial security, and improving quality of life.
Wayne Bartlett
Accountants need to develop their softer skills more effectively. While preparing and interpreting the numbers correctly remains of paramount importance, being able to relay the message clearly, concisely and accurately is an underrated but vital skill.
Helen Tuddenham
I think accountants can change the world by applying their logic, numerical and analytical skills to measuring not just financial metrics of past performance, but also what will help their organisations fulfil their purpose – for example, environmental, social and governance (ESG), and culture measures.
Lisa Weaver
Accountants can help to change the world for the better, but may not be able to solve the world's biggest problems alone. We have the skills and tools to help drive meaningful and lasting change by helping organisations to measure what truly matters, and we provide the transparency that investors and society increasingly demand. We can bring together sustainability reporting, ethics and professionalism to influence better decisions relating to grand challenges like climate change and social injustice, shaping real change.
John Taylor
All too often, accountants can be seen as obstacles to change because they exercise a lot of control over finances, and use technical jargon and complex standards to obscure rather than reveal. A level of financial sophistry is fairly commonplace to placate management and defer accountability. As the punchline to the balloon joke, which every accountant has heard, has it – the information provided is totally accurate and completely useless.
Accountants occupy a unique and privileged position in the business world, and should not be seen as separate from it by virtue of the role they occupy and the language they use. Accountants are equipped to meet the challenges of the future and to help overcome them in particular by:
- Developing auditable ESG standards and applying rigorous audit processes to them so as to expose "greenwashing” and dubious environmental practices. These have to be easily understood by the public so that businesses become accountable to them (which includes their customers) and not just a handful of techy specialists..
- Challenging financial statements – whether in the form of balance sheets or press releases – without fear or favour. Adhering to the audit and ethical standards on professional scepticism and holding management to account. This may help to cool overhyped markets for shares in tech, and AI-based businesses which don’t make any money while burning up resources. It may even prevent another Enron or Carillion! Combatting corruption and fraud should be a key objective of the profession.
- Supporting and empowering small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to create local jobs and fuel economic growth.
- Redefining the balance sheet to take account of how much human and social capital – trust, equity, and value – a company builds with its community, rather than just extracting from it. What is the direction of travel of the business? Is it a positive or a negative creator?
These require the professional accountant to be a value creator rather than just a reporter. We are more than bean-counters and must demonstrate our value before the business world decides it can get an AI to do the job.
Julia Penny
Accountants can change the world in so many ways!
Firstly, we have a great opportunity to influence our employers and clients to adopt sustainable ways of working. This should help to save the planet. We can already see the impact of climate change in freak weather events like recent heatwaves, which just aren’t so freaky any more, so it’s vital that businesses think about how to continue in a sustainable way – for them and for the planet.
Secondly, even becoming an accountant allows us a window into a world of interesting work. If we can help others become accountants, we can help with the UN SDG "decent work and economic growth” (goal 8). It can help with goal 5, "gender equality” – it’s a pretty good profession for women and those who are non-binary. It can help with goal 9, "industry, innovation and infrastructure”, as accountants are pivotal in the success of companies.
Thirdly, we have a great role to play in turning the world into a more ethical and trustworthy place:
- Our ethical standards and skills help to ensure that the correct amounts of tax are paid. This helps governments to run properly, which helps the country support everyone.
- Our ethical standards help to ensure that businesses make good decisions. While it doesn’t always succeed, as we have clearly seen ethical breaches by business, the more often people in an organisation – and that can be us as the accountants – stand up and say no to unethical practices, the better for everyone.
- Our obligations if we’re in practice (although legal ones, rather than by choice) to carry out due diligence on clients, help to reduce the level of financial crime, or at least make it more difficult for the criminals. This isn’t just about cash though, much of the crime includes people trafficking, modern slavery, forced prostitution and drug running. All of these ruin lives across the world.
Many of us already live in countries where the level of corruption is not too bad and business can generally proceed in an orderly manner. Other countries fare much worse and a quick glance at the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI) tells us that extreme levels of corruption go together with extreme poverty, danger and war – South Sudan, Somalia and Venezuela rank lowest on the index. While we cannot necessarily change this as accountants, to me, it shows how important established systems, with trusted professionals are in an effective economy. So, accountants can and do help to save the world. Be proud of this.
🧠 Final thoughts
Reading these answers, one theme comes up again and again – accountants are no longer just responsible for reporting what happened yesterday. Increasingly, they're helping shape what happens tomorrow.
That might mean encouraging sustainable business, exposing greenwashing, improving trust, supporting local communities or simply helping organisations make better decisions. None of it is quite as glamorous as the films would have you believe, but then you don’t need to be Iron Man to change the world.
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