- Lead the future of the accounting profession
Lead the future of the accounting profession
Content Summary
To support this goal, there are three initiatives.
Measure:
Thought leadership overall: business, accounting and finance
2020 actual: 7.00
2021 target: 7.20
2.1 Conduct research on how the CPA designation meets future needs
In November 2018, we co-hosted the World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) 2018 alongside Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
Held every four years, the WCOA is the most significant gathering of the accounting profession and brought the world’s leading accounting and finance experts to Australia. The event attracted close to 6000 delegates, including more than 1000 CPA Australia members. Delegates discussed the major issues affecting the future of the accounting profession and heard from an impressive line-up of keynote speakers.
We signed an agreement with the RMIT College of Business Blockchain Innovation Hub to explore opportunities for collaboration in education and research on blockchain. Blockchain is a major topic of interest that will affect the future of the accounting and audit profession.
Watch INTHEBLACK.com’s award-winning blockchain explainer video.
Our Beijing office hosted The era of transformation – empowering the future: 2019 CPA Australia Economic Trends and Innovation Forum at Dalian Castle Hotel, on 31 May 2019. Topics included digital transformation, market outlook, robotic process automation and artificial intelligence in the profession.
During May 2019, we jointly held an International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) workshop for accounting and finance professionals with the Lao Securities Commission in Vientiane, Laos, to discuss the benefits of adopting IFRS.
Workshops held in Hanoi in August, aimed to support Vietnam’s transition to adopting IFRS 15 Revenue from contracts with customers, and IFRS 16 Leases.
- The Northern Territory office co-hosted an event with the Australian Computer Society, which looked at cryptocurrencies and blockchain, and explored the importance of being aware of the impact that these technologies will have on accounting and finance.
We published a detailed policy statement Business and the environment (PDF, 150KB), setting out the role that accounting can play in formulating environmentally sensitive business and economic policy.
- We hosted the Fintech Symposium in Melbourne, in conjunction with the RMIT College of Business. Attended by academics, students and industry experts, topics included the future of accounting, automation, digital payment solutions, accounting software, blockchain and big data.
Our flagship event was held in 13 locations across 7 countries and involved over 8000 delegates and more than 275 speakers and presenters. The theme for 2019 was Business as Unusual and explored key topics, The Future of Digital Money and Accounting for the Robots.
The CPA Virtual Congress moved to a worldwide online event, in response to COVID-19, and took more than 8,300 registrations. Held over three days, between 10-12 November, the theme was “Taking Care of Business” and reflected the vital role people in the finance and accounting industry play in supporting businesses on the road to recovery.
CPA Virtual Congress 2021 was held 18-20 October and attracted 12,000 attendees from 40 different countries. Guided by the “Leadershift” theme, more than 50 world-class speakers and industry experts discussed the need to change our thinking to ensure businesses and finance recover, grow and succeed into the future.
January 2022 - launched a cyber-security information hub with a range of resources to help accounting and finance professionals take advantage of digital innovation and create a cyber-safe environment. Visit the cyber-security information hub.
2.2 Reflect future needs of profession through innovation and certification pathways
Our member research has shown that future career development is a top priority for members.
We have partnered with Burning Glass Technologies, the world’s leading provider of real-time labour market data, to develop My Career Navigator. Launched in November 2019, My Career Navigator is an online tool to help members understand the skills employers are looking for and to shape their career pathway.
We have developed a new future-fit Capability Framework that acts as a benchmark against which ASA and full members’ competencies are assessed and measured. It demonstrates the high-quality certification that CPA members achieve, particularly in competencies around digital and data.
See 4.4 – My Capability Plan.
Existing financial advisers have additional time to meet the qualification and examination requirements set by the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA).
Existing advisers must complete the FASEA exam by 1 January 2022 (one additional year) and meet FASEA's qualification requirements by 1 January 2026 (two additional years). These changes will not apply to new advisers registered after 1 January 2019.
See 4.1 – Improve CPD offering.
- A new elective subject, Digital Finance, was introduced in Semester 2, 2021. There was a positive uptake, with 866 members enrolling in this subject.
2.3 Review membership pathways for skilled professionals from non-accounting backgrounds
Progress will be reported against this initiative during 2022.