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Accounting: An Emerging Business Partner

Received: 7 December 2014     Accepted: 26 December 2014     Published: 1 February 2015
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Abstract

The financial services professions, and accounting in particular, are undergoing a radical transformation from a historical role of financial gatekeeper to one of strategic business partner. An industry-wide disruption is ongoing, spearheaded by a variety of factors, some of which are industry specific, while others are more broadly based. Technology, specifically real time analytics and the proliferation of what is colloquially known as Big Data, places a tremendous demand on organizations to interpret and synthesize quantitative information into the business decision making process more rapidly than in the past. In addition to these advances in technology and consumer expectations, there are several mega-trends that are creating new opportunities for finance and accounting professionals to move upward along the organizational value chain. Corporate governance, stakeholder engagement and theory, as well as the over-arching trends of sustainability and eco-friendly business models have created an increasingly dynamic and complex environment. In such an environment, managerial decision makers must be able to understand, interpret, and effectively address the requirements and concerns of a wide variety of external partners. Accounting professionals appear to be well positioned to seize on these trends and business opportunities. This research reviews the existing literature on these separate fields and links them together to create an academically valid argument for a more integrated accounting function. In essence, accounting, and the information and analytic capabilities created by the accounting function, seems to be shifting to the role of strategic business decision maker. With relationships pertaining to virtually every business function, as well as existing expertise in quantifying qualitative information, designing metrics and KPIs, and reporting information to management, accountants link market forces to business decisions that move organizations forward.

Published in Journal of Finance and Accounting (Volume 2, Issue 6-2)

This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Trends in Finance and Accounting

DOI 10.11648/j.jfa.s.2014020602.12
Page(s) 6-10
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Strategic Accounting, Finance, Corporate Governance, Strategy, CPAs, Sustainability, Stakeholder Theory

References
[1] Starbuck, W. H. (2014). Why corporate governance deserves serious and creative thought. Academy of Management Perspectives, 28(1), 15–21. doi:10.5465/amp.2013.0109
[2] Bell, R., Filatotchev, I., & Aguilera, R. V. (2014). Corporate governance and investors’ perceptions of foreign IPO value: An institutional perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 57(1), 301–320. doi:10.5465/amj.2011.0146
[3] Smith, S. (2014). The expanding role of CPAs in a changing business environment. CPA Journal, 84(6), 13-14. Print.
[4] Alimehmeti, G., & Paletta, A. (2014). Corporate governance indexes: The confounding effects of using different measures. Journal of Applied Economics & Business Research, 4(1), 64–79.Retrieved from http://www.aebrjournal.org/uploads/6/6/2/2/6622240/joaebrmarch2014_64_79.pdf
[5] Klettner, A., Clarke, T., & Boersma, M. (2014). The governance of corporate sustainability: Empirical insights into the development, leadership and implementation of responsible business strategy. Journal of Business Ethics, 122(1), 145–165. doi:10.1007/s10551-013-1750-y
[6] Roth, H. P. (2014, March). Is integrated reporting in the future? CPA Journal, 62–67. Print.
[7] Simpson, S., Fischer, B. D., & Rhode, M. (2013). The conscious capitalism philosophy pay off: A qualitative and financial analysis of conscious capitalism corporations. Journal of Leadership, Accountability & Ethics, 10(4), 19–29. Retrieved from http://www.na-businesspress.com/jlae/simpsons_web10_4_.pdf
[8] Hughen, L., Lulseged, A., & Upton, D. R. (2014). Improving stakeholder value through sustainability and integrated reporting. CPA Journal, 57-61. Print.
[9] Jeffers, A. E., Lin, B., Romero, S., & DeGaetano, L. A. (2014, March). Is it time for companies to capitalize on sustainability? CPA Journal, 6–10. Print.
[10] Eccles, R. G., Krzus, M. P., Rogers, J., & Serafeim, G. (2012). The need for sector-specific materiality and sustainability reporting standards. Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 24(2), 65. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6622.2012.00380.x
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Sean Stein Smith. (2015). Accounting: An Emerging Business Partner. Journal of Finance and Accounting, 2(6-2), 6-10. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfa.s.2014020602.12

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    ACS Style

    Sean Stein Smith. Accounting: An Emerging Business Partner. J. Finance Account. 2015, 2(6-2), 6-10. doi: 10.11648/j.jfa.s.2014020602.12

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    AMA Style

    Sean Stein Smith. Accounting: An Emerging Business Partner. J Finance Account. 2015;2(6-2):6-10. doi: 10.11648/j.jfa.s.2014020602.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jfa.s.2014020602.12,
      author = {Sean Stein Smith},
      title = {Accounting: An Emerging Business Partner},
      journal = {Journal of Finance and Accounting},
      volume = {2},
      number = {6-2},
      pages = {6-10},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jfa.s.2014020602.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfa.s.2014020602.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jfa.s.2014020602.12},
      abstract = {The financial services professions, and accounting in particular, are undergoing a radical transformation from a historical role of financial gatekeeper to one of strategic business partner. An industry-wide disruption is ongoing, spearheaded by a variety of factors, some of which are industry specific, while others are more broadly based. Technology, specifically real time analytics and the proliferation of what is colloquially known as Big Data, places a tremendous demand on organizations to interpret and synthesize quantitative information into the business decision making process more rapidly than in the past. In addition to these advances in technology and consumer expectations, there are several mega-trends that are creating new opportunities for finance and accounting professionals to move upward along the organizational value chain. Corporate governance, stakeholder engagement and theory, as well as the over-arching trends of sustainability and eco-friendly business models have created an increasingly dynamic and complex environment. In such an environment, managerial decision makers must be able to understand, interpret, and effectively address the requirements and concerns of a wide variety of external partners. Accounting professionals appear to be well positioned to seize on these trends and business opportunities. This research reviews the existing literature on these separate fields and links them together to create an academically valid argument for a more integrated accounting function. In essence, accounting, and the information and analytic capabilities created by the accounting function, seems to be shifting to the role of strategic business decision maker. With relationships pertaining to virtually every business function, as well as existing expertise in quantifying qualitative information, designing metrics and KPIs, and reporting information to management, accountants link market forces to business decisions that move organizations forward.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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Author Information
  • Department of Taxation, Accounting, and Law, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, New Jersey

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