by
Jessica E. McClain
| May 03, 2022
There has been a seismic shift in the role of accountants; they
now need to have broader knowledge and expertise beyond
the traditional financial competencies. Gone are the days of
accountants only reporting on historical financial information.
Now they must navigate the complexity of today’s business
landscape of regulatory changes, client needs, technological
advancements, employee expectations, investor interests and
customer demands. Today’s accountants need to continuously
adapt, evolve and improve to keep up with business’ accelerated
pace of change. Continuing education is a tool accounting
professionals can equip themselves with to
build a future-ready career. CPAs should not
view continuing education as a check-the-box
compliance requirement but as a critical
component of their professional development
toolkit to make them more informed, engaged,
strategic and value-driven professionals.
Evolution of the Accountant’s Role
Today’s clients view accountants as business
partners who provide strategic guidance
in navigating complex business problems.
Clients are experiencing a broad spectrum of challenges and risks, including increased scrutiny from
regulators and investors; the pandemic’s impact on the supply
chain; environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues; and
cybersecurity. Additionally, revenue recognition, leases and
goodwill impairment are just some of the recent accounting
standard updates organizations have implemented. Accountants
must remain abreast of these challenges, risks and changes
and understand the resulting impact on their organizations
and clients. The Financial Accounting Standards Board, the
Association of International Certified Professional Accountants,
accounting firms and state accounting societies offer free and
low-cost training that provides timely guidance and resources
to navigate these ever-evolving changes organizations and
clients face.
Digital Disruption
Another vital topic for CPAs to remain informed
about is cybersecurity, especially in today’s hybrid
work environment. Furthermore, digital disruption
exploded because of the pandemic. This disruption
has completely changed how many accounting
firms and their clients and accounting functions
operate. Thus, the need to improve one’s digital competency is crucial. CPAs can now immerse themselves in a
wide range of technology-related topics to increase future-ready
competencies. Learning higher-level skills such as robotics
process automation, data analytics and business intelligence
can help accountants perform better professionally, enhance
client service and help their accounting function operate
efficiently and effectively.
Change Your Career Trajectory
Continuing education can help with exploring new career
opportunities and career transitions. For example, the explosion
of ESG has created new career opportunities for accounting
professionals, including ESG reporting, investing and assurance
services. In recent years, another specialty area that has grown
is nonprofit accounting. There is a plethora of conferences
and webinars that provide up-to-date information on trends,
challenges and legislation focused on specific industries.
Human Skills in the Post-COVID-19 Workplace
The pandemic has reshaped the definition of leadership. It
showed that employees could be resilient, agile and thrive in
the face of uncertainty. Additionally, the pandemic created the need for even certified and experienced accounting professionals
to strengthen these skills to navigate the emotional and
personal impact of the pandemic on employees. To succeed
in this new world of work and build high-performing teams,
skills such as critical thinking, collaboration and creativity will
be needed. Training and webinars on managing hybrid teams,
communication, leadership, and diversity, equity and inclusion
can help accounting professionals improve their human skills
in this new era of work.
It is essential for accountants to be continuous learners and
intentionally devote time to learning as part of their professional
development journey. Continuing education is critical to
professional success, and with the many flexible options available,
accountants can easily make continuing education a part of
their professional development toolkit.
Jessica McClain, CPA, CISA, PMP, CITP, CGFM, is the
chief financial officer at Girl Scouts of Nation’s Capital
and can be reached at jessica.e.mcclain@outlook.com.
This article appears in the spring 2022 issue of the Washington CPA magazine. Read more here.
Reprinted with permission of the New Jersey Society of
CPAs, njcpa.org