Volume 10, Number 1, June 2015
| Accounting: Evolving For an Integrated Future |
Abstract
This literature review and analysis examines the current state of the accounting profession as well several themes situated to redefine how the accounting profession interacts with both organizations as well as external partners. As the business environment evolves and changes, reflecting the increasing globalization of business as well as the changing demands and requirements of stakeholder groups, the accounting professions must evolve and develop alongside businesses. Mega-trends such as sustainability, corporate governance, and stakeholder reporting have created an increasingly dynamic, interactive, and fluid business eco-system that requires both a new model for business practices and accounting procedures. 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.
Keywords: Sustainability, CPAs, Corporate Governance, Stakeholder Theory, Analytics, Integrated Reporting
JEL Classification: Q56, G34