Take a Look at the Future
Source: CPA Success
The following includes experts, reproduced with permission, from a blog entry by Tom Hood.
What is over the horizon? What are the trends and issues that will have an impact on the CPA profession as a whole?
What if we crowd-sourced the answers to all of us? That is what CPA Horizons 2025 is about. High-tech surveys, high touch, randomly selected members for in-person future forums and focus groups, getting to the answer of what our vision is for the CPA profession in 2025.
One of my career highlights was being a volunteer on the first CPA Vision Project, where we worked on a vision for the year 2011. We got almost 3,500 CPAs in future forums along with students, regulators, and thought leaders to help come up with a vision, a purpose, core values, core competencies, and core services. The top five issues facing CPAs came out as follows:
- The future success of the CPA profession relies a great deal upon public perceptions of CPAs' abilities and roles.
- CPAs must become market-driven and not dependent upon regulations to keep them in business.
- The market demands less audit and accounting and more value-adding consulting services.
- Specialization is critical for the future of the CPA profession.
- The marketplace demands that CPAs be conversant in global business practices and strategies.
Well, it is 2011 and time to renew that vision.
The AICPA has some great resources. Start by scanning the research and background assembled from its work with several “futurists” and published reports about the world in 2025. The Global Forces video put together by the AICPA video team is a must see! Then take the survey and join the conversation to help create the vision for 2025.
For the complete article, read “What's over the horizon for the CPA profession?”
From CPA Success, the blog of the Maryland Association of CPAs, www.cpasuccess.com, March 28, 2011.