Preparing the future-ready CPA

The breadth & depth system from the CFE could also work well for ESG evaluations - well rounded sustainability practices plus specialization

CPAs are in a unique position to help organizations understand the financial costs and benefits as they apply to all stakeholders.

As CPAs, we need to quantify the upstream and downstream impacts of our organization's activities on all stakeholders. For instance, how does sourcing materials and paying a depressed price for them affect the volatility in that country, and how does that instability impact our global well-being from a financial and social perspective?

Questions on a couple of statements from 'Creating Value' PD

I heard a couple statements on the 'Creating Value' PD session for which I have questions. 1) 'ESG considerations are a key driver of value creation' Question: Is there documented evidence that this is true? 2) ‘Organizations are being called upon to provide a more complete view of enterprise value creation with greater interconnectivity between sustainability and financial performance.’ Question: Who is calling for this and what do they state are the reasons? Also, how are ESG values determined and how are they measured? Who determines what satisfactory results are once the values are determined?

Train other stakeholder identification and impact metrics to extend beyond but integrate with financials. Some design and judgement needed.

Shift focus from tax and compliance to budgeting and predictive/prescriptive advice

Would be nice if the tax code was simplified, and compliance standardised so that software can take care of them, freeing us humans up to looking forward (rather than back) and contribute by adding value to management decisions on budgets and projects.

Could we propose a "commercial currency", alongside government currency (notes and coins), bank currency, and perhaps gold and bitcoin?

During the recession of the 1890's, a store owner, Silvio Gesell (of Wörgl fame) noticed the need for his products had not abated, but customers could not purchase through lack of money. He concluded that products and services were the supply side, and money the demand side of the economy. We now know that recessions, and all the unemployment, bankruptcies, and suffering, are caused by credit contraction to main street (we can of course still have financial asset inflation). We proposed another current asset type to accommodate settlement of payables/receivables without the need for a line of credit. Let's call this account "commercial currency", alongside bank, petty cash, receivables, inventory, and other current assets. Nothing changes regarding extension of credit to business partners, but payments are done directly between trading partners, without the need to transfer balances at 3rd party corporations called banks (who have nothing to do with the transaction). Amounts are simply settled through EDI, REST, etc., and both ledgers updated to show the payment in commercial currency at the nominal amounts. Two questions arise of course, namely 1) valuation, and 2) trust (and reconciliation). 1) As we re-evaluate inventory, receivables, and other assets on acquisition or termination we would also adjust the "commercial currency" account. 2) One benefit of banks is the trusted 3rd party. A substitution could be a "triple-entry" blockchain that reconciles accounts in realtime between business partners while maintaining privacy. In this way, both partners see the exact same entries, not two sets of accounts. (but of course, it does have to be a blockchain; an EDI VAN could suffice for eg.) The glaring benefit of this "commercial currency" account is a reduction in financing charges (and risk of coverage), and thus also resistance to recessions. Thank you

Learn how to learn.

Learn a new subject or topic within 20 hours or less; such that you can have a broad and generic conversation and go into a reasonable depth of that subject matter.

see the big picture

be a leader in your organization, think outside the box and don't stop learning. AI will replace data entry/junior skill level. Your power is applying judgement and developing solutions to increase efficiency and effectiveness of operations, not accounting transactions.

Agility

Things can change pretty quickly -- as we saw at all levels of organizations with Covid 19. CPAs at all levels are required to assist in that change. At the staff level, they needed to react quickly to tasks assigned to them by superiors; at the VP/Exec level, they needed to lead change for organizations that were facing cash constraints, operational issues, etc. At the Board level, CPA insight was very much needed to focus organizations through challenging times. Agility is required for today's CPAs

Non-CPA firm experience

A large percentage of students don't remain at CPA firms for their careers. Incorporating some training/experience from the view of the client in the CPA path may better inform students/young CPA's in their career path choices.