1、The digital accountant: Digital skills in a transformed world 2020 Association of Chartered Certified Accountants March 2020 About ACCA ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants, offering business- relevant, first-choice qualifications
2、to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management. ACCA supports its 219,000 members and 527,000 students (including affiliates) in 179 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, w
3、ith the skills required by employers. ACCA works through a network of 110 offices and centres and 7,571 Approved Employers worldwide, and 328 approved learning providers who provide high standards of learning and development. Through its public interest remit, ACCA promotes appropriate regulation of
4、 accounting and conducts relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence. ACCA has introduced major innovations to its flagship qualification to ensure its members and future members continue to be the most valued, up to date and sought-after accountancy profess
5、ionals globally. Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. More information is here: The digital accountant: Digital skills in a transformed world About this report This report considers the implications of the d
6、igital quotient, one of the seven quotients defined by ACCA in 2016, in the context of digitalisation of organisations. A lot has been written about digital transformation and how that is important for future organisational growth. In that context, how much should accountancy and finance professiona
7、ls know? What skills do they have and what skills do they need to develop? The insights in this report are based upon interviews and roundtables conducted with ACCA members and other interested parties. The report also draws upon the results of a survey of 4,264 accountancy and finance professionals
8、, including ACCA members, affiliates and students, conducted in November 2019. GeographyActivityAge United Kingdom 488 Russia 260 Malaysia 235 Pakistan 198 Brazil 174 Nigeria 137 Mauritius 125 Ukraine 105 Zimbabwe 105 Other 2,437 Mainly in-practice 32% (such as external audit, attestation, advisory
9、/ consulting, tax) Mainly in-business 68% (such as working in a finance team or providing finance services across the organisation, including internal audit and risk-management functions) 20 and under 47 21 25 625 26 30 920 31 35 849 36 40 693 41 45 495 46 50 296 51 55 165 56 55 101 61 55 39 66 55 1
10、5 71+ 13 4 Foreword The digital agenda is transforming our lives in many ways. The ways in which we both interact and conduct business are radically different from those in the environment of ten, and perhaps even five, years ago. The ability to navigate these transitions is fundamental to continuin
11、g to be successful as accountancy and finance professionals. To ensure that professional accountants are effective, they need to broaden their knowledge base from the application focus that they may traditionally have had, to the understanding of how technology and data create value for organisation
12、s. ACCA members have a clear opportunity to play a significant role in achieving that success. This is a transformative journey: one where the pace of change means that professional accountants need to invest continually in their own development across a broad range of technology areas. This report
13、explores the breadth and depth of these areas. It gives insight into how the combination of traditional accountancy and finance skills, and an ethical approach, together with digital knowledge and business acumen, puts accountancy and finance professionals in the right place to fulfil the potential
14、this opportunity provides. ACCAs Certificate in Digital Innovation for Finance provides one opportunity for members to develop these broader technology skills. The curriculum aligns closely to the drivers discussed in this report and provides a sound basis from which to continue to develop your skil
15、ls. The focus on emerging technologies, future disruptors and digital transformation supports our digital quotient. One thing is certain, digitalisation of our workplaces will continue apace. Either we are part of that journey or we run the risk of being left behind. We need to make sure that, as in
16、dividuals and as professionals, we seize the opportunity. Helen Brand, chief executive, ACCA Contents Executive summary 6 Introduction 7 1. The digital challenge 9 1.1 Why the digital journey matters? 9 1.2 Impact of digital on the workplace 10 1.3 Changing business models 12 1.4 Digital skills are
17、essential 13 2. Defining our digital skills 18 2.1 The digital quotient 19 2.2 Evaluating the digital quotient 22 Existing and emerging technologies 23 Digital capabilities 24 Digital practice 25 Strategy 26 Overall comparison 27 3. The digital future now 28 3.1 Digital is a way of life 29 3.2 Digit
18、al in the business context 29 3.3 The evolving nature of digital in the finance workplace 30 Practical finance integration the digital core 31 Importance of data 32 3.4 Impact of digital skills on those in-practice 33 3.5 Understanding the digital strategy 34 4. Embracing digital becoming a digital
19、citizen 36 4.1 The continuous learning challenge 37 4.2 The challenge of understanding the business 40 4.3 Seizing the developmental opportunities 42 4.4 The importance of the storytelling narrative 43 4.5 The generational divide? 43 4.6 Developing your digital quotient 44 5. Conclusion 47 Appendix
20、1: Definition of ACCA professional quotients 49 Acknowledgements 50 References 51 Glossary 52 6 Executive summary Digital is a way of life. Almost everything, if not everything, that we do involves some form of interaction with technology. Similarly, we leave a data footprint. While this technology
21、is not new, the pace of change that we are encountering is unprecedented. We supplemented this with roundtables and interviews. The results indicate that, as a profession, we are comfortable with older digital technologies, such as the spreadsheet and enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications.
22、 When considering emerging technologies, such as blockchain and the use of coding, though, we are often somewhat lacking in understanding and ambition. Fundamental to all this, however, is being able to speak the language of technology and appreciate how it now drives the business model. If we focus
23、 our digital acumen solely on applications and tools, we ignore the fundamental business dynamic. Our unique technical and ethical perspective that is developed through our qualification and on-going development, applied to a deep understanding of the business model that we learn from on-the-job exp
24、eriences, positions us as professionals in a fast- moving world where commercial advantage is gained in moments not years, and we use our inherent business skills to raise questions and ensure that the organisation is doing the right thing. Successful professionals appreciate the digital landscape,
25、are familiar with existing and emerging technologies and how these deliver strategic advantage. We stay informed in our role. We take time to invest in ourselves and to learn the digital narrative. Taking three minutes a day to invest in our continuous learning and focusing some of this on the digit
26、al landscape and language is clearly beneficial to us. The digital world provides us with an opportunity to engage more with the transformed business model. Opening this skill set provides us with a robust role for the accountancy and finance professional in the future. Grasp the opportunity build t
27、he knowledge. The investment in digital transformation by organisations is substantial. Digital transformation is one of the most frequently heard business phrases of the moment. Organisations are changing their business models to become more customer and data centric. Those who are not grasping thi
28、s face disruption or marginalisation. In 2016, ACCA devised a series of quotients that members and students said represented their opinion about the skills and capabilities that the accountancy and finance professional needs to stay relevant in the coming years. Among these was the digital quotient.
29、 Against the backdrop of fundamental organisational and technological change, this report explores the understanding and relevance of this quotient. Through a survey of over 4,000 accountancy and finance professionals, the quotient was evaluated against a range of indicative digital tools and concep
30、ts. 7 Introduction The conversation around digital technologies is one with which we are all probably familiar. We all live with and ourselves form a part of digital transformation. As accountancy and finance professionals we have a significant opportunity to use our existing skills, and develop our
31、 digital skills, to make us relevant to the world of work now and in the future. In the digitalised tomorrow it will be vital that we have an appreciation of its need. The digital accountant: Digital skills in a transformed world | Introduction Organisations are making a significant investment in di
32、gital technologies, be this in how they deliver their services or how the use of data drives customer responsiveness in different ways. Section 1, The digital challenge, considers how this transformation drives the business model. This provides the context for the digital skills that we need to be e
33、ffective, whether we participate in this from the perspective of those who provide assurance on organisations or of those who participate in the delivery of this transformation. From whichever side you participate, there is no ignoring this impact. Section 2, Defining our digital skills, looks at AC
34、CAs thoughts about the digital skills that we need and how we define the relationship between the digital skills and the other quotients that define our roles as accountants and finance professionals. Our opportunity is to broaden our knowledge of this technology base beyond what constitutes our com
35、fort zone. The opportunity lies in the broader business context. The transformed business model, considered in section 3, The digital future now, provides significant opportunities for the accountancy and finance professional that arise from this transformation and how we need to respond be developi
36、ng digital skills. In each of the five career zones that ACCA has defined, there is a strong underpinning of these evolving digital skills. We cannot afford to ossify our digital skills at those appropriate at a single point in time. The evolution of the profession and the evolution of technology ar
37、e clearly interwoven. Section 4, Embracing digital becoming a digital citizen, considers how clarity of understanding of the business and the on-going acquisition of the relevant digital skills are essential parts of our lifelong learning. These are aspects that we cannot afford to ignore, but maste
38、ring provides us with significant opportunities for developing our careers along whichever path we choose to take. We cannot afford to ossify our digital skills at those appropriate at a single point in time. The evolution of the profession and the evolution of technology are clearly interwoven. 8 1
39、. The digital challenge Whatever role you carry out in the finance function you can make a difference in this technological world. Boundaries are falling away, and opportunities are abundant. The limiting factors are mainly in the mindset of those who are unwilling to be open and embrace the transfo
40、rmation from industrious manual accounting to digital accounting. The mindset and behaviours of many accountants are shaped and conditioned by academic studies, established business practices, workplace colleagues and legacy systems. It is about time we learned to continually question these paradigm
41、s. The current wave of technological change isnt just limited to re- writing the way we use systems, it is addressing the very core of how we approach what we do, how we provide value in a holistic way and the way we transform our function over the next decade will lay the foundation of what differe
42、nce we make to the world, not just the economic value but also the community value. The transformation we are undergoing will, if we participate in an active not passive way, create an environment which optimises our productivity by augmenting what we do with machine power, with the ultimate result
43、that we have more time to ask questions, think conceptually and improve the science of accounting. Sam Ellis, Chair, ACCA Technology Global Forum 9 The digital accountant: Digital skills in a transformed world | 1. The digital challenge 1.1 WHY THE DIGITAL JOURNEY MATTERS? Everything, or nearly ever
44、ything, that we do in both our working lives and our private lives, is supported in some way by a digital activity. The extent of that digital activity is increasing and the balance between the human and the machine is continuing to evolve. As individuals we increasingly demand more from this digita
45、l world. We take advantage of the opportunities that it affords us, and we embrace change almost without noticing. We only need to consider the ways in which we use smart communications in modern society in comparison with the ways in which we interacted 10 or 20 years ago to realise how much that s
46、ilent revolution is a part of us, whether we choose to participate or try to ignore it. As accountancy and finance professionals, we are as much an integral part of this revolution as any other member of society. Two ACCA members interviewed gave their personal perspectives on the importance of digi
47、tal skills to the accountancy and finance professional. Rashika Fernando, director of enterprise project management in ScotiaBank, commented about the digital quotient, It is a container of a number of skill sets and driven by a number of trends. I think as an accounting profession we are a little b
48、ehind. For Paul Wing, a former chair of the ACCA Canada panel and International Assembly member, explained that for him, as a retired Information Technology executive in financial services with 40 years experience, the digital quotient matters because: As finance professionals it is important that w
49、e understand the role of the technology within the business, also that we understand enough of the technology to see how it benefits the business. But then we need to be able to apply the fundamental accounting principles, the fundamentals of the system of internal control, the how to control and audit it. How do you manage the business system and supporting infrastructure technology? How do you know when the systems got a problem and react in a timely way and, importantly ensure it doesnt h
sgpjbg002
工作日 8:30 - 17:30
会员动态：
报告分类
新质生产力
ChatGPT
新能源汽车
大模型
Sora
机器人
微短剧
芯片
薪酬
白皮书
低空经济
数据要素
创新药
人工智能
AI产业
信息科技
互联网
消费经济
汽车交通
电商零售
传媒娱乐
医药健康
投资金融
能源环境
地产建筑
传统产业
英文报告
其它
扫码登录
手机快捷登录
账号登录
