ACCA Identifies Top Drivers of Change and sets out 'Magnificent Seven' Attributes Vital to Success in Modern Business

SINGAPORE, June 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- An optimum blend of skills, experience and intelligence are now needed by professional accountants, finds an in-depth global research project from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).

This becomes all the more pertinent as key drivers of change such as regulation and governance, digital technologies, expanding expectations of accountants and globalisation will cause the accounting landscape to evolve rapidly.

Particularly, 55 per cent of over 2,000 professional accountants and C-suite executives across the globe expect the development of intelligent automated accounting systems to have the greatest impact on this change over the next three to ten years. Moreover, respondents also predicted that the rate of change and economic volatility (42 per cent), greater harmonisation of accounting and business standards (42 per cent) and the adoption of cloud computing by business (41 per cent) would be game changers for the industry.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Helen Brand OBE, ACCA's chief executive said:

"The role of the accountant has been revolutionised over the last decade, to become leaders, trusted expert counsel and key strategic advisers to organisations whether in the public or private sectors."

"With this metamorphosis comes a requirement for a whole new set of skills. On top of technical excellence, finance professionals now require creativity, emotional intelligence and the vision to lead."

After thorough consultations with over 2,000 business and finance professionals around the world, The Future of the Profession is the most in depth analysis of the profession -- and where it is headed -- ever conducted says Helen Brand:

"We discovered a brave new world of more regulation, greater globalisation, ever increasing risk, and of course, massive technological advancement. The accountancy profession has to be ahead of the curve on all fronts - trained to the highest of professional standards, looking beyond the numbers and with a global mind set."

To define what the 2016 finance professional must look like, ACCA has developed a set of seven Professional Quotients -- a mix of technical knowledge, skills and abilities formed with interpersonal behaviours and qualities.

• Technical and ethical competencies (TQ): The skills and abilities to perform activities consistently to a defined standard. Often based on a professional qualification.
• Intelligence (IQ): The ability to acquire and use knowledge: thinking, reasoning and solving problems.
• Creative intelligence (CQ): The ability to use existing knowledge in a new situation, to make connections, explore potential outcomes, and generate new ideas.
• Digital quotient (DQ): The awareness and application of existing and emerging digital technologies, capabilities, practices, strategies and culture.
• Emotional intelligence (EQ): The ability to identify your own emotions and those of others, harness and apply them to tasks, and regulate and manage them.
• Vision (VQ): The ability to predict future trends accurately by extrapolating existing trends and facts, and filling the gaps by thinking innovatively. 
• Experience (XQ): The ability and skills to understand customer expectations, meet desired outcomes and create value.

According to Helen Brand, her message to current and aspiring accountants is that a blend of all these attributes makes the perfect finance professional, ready for the global business challenges they will face:

"These 'magnificent seven' strengths show the way ahead. They are the means by which accountants use their technical knowledge, skills and abilities blended with the interpersonal behaviours and qualities to put them to use."

"Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. The key is to recognise where you excel and where you need to work to build your competency through the continuous professional development which professional accountants already know so well."

Key findings to the report can be found here.

For media enquiries, contact:

Cheryl Meyer 
ACCA Singapore 
Assistant Manager, Employer Communications  
Tel: +65 6637 8173  
Email: cheryl.meyer@accaglobal.com

Jeffrey Wong / Vylvianne Devajothi 
The Hoffman Agency Singapore 
Tel: +65 6361 0250 
Email: ACCA@hoffman.com

Shermeen Ching 
ACCA Singapore 
Head of Marketing
Tel: +65 6637 9197  
Email: shermeen.ching@accaglobal.com

Notes to Editors

About ACCA

ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. It offers business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.

ACCA supports its 178,000 members and 455,000 students in 181 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. ACCA works through a network of 95 offices and centres and more than 7,110 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through its public interest remit, ACCA promotes appropriate regulation of accounting and conducts relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.

Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. It believes that accountants bring value to economies in all stages of development and seek to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of global standards. ACCA's core values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and it ensures that through its range of qualifications, it prepares accountants for business. ACCA seeks to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers, innovating its qualifications and delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers. More information is here: www.accaglobal.com

ACCA in ASEAN

In ASEAN, ACCA leads and supports the profession with over 20,000 members and 77,600 students and affiliates across the 10 ASEAN countries. ACCA national offices in the ASEAN region include Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Indonesia. In addition, an Emerging Markets Team (EMA) based in Singapore provides support to members in other countries including the Philippines, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam.