professional accounting experts tri cities

professional accounting experts tri cities

The Role of Professional Accounting Experts in the Tri-Cities Region

1. Introduction to Professional Accounting

Without a doubt, the “image” of accountants has changed during the last 50 years. A successful accountant today may or may not wear a starched collar, but he is just as likely to be working with a computer. To be properly called an “accountant,” one must usually have completed four full years of college and have passed a very tough examination. To be a practicing accountant in Washington, three years of practical experience under a licensed accountant is also required. In Canada (with the exception of Quebec), a “Chartered Accountant” is required to have a university degree coupled with three years of practical experience, a term of pupillage, and successfully completed the professional program of the Canadian Institute.

In addition to the demanding educational requirements, the professional “accountant” is also dedicated to certain ethical and professional standards. Today, these standards are being written more after many years of an unwritten code. For example, accountants have always been around (the Bible says “ye cannot serve God and mammon”), but the concept of an independent auditor in the stockholders’ reports is a recent post-World War I development. After the stock market crash of 1929 (with the false assurance of the “blue ribbons” in the statements of the companies who were selling stocks), a sweeping new idea was developed—a single body should “regulate” the accountants, and it was agreed that the profession should do it themselves or the service would be imposed on them by society as a whole. That body in the USA is the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Just as society organizes itself, it has adopted a written Constitution and various bylaws turning various parts of the Constitution into reality. The Committee on Auditing Procedure is one of those success stories.

2. Importance of Accounting in Business Operations

In general terms, the practice of accounting consists of the measuring and communication of financial information necessary to make an informed decision. Its value is increased through the process of measuring, working with, interpreting, and reporting this information. While this has an external focus (shareholders, creditors, government), the internal focus relates to information needed by management to ensure the efficient operation of a business. The combination of external and internal demands creates a complex and valuable service.

In order to facilitate the increasing demands requiring the need to educate and retain professional accounting experts in the Tri-Cities area, members of the Tri-Cities Branch of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia have begun consultations to identify and address these demands and to maintain our economy’s international competitiveness. We have concluded that a clear understanding of the nature and importance of the role of professional accountants by the general public, educators, and government is an essential starting point for meaningful consultations. The following key areas were identified as justifying and confirming the need for better local involvement.

As Sam Ally believed, by regular contact with external professional accounting experts, accounting faculty members are engaged with accounting practice and, through them, their accounting students are well served. This may have been an important factor in the growth of the professional accounting community, a growth which has increased the number of professional accounting experts available in the profession and in our area. With the growth of community colleges in recent years, an improved balance seems to be emerging for the public practice segment, and in particular for “small business” and “not for profit” business segments of the market. Not enough accounting graduates, however, appear to be following a traditional career in industry. Indeed, whether they graduated provincially or externally, about one-third of the accounting graduates do not follow this career path.

3. Key Skills and Qualifications for Accounting Experts

Accounting experts are critical to industries in the Tri-Cities, and accounting roles are found across businesses, government, and non-profits. Accounting experts require a certain level of qualifications and skills to prudently represent the interests of the stakeholders in these different organizations. The key skills and qualifications required for accounting experts are briefly described in the balance of this section and also in the sections “Introduction of Accounting Experts in Tri-Cities organizations” and “Opportunities in the Tri-Cities Region for Accounting Experts”.

Key technical accounting and auditing skills required for accounting experts are defined by organizations through the standardized Bodies of Knowledge and follow the guidelines and quality control set by Self-Regulated Professional Accounting and Auditing Associations like the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (CPA) and the Public Accountants Council of Ontario. Traditional accounting experts require foundational accounting and business education, which is normally obtained in a post-secondary program leading to a degree or certificate in chartered professional accounting, a business degree, or a college degree in a business administration or accounting related subject. Information and communication technology experience is also important and can be obtained in the college as well as universities. Dictionary definitions of economic and finance-related terms are important since the accounting process requires two-sided transactions and both assets and liabilities are valued. Financial accounting involves the preparation and presentation of financial statements, controls, and financial statements to guide economic agents on decisions, progress, and performance measurement. For financial accounting, professional commanded information skills are also very important to design, validate, and articulate accounting information, estimates, and assumptions about the financial statements and related disclosures.

4. Ethical Standards and Regulations in Accounting Practice

Professional accountants are bound by the same laws and codes that restrict business activity in general, as well as those which are specific to their occupation. In addition to the wide variety of laws that must be obeyed by all businesses, the accounting profession also has certain unique ethical guidelines that its members must abide by. The main principle of the accountant’s code of conduct is objectivity, which demands that accounting professionals remain detached from a financial situation they are analyzing in order to ensure that they reach a neutral assessment. This means that an accounting expert is obliged to reject an assignment that could potentially result in certain advocacy of particular financial statements or non-credited advised services. Independence from the client ensures other professional opinions are removed from the expert’s outcomes.

Reliability is another extremely important rule that specialists have to closely adhere to. Accountant’s reports are judged according to these standards, and it is the client’s satisfaction that is at stake if this rule is not respected. Only if the client is able to trust what the accountant says, they will be able to act upon it. Therefore, when an accountant makes a statement, they must guarantee accuracy and fairness. This is achieved by adhering to operational standards of competence, continuing education, and expert experience in executing tasks. Aspects of confidentiality and sensitivity are also essential. Upon hiring an accountant, a client must be confident that the details of their financial situation are not publicly disclosed, and in fact are kept undisclosed to any third party in agreement with ethical guidelines.

5. Impact of Technology on the Accounting Profession

Historically, accounting services and advice have been highly dependent on human interaction. Accountants at all levels have been able to generate revenue from the tasks and functions of bookkeeping, financial analysis, tax preparation, auditing, and consulting based on their direct oversight of fiscal information. However, advancements in technology, software systems, and online intranets have impacted efficiency and delivery channels for accounting services, causing firms to re-evaluate staffing needs and education requirements for entering the profession. I have observed firms investing in specialized customer-training programs and re-evaluating professional staff and even proportional mixes of professional versus support staff.

Online customer invoicing, electronic funds transfers, and virtual board and committee meetings have eschewed the traditional levels of accounting support services and consulting. Professional accountants, particularly within the small and private accounting firms, face rapidly evolving challenges. Although the technology challenges may have different impacts on audit, tax, consulting, and accounting, it is my view that these changes will continue to transform the face of the industry and open new opportunities for creative accountants, those who can adapt to rapid technology changes and complex customer transactions.