According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) accounting job outlook, “Employment of accountants and auditors is expected to grow by 22 percent between 2008 and 2018.” Whether you’re entering the accounting field or have been a practicing accountant for years, this is good news for you. So how do you add icing to this cake? Staying on top of your professional training, including accounting certifications and the evolution of accounting and finance standards.
Yes, knowing there’s a job waiting for you or having the peace of mind that your career holds a high level of job security is a good thing. But the world moves fast, so as with any job, ensuring you’re an asset to your clients, your employer or your own accounting business means staying competitive and on top of important trends in your profession.
Two trends to watch in 2011 are the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language).
Last November the IFRS Foundation Trustee Harvey Goldschmid gave a speech entitled, “IFRS at a critical crossroad,” at the Financial Executives International (FEI) conference in New York City. Goldschmid began his address to the executives with this frank statement, “”During the past decade – in a remarkable success story – International Financial Reporting Standards have been accepted in more than 100 countries and are now actively under consideration in a dozen more [e.g., China, India and Japan]. The goal of a single set of high-quality global accounting standards has been endorsed by the U.S. government and the G-20. But the next 14 months will be critical in determining whether the goal of a ‘single set of high quality global standards’ will be realized in the lifetimes of most of us in this room.”
The focus on IFRS was echoed in the BLS Outlook, “Individuals who are proficient in accounting and auditing computer software and information systems or have expertise in specialized areas—such as international business, international financial reporting standards, or current legislation—may have an advantage in getting some accounting and auditing jobs.”
Honing in on the computer and information systems BLS mentioned, this tech skill set is playing a larger part in the accounting field as software systems evolve and expand within the international community. The XBRL Advisory Council (XAC), made up of accounting bodies, service integrators, banks, regulators, analysts and accounting firms from around the world, was founded to provide strategic advice related to XBRL activities, including the development and adoption of taxonomies, for the IFRS.
To understand the true impact XBRL is having on the accounting community right here in the U.S., we’ll refer to a recent statement from XBRL International, “An XBRL taxonomy developed by SWIFT, DTCC and XBRL U.S. for corporate actions was also presented during XBRL21 and is projected to save more than $900 million for organizations reporting and receiving billions of corporate actions transactions annually in the U.S. alone.”
Our Regis MBA Assistant Professor and Graduate Accounting faculty member, Kristine Brands, speaks at national accounting conferences on accounting issues and serves on the Institute of Management Accountant’s XBRL Standing Committee. In 2011, she will be bringing you more news and information on the developments within both IFRS and XBRL, so stay tuned.
In the meantime, feel free to read the full speech from Harvey Goldschmid:
http://www.ifrs.org/News/Announcements+and+Speeches/IFRS+Critical+Crossroad.htm
Photo credit: Brian Crouch Photography
