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When people ask me what I do for a living, I wonder what they imagine it involves. Do they think of Professors as people who don’t/can’t practice and accountants as people who do tax returns and read balance sheets? Professors are change agents in their fields and Professors of Accounting have highlighted issues and signalled inevitable developments in accounting and accountability. But misconceptions might explain the derisory comments I’ve heard over the years about the value accounting academics can bring to real world business situations, professional issues and policy development.
Most Professors of Accounting that I know have professional accounting qualifications and have worked as accountants and auditors. Some have been in senior management roles, either within universities or prior to becoming academics, and most have led teams and managed large projects. A number serve on Boards or external committees or advisory groups.
My colleagues have a deep understanding of the influences of accounting, reporting and governance practices on business and society and vice versa. Their PhD and research training bring rigour and credibility to their research findings.
Many engage with practice and practitioners and a few seek to inform policy and engage with regulators. Professors supervise PhD students, prepare and deliver lectures and seminars; it’s essential they keep up with developments in their field. Being professionally trained and experienced at planning their time and managing staff in their former roles, accounting academics, also tend to get involved in course development and university administration. Some professors take on management and leadership roles within universities, success at which requires an adeptness in stakeholder consultation and effective communication.
The opportunities to make real impact, not only on students, but on practice and policy are rewarding. Here are a few examples from 2018.
This year I gave evidence to the Australian Senate Inquiry on how the Australian Government and businesses can help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and made submissions to five consultations/inquiries on corporate reporting and governance. I’ve guided investors in reporting particularly on social impact and the SDGs. I attended a workshop in Scotland with representatives from business, civil society and investors where we discussed how to enhance business and investor responses to the SDGs and provided input to the Support the Goals initiative. In September I delivered the keynote address to the Japan Forum of Business and Society on ‘Strategy and reporting on societal impact and the SDGs’.
Also, in September, AdvanceHE launched a report I wrote on how universities create value for students, staff and broader society. The value of universities is much more than traditional education provision; it's in creating community leaders and providing leadership on global challenges such as those addressed by the SDGs. This value can be expressed alongside financial information in annual reports to give a full picture of what a university is offering to the community it serves.
Committee work with professional bodies, a task force and civil society organisations has provided an opportunity to influence. I was honoured to chair the Stakeholder Council of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The Stakeholder Council is an amazing collection of sustainability experts from a variety of interested constituencies from around the world who provide the GRI Board with strategic recommendations and input to the work of the GRI’s Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB).
These activities in turn inform further research and teaching.
So, like many of my colleagues, I do/can practice accounting as you might know it. I could, but don’t, do tax returns. I can and do read financial statements. But there is much more (accounting) information that business leaders and communities need to have access to. This will be increasingly important and the future generation of accountants we’re helping to shape will need to be able to provide it.
This article was first published on Towards Sustainable Business
