Accounting profession: new scrutiny

¶ … Accounting Profession: New Scrutiny and Responsibilities

While many people treat the accounting profession as something which lacks glamour and prestige, ordinary civilians often don't realize how crucial the accounting profession is to the world at large. The accounting departments in major firms are often what provides a foundation for most companies to be able to do what they do and accomplish tasks as needed. Accountants are the ones who are able to keep track of all the finances that are going out vs. what is coming in. Given the "new normal" in the world of corporate finance in light of the more recent corporate scandals, the work that accountants do have a greater level of importance. Accountants are now under greater scrutiny and have greater levels of responsibility: the accounting departments in major firms are now seen as ethical watch-dogs.

The skills and knowledge required in being an accountant are extensive. Aside from tax preparation and auditing services, accountants are also responsible for offering sage advice to firms and even government organizations. "Internal accountants create processes to find and eliminate waste and fraud. Management accountants record and analyze financial information. Government accountants -- at the federal, state or local level -- maintain records of government agencies and audit private businesses or individuals whose activities fall under government regulation or taxation" (usnews.com, 2014). Thus, because there has been such a rapid evolution of technology and comparable forms of gadgets, accountants now take the role of trusted business advisors (usnews.com, 2014). The business advisory role has become even more aggravated in this day and age as accountants are now seen as individuals who have to engage in a more regulatory/watchdog role, and become better acquainted with the signs of corporate scandal.

The face of the accounting profession has thus changed in the last 15 years as a result of the devastation wreaked by corporate scandals all over America, and the sheer deterioration that they have had on the economy. Accountants now have the pressure of becoming better acquainted with the signs of corporate scandal and must know what to look for if moral meltdowns are occurring. The pressure to be purveyors of ethics is more aggravated than ever. "Most of the recent sordid stories of corporate scandals involve senior management and CFOs that have manipulated the books to make their companies appear more profitable. The independence of outside CPAs becomes compromised when management places pressure on them to accept such representations at face value. CPAs should not allow these pressures to blur the line of ethical, legal, and moral standards. A respected leading practitioner in the industry for decades, the CPA must remain above reproach and maintain an impeccable standard of credibility" (Einhorn, 2003). Thus, in the newest day and age, the pressure to maintain strong ethical boundaries is more important than ever. The accountant has to be the one with the backbone of steel who does not succumb to the pressure put on him by these larger than life CEOs. Many CEOs of companies (at least before the scandals of the past 14 years) believed that something was only illegal if you got caught (Balassone, 2014). CPAs have the pressure to maintain factual qualities and reason. While this might sound simple, many of the scandals of the dot-com era were founded in inflated projections and were signed off on by accountants who should have had enough professionalism to stand up to these business people.

Thus, one aspect of the changing face of the accounting profession is that there is significantly more pressure on accountants to establish a more moral and ethical face of the business world, making this the standard. Accountants have to be the people who are able to bridge a balance between being optimistic and being realistic and to be able to project honest and accurate information about shareholders and other interested people. The days when CPAs would be forced to sign off on inflated projections of companies are over: CPAs are being pressured now more than ever to have the courage to sign off only on projections that they feel are valid. Sloppiness or a fear of rocking the boat with professional relationships simply isn't seen as acceptable anymore. The rule of being factual and reasonable is primal in the field of accounting in this day and age.

Becoming a CPA is not a simple process. However, the rigor involved in becoming a CPA is absolutely essential in order to empower these professionals to work with accuracy in the field. CPAs must have a bachelor's degree, a range of semester units in accounting-related subjects, another range of completed courses in business-related subjects, around 150-225 unites of education total, and they must pass the uniform CPA exam. CPAs also need to be able to pass the professional ethics exam for CPAs and then have to work for a solid year in the field of general accounting with the guidance of a more experienced CPA with an active license.