Challenges for the Accountants in Global Market-Free-Samples

Question: Discuss about the Challenges of Accounting in Global Organizations. Answer: Introduction The accountingfield has been experiencing a drastic changes presently. It is believe by many critics that Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) standards are obsolete. Global accounting is the accounting field that is becoming more important rapidly in a location where the companies have international locations all over the world. Companies dealing with finance faces several challenges when trying to adaptwith the required accounting principles that are ununiformed across the world. Global accounting is a field that is developing to address these issues (Chenhall Moers, 2015). The practices of accounting are implicated deeply in the present financial crisis and in proposals for recapitalization of the financial institutions and stability of restoration of the global financial system. This essay will discuss the theoretical and methodological gaps in the research of accounting that explains the failure for the anticipation of the crisis and limit the ability to respond and analyse to it. Objective The accounting practice in the twenty first century is no longer a traditional bean counting, but now has to become a hybrid accountant within the organization. They are at present facing intense challenges and are expected to adapt with rapid environmental changes of the business. The organisations demand for accountants who are more proactive, who are now expecting to become part of the management and is prepared to accept the issues and challenges that are forthcoming (Gunarathne Lee, 2015). The purpose of this report is to highlight issues faced by the modern global accountants in adapting with the on organizational and environmental factors, which are the chief contributor to the vital issues that the accountants are facing at present. Scope The constant changes in the organizational environment impact the changes in practices of accounting. The advancement of the accounting practice has drastically altered the profession of Accounting. The conceptual framework that was established by the IFRS to show how the task and role of accountants is impacted by the features drive to the change both organizational and environmental factors. The vast evolution of the profession of accounting is due to both organizational and environmental factors. External factors includes the forces outside the organization like the environmental factors like the globalization, market competition and information technology advancements that leads to the changes in organizations activities. It also represents the techniques of the operations and management that would enable the accountants to survive and succeed in adapting to the changes in their environment (McFarlin Sweeney, 2014). On the other hand there are the internal factors that is direct ly influenced by the organization to change, which is known as organizational factors, these includes the style of management, activities that are customer-oriented and change in the pattern of work. Both the factors have direct and indirect impact on the changes in roles and tasks of the global accountants within the organization. Therefore, both organizational and environmental factors are proposed by this study as major contributors to isuess that the accountants are facing in the recent years. Literature Review As said by Guthrie Parker (2016), it is a known fact that in the present global marketthere is a constant change in the techniques and procedures of the accountants at a great speed and the faster it is accepted and realized by the organizations and the business groups it will be better for them to increase their operational efficiency. The accounting and professional services profession changing, standing and reorganizing in front of many challenges of the modern world. The discussion deals with the various critical reviews and articles of the renowned authors and the feedback of the various accountants about the factors that believe have the greatest impact over their job and the technique in determining the modern successful accounting practices and how they are distinguished them from the rest of the factors (Hiebl, et.al., 2015). In this context, Firstly, it can be said that the technological revolution is taking over and defining every single aspect of the modern world and economy. The new trends in the technology and the accounting software that specialized and is not considered as just a useful tool for calculation anymore, but it is seen as an integral part of the accounting profession. As the speed of information increases, the demands for a timelier, information that up-to-date has increased. The modern technology has automated many accounting functions and in many cases has eliminated the layers of staff of the accountants that were once used to complete complex tasks. The financial Transactions in the business can now be done with fewer steps and with the involvement of fewer people involved. However, Otley (2016) has argued with the fact and has said that While this has greatly increased efficiency, it also has made it difficult to keep important duties segregated. This can compromise internal contro ls and increase the risk of fraud. New safeguards have to be developed and included in tomorrows technology. It is possible to increase efficiency in such a way that maintains internal controls. Therefore according to his statement it can be said that the accounting development has both pros and cons in the business environment. Next, the discussion states the one idea that is firmly believedby many scholars and they have agreed to it that the business firms need to adapt and succeed in therecent change accounting and finance environments. The professionals now needa more wide range of skills that ever before. This goes for the all level practitioners and the concept implies that two very important considerations are to be taken in hand by them. As Simionescu Bica, (2016) has said the First consideration is the accountants need to communicate more effectively and efficiently with one another and also with its stakeholders and clients. The technology revolution does not eliminates the need of a regular communication but on the contrary as Fullerton Kennedy Widener (2014) has pointed out it makes it even more necessary and vital for maintaining the high level and avoiding unforced errors and misunderstandings. Another vital skill of the today successful accountant is thegrowth of constant needfor making the a ccounting process to be more analytical. The accountants must not only be able to not only produce financial reports and perform complex calculations, but also identify and explain what is meaningful in their data or findings. They need to be able to answer the questions such as the reason and the next alternative action that is to be taken in the transactions. Adaptability is a crucial skill and feature that an accountant must possess in the todays conditions of globalization. However, Taleb, Gibson Hovey (2015) has added and thattalent itself today is absolutely not enough it should be a global talent. It means that the global talent helps professionals to work equally well with a middle sized client from their own country and a big corporation from another continent. The knowing and applying of the international accounting standards together with the right global skills and experience of the professionals makes the accounting today a truly international and comprehensive servic e which can be performed from a distance for the purposes of cost savings or any other considerations that a company may have. The standardization of the accounting contributes to the increasing of the quality of the professionals with the right skills. If a practice is looking to hire for example a payroll expert, it will not be now choosing among applicants from the same country but from the continent or from the entire globe which was absolutely unthinkable only few years ago. The need for professionals with the right skills, regardless where they are located, drives more and more companies to seek talent globally. The last point in this regard as someone has said, about the ethics in the profession of accounting which has been a morenecessary factor in the recent times. This highlights the importance that accountants must attach to ethics. Someone has highlighted in this regurd by saying that It is imperative that accountants and auditors strictly follow sound ethical principles. Failure to do so can ruin careers, firms and corporations and severely damage the reputation of the accounting profession as a whole. The guidelines for ethicsmust be incorporated into all types of accounting training that includes both in-house training and formal continuing education, as well as university curriculum. As said by Howieson (2014) The accountants of today and tomorrow must adhere to the highest ethical standards for the good of their career, their firms and the profession as a whole. According to the research conducted by the IFAC SMP Committee that represented about twenty accountancy organizations from all over the world, they have recognized many of the same issues of accounting when they highlighted the four major challenges that they went across in the global finance and accounting profession. The researchers De Lange, Jackling, Suwardy (2015) has told that the major factors that are the primary issues in the accounting practices at present are the 4Ts that are: Talent - The accounting profession is facing an intense war for talent that is further complicated by a disengaged and overwhelmed workforce. The severe talent shortage in the global finance market that would adapt and deal with the changes in the accounting practice. Technology - As said by Pavlova(2016) technology in terms of the financial accounting practice is both a blessinganda curse. Most of the accountants are in a struggle to cope up with the internal technology within their businesses and externally with the businesses of the customers. However someone has argues in this regard that technologyis the only key that enhances the productivity and enables transformation in the business process, and therefore saving time and engaging employees. Time - This is one of the major issues that the accountants are facing as they struggle with information overload and doing more with less. Chatfield Vangermeersch (2014) has added that This has the impact of forcing them deeper in the day to day, trying to keep up, instead of being proactive for clients and their organizations. Transformation This is one of the most trending word the accounting firm leaders are hearingand they realize the tremendous opportunities that are available with value-added services that clients truly want and need. This is showing up in these studies as consulting and advisory services, most of which can be made possible with technology. These issues facing small to medium practices and their clients are indeed the same the world over. The King Fitzgerald (2016) believes that these issues are impacted by the underlying hard trends of demographics, exponential technology growth, and globalization. These trends are essentially future facts and will happen, whether it is pleasant it or not. He has given a few guidelines to tackle with the issue and overcome them and hence the work of the accountants would be easier. He has advised that initially the accountants need to initiate change before you have to. These exponential times call for leaders who can lead the transformation of their businesses before they face the 'weak signals of disruptive change' that will force them to change. In this context Lin (2017) has also added that the organizations need to digitalize their techniques of accounting. Applying the technology to create efficiency and effectiveness, would enable them to the serve customers better and engage t he resources optimally. New technologies are supporting new business models that can drive transformation. In addition to it there is a need to elevate the skills and maximize the current and new technology for enhancement of accounting practices and become more proactive and future-focused. Bennett James (2017) have identified the following skills to adapt and improvise in their jobs which includeanticipation, the missing competency for accountants and finance professionals. As Krishnan Joshi (2017) has advised in this context Protect your core purpose and values. In periods of rapid change, it is important to tell your team what will not change, which is often your purpose and values. The positive notion the research is that despite these challenges, the accounting firms all over the world continue to be among the most profitable businesses (Abdallah, 2017). That means it is great time to become an 'opportunity manager' and learn how to ride these big waves of change. Conclusion In the recent trend in the business environments, the accountants in the organizations are experiencing a significant changes of tasks and role. Hence, to be competent and reliable in an organization, the accountants should proactively involve in strategic, leadership, management, operational alignment and long-life improvement and learning. They are expected to be able to work closely with all operational managers in the top level. They can also provide assistance to the management by providing various information that is valuable in the process of decisions making. They can include the issues relating to value added activities. The fast changing environment requires them to adapt with the unexpected changes. They are no longer regarded as conservative accountants. One of the biggest challenges for the accountants at present is the preparation to face globalization in local and global market. Globalization, intense competition, changing governmental regul00ation and innovation in te chnology led to changes in market environment which have greater impact to an organization. Many of the companies have started going global by undertaking business activities across national frontiers. As a result, the business transaction becomes voluminous and complex to account for. However, with technology advancement, more innovative software and other tools have been developed to assist the accountants in performing their task. This reflects that that todays business environment cannot operate without technology. The future of accountants depends on how they able to adapt and respond to emerging technologies. As the world becoming unified, entity with board less transactions worldwide need for standardization. This definitely led accounting profession under intense pressure to warrant comparisons uniformity. Globalization and intense competition have shifted companies focus towards meeting customers needs and their core activities. The accountants have significant role in purs uing business survival and success as they are expected to be proactively involved in value creation activities and propose solution to the management. Reference List Abdallah, W. (2017). Management Accounting Practices in the Global Business Environment: the Case of the Middle East. Bennett, M., James, P. (Eds.). (2017).The Green bottom line: environmental accounting for management: current practice and future trends. Routledge. Chatfield, M., Vangermeersch, R. (Eds.). (2014).The history of accounting (RLE accounting): an international encylopedia. Routledge. Chenhall, R. H., Moers, F. (2015). 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