Accountancy’s super-connector
This year, ACCA is celebrating its 120th birthday and its 20th year in Poland. The organisation’s continued growth, its global presence, and the prestige of holding an ACCA qualification – all of these can be noted as a great British success with its roots going back to the Industrial Revolution. Looking back over ACCA’s history, what were the key factors leading to the strong position it holds in accountancy today? To what degree has ACCA’s reach extended beyond the English-speaking world?
Our organisation was founded in 1904 in the United Kingdom, during the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution, the increasing market share of private companies, which subsequently grew into large corporations and organisations. Based on over a century of experience, we can see that while the industry and its economic environment change, the values and direction of our organisation have remained the same. What has guided ACCA from the beginning is bringing together professionals and people who want to develop in the broad field of finance and accountancy. At the time of its founding, ACCA had only eight members; today, there are over 250,000 members worldwide and more than 540,000 people in the process of obtaining the qualification – that is, they’re on the path to membership. These numbers alone show how much ACCA as an organisation has expanded. Moreover, this inclusivity and egalitarianism have always been part of how ACCA operates. A good example is the inclusion of women in ACCA as early as 1909, which was a pioneering move. For comparison, women in the UK only gained the right to vote 19 years later. Creating a universal qualification, respected everywhere in the world, enabling its holders to work in practically any place on earth, shows how much we have evolved from a British organisation into a global one.
In an age of uncertainty and volatility, professional services bring immense value to stakeholders by underlining the importance of ethics, quality, and sustainable development. How does ACCA prepare accountants to deliver this value? Can you teach – and test for – ethical behaviour, for example?
Whether ethics can be taught is an almost philosophical question. However, integrity and adherence to ethical principles are values that cannot be priced, especially in a field where specialists make financial decisions, and their calculations often determine the fate not only of a company but also of its employees or members of local communities. With the popularisation of the concept of sustainable development, and now also ESG reporting, these issues are becoming even more important, and fortunately, more and more companies, in planning their long-term strategy, take into account not only profit but also social and environmental issues. Thinking about value instead of just dry calculation requires education in sustainable development and soft skills, which we also offer within ACCA. For several years now, there has been talk of the need to reorganise finance departments in companies and to change the CFO position to Chief Value Officer – this shows how integral sustainability issues have. This trend will lead to finance professionals being seen more as holistic business advisors, and ACCA will be the organisation supporting this change. Even now, we accompany our members in this transformation, for example, by organising webinars on double materiality, ESRS, taxonomy, and supply chain. We have also introduced a new certificate in sustainability for finance to structure the knowledge of those who need it most in their daily work.
How is AI affecting the accountancy profession? Is there a danger that with more and more tasks becoming automated, the number of new entry-level jobs will reduce significantly, narrowing the pool of those whose analytical skills can be honed by professional development, leading to eventual talent shortages at the top?
This question can be seen as a natural extension of the previous one. The role of a finance professional is changing not only due to AI, but also because of a greater emphasis on sustainability issues. Thanks to the automation introduced by AI, many routine tasks that have so far been part of the responsibilities of finance professionals will disappear. What will remain is the more complex aspect of work in the financial sector, where it is necessary to create strategies and adopt a holistic approach. Analytical, strategic, and interpersonal skills will be in demand, which will be difficult to automate. People starting a career in finance are and will continue to be sought after in the job market in the coming years because of the non-linear career path this sector offers. Employees at the early stages of their careers will have the opportunity to better direct their career paths, actively using AI tools to then move up to higher, business development-focused positions.
Mutual recognition of qualifications is essential when it comes to cross-border professional mobility. How successful are ACCA members in obtaining jobs in countries other than those in which they originally qualified? And from the employers’ point of view, does a foreign candidate’s ACCA qualification make them easier to employ?
In terms of the ability to change jobs smoothly, it is worth remembering that the dominant language of finance is still English. Fluency in it is required when working in Poland, Western European countries, as well as in Asia and Africa. Then there is the issue of the universality and mutual recognition of ACCA qualifications worldwide. What distinguishes this qualification is that it confirms that a person from Sri Lanka, Poland, or the UK has the same competencies. This definitely facilitates professional mobility. Also, remote work and the creation of shared service centres serving projects from other countries show that specialised finance professionals with an ACCA qualification receive a global passport that makes it easier to work practically anywhere on earth. In Poland, this was well visible during Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Migrants coming to our country during this time with ACCA certification almost immediately found jobs similar to those they had in their own country. While university degrees are considered differently depending on the region or even the city where one obtained their education, an ACCA qualification is a confirmation of professional skills that opens many doors. This is visible both in the number of foreigners working in Poland and Poles successfully managing finance departments, for example, in the UK.
Organisations that work with ACCA in Poland are a mix of global corporates, large Polish companies – privately owned and state controlled – universities and government institutions. Do you see any difference in business culture, in approach to doing business, between Polish entities and foreign-owned ones? I’m thinking in terms of short-term vs. long-term thinking, approaches to diversity in the workforce, and transparency?
ACCA in Poland has over 2,300 members, collaborates with other professional organisations, such as Polish Chamber of Statutory Auditors (PIBR), the Accountant Association in Poland (SKwP), or CFA Society Poland. We are also present at Polish universities and cooperate with over 130 employers in Poland. Although due to the systemic changes that took place in our country only in 1989, Polish companies are relatively young, for example, compared to organisations from the United Kingdom, the differences in business practices are becoming increasingly blurred. This results mainly from ongoing globalisation, new technologies, and the movement of employees between countries. Today, companies do not only compete with local competition but actually with the entire world, especially in innovation or new technologies. If an organisation wants to succeed, it must plan long-term, anticipate, but also be extremely flexible and adapt quickly. This speed of change and adaptation, contrary to appearances, is always the domain of businesses and developing countries, which are used to more difficult conditions and can quickly change their development direction by even 180 degrees if they see that the current path is not leading them to success. The start-up environment, for example, almost automatically implements issues such as sustainability and diversity, while organisations with much longer histories are often entangled in procedures developed many years ago that are no longer relevant. However, this has nothing to do with the origin of the company.
As an organisation with members in the accountancy profession present in 180 countries, you have a unique insight into what’s going on in the global economy. Your quarterly Global Economic Condition Survey paints a detailed picture of the issues that concern your members around the world. From your latest GECS, how would you assess the current shape of the global economy? Why is it worth diving into the survey, who can benefit from reading the insights?
The GECS report is a quarterly report that examines the sentiment of finance professionals and their assessment of the level of uncertainty in global markets. This study clearly shows differences between countries, for example, in understanding threats. In the last report, it could be seen, for instance, that in North American countries, especially the US, confidence in the economic situation fell by 20 index points compared to the survey published in April this year, while in the Eurozone and the UK, the sense of market security continues to rise. This allows you to form an opinion about the reality surrounding us. As I mentioned earlier, companies operate globally today, so what happens on the other side of the world can, in the future, impact the functioning of a company in Poland. GECS reports provide the broadest context for what is happening globally. However, annually ACCA publishes dozens of reports covering more specialised topics, such as employment, artificial intelligence, or regulatory changes. We want to be a reliable source of knowledge for our members, which they can then use to benefit their organisations.
ACCA is organising Think Ahead – Gala Celebrating 120 Years of ACCA, in Warsaw on 28 November. How can interested parties get involved with the event?
The gala on 28 November is an extraordinary milestone for us, celebrating the remarkable journey we have undertaken as an organisation. It is an opportunity for our community members, business leaders, partners, and educators to come together and appreciate the successes we’ve achieved. We are honoured to have ACCA’s president, Melanie Proffitt, join our Polish members for the occasion.
ACCA’s strength lies in its role as a super-connector, collaborating with over 130 employers across various sectors, as well as with top universities, learning providers, government organisations, and other professional bodies. We are thrilled that many of these partners will be present at the gala. Additionally, we have invited the British Embassy, the British Polish Chamber of Commerce to highlight ACCA’s British heritage.
I eagerly anticipate this celebration, which will showcase the prestige, strength, and lasting connections we have built as a community in Poland and globally. It promises to be an unforgettable night.
