THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSION IS TRANSFORMING WITH MAJOR CHANGES: EDUCATORS NEED TO ADAPT AND EMBRACE THE FUTURE

Cindy Greenman
Danielle Mendez
Annissa Steiner
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

ABSTRACT

The accounting profession has transformed over the past 30 years and will continue to evolve even more in the next 30 years. The profession itself, professional organization and education will need to evolve with it. This study review and analyzes major influential factors behind the accounting profession. The authors highlight globalization of business (including internal and external public accounting), increase in governance and regulations (mainly related to changes in tax laws and the fraud epidemic), advances in technology (including cloud technology and automated accounting, optical character recognition and artificial intelligence, and data analytics/Tableau), and the shifting expectations and the accountants role. This study also shows how accounting educators need to adapt and adjust with the changes in the profession. Finally, this study suggests that accounting educators need to stay current and prepared for what is awaiting them in the in the profession.

Keywords: Accounting profession, Accounting globalization, governance and regulations, advances in technology, shifting expectation in accounting