‘Seismic changes are happening to our profession’
Marie Gardner CA, Head of Research, provides an update on the Shaping the Profession project
‘Seismic changes are happening to our profession’
Marie Gardner CA, Head of Research, provides an update on the Shaping the Profession project
We are all acutely aware that technology is changing our lives, both private and public, at such a pace that people, businesses and professional bodies that simply react to change risk being left behind.
Determined to stay ahead, ICAS launched Shaping the Profession (StP) in September 2023 to get under the skin of what professional accountants, accounting bodies and finance professionals more broadly must do to ensure they are future-fit, ready to face any changes coming down the line.
Accordingly, we set out five key priorities for StP to address. They are:
1. Societal and stakeholder needs
Asking what society needs from the profession and how we can continue to create best value for all.
2. What is a professional?
Defining what a 21st-century professional should look like.
3. The impact of technology, including AI
Exploring how technology is redefining the accountant’s role, how it might look in the future and how the profession will need to adapt.
4. Building an exciting and fit-for-purpose profession for future generations
Equipping future accountants with the relevant skills, capabilities and knowledge to ensure accountancy remains a valued, purposeful and attractive profession for future generations.
5. Regulation
Exploring how proportionate regulation can keep up with, and become an enabler of, change.
In October we held the Beyond the Numbers event in London (pictured). What struck me, both on the day and with our continuing engagement with various stakeholders since, was the level of enthusiasm in the room around what we want to achieve with StP.
Our profession is always evolving but the changes happening right now and in the near future are seismic. We’re not just talking about tech and AI but also the regulatory environment – the introduction of sustainability standards, as well as the government putting pressure on regulators, and looking to strip back certain regulations in an attempt to stimulate growth and innovation.
“What struck me on the day was the level of enthusiasm in the room around what we want to achieve”
We said we would anchor the StP programme on the first priority – societal needs – as the profession has, first of all, to deliver in the best interests of the public in its widest sense.
To fulfil that promise we’ve spoken to ICAS members, but also with representatives of UK society at large. We’re now extending that qualitative exercise with a quantitative piece to bring greater statistical robustness, and to foreground what society says it wants from the accountants of the future.
I’m currently drafting a short report on those findings, to be published imminently. Based on our initial feedback, there isn’t much difference between the two groups; while ICAS members are, not surprisingly, more technical in outlook, both agree that client and societal interests must be at the heart of what we do. But let’s see what the finalised analysis reveals.
In December we funded two new pieces of research. One is on the impact of technology on professional judgment.
We’re looking at what we call the “augmented professional”. Is AI helping us exercise professional judgement and scepticism? Is it simplifying the job or is all the additional data making it more complicated – and if so, how? This is a vital question as professional judgement is a core skill of the accountant. We will collate and publish the results of that research early in 2026.
The second piece will look at the ICAS Foundation, examining the difference it’s making to the careers of its former students. Although this piece of research wasn’t created specifically for StP, it fits perfectly with the fourth priority – widening access to the profession and equipping people with the right skills, regardless of background.
Looking forward, we will be holding a webinar on the societal needs analysis on 17 June. We will also publish the findings and recommendations of a research project looking at the impact of menstruation, menopause and miscarriage on women’s careers in the profession. Also this year we’re going to start examining what regulation should look like if it’s to aid the professional in delivering for the public good.
Ultimately, to maximise impact, ICAS must work with different people and bodies, whether from within accountancy or elsewhere. So we are gearing up on partnerships and collaborations to ensure the StP programme delivers on its aims by changing the future of our profession for the better.
Register more resources visit the Shaping the Profession hub
We are all acutely aware that technology is changing our lives, both private and public, at such a pace that people, businesses and professional bodies that simply react to change risk being left behind.
Determined to stay ahead, ICAS launched Shaping the Profession (StP) in September 2023 to get under the skin of what professional accountants, accounting bodies and, more broadly, finance professionals must do to ensure they are future-fit, ready to face any changes coming down the line.
Accordingly, we set out five key priorities for StP to address. They are:
1. Societal and stakeholder needs
Asking what society needs from the profession and how we can continue to create best value for all.
2. What is a professional?
Defining what a 21st-century professional should look like.
3. The impact of technology, including AI
Exploring how technology is redefining the accountant’s role, how it might look in the future and how the profession will need to adapt.
4. Building an exciting and fit-for-purpose profession for future generations
Equipping future accountants with the relevant skills, capabilities and knowledge to ensure accountancy remains a valued, purposeful and attractive profession for future generations.
5. Regulation
Exploring how proportionate regulation can keep up with, and become an enabler of, change.
In October we held the Beyond the Numbers event in London (pictured). What struck me, both on the day and with our continuing engagement with various stakeholders since, was the level of enthusiasm in the room around what we want to achieve with StP.
Our profession is always evolving but the changes happening right now and in the near future are seismic. We’re not just talking about tech and AI but also the regulatory environment – the introduction of sustainability standards, as well as the government putting pressure on regulators, and looking to strip back certain regulations in an attempt to stimulate growth and innovation.
“What struck me on the day was the level of enthusiasm in the room around what we want to achieve”
We said we would anchor the StP programme on the first priority – societal needs – as the profession has, first of all, to deliver in the best interests of the public in its widest sense.
To fulfil that promise we’ve spoken to ICAS members, but also with representatives of UK society at large. We’re now extending that qualitative exercise with a quantitative piece to bring greater statistical robustness, and to foreground what society says it wants from the accountants of the future.
I’m currently drafting a short report on those findings, to be published imminently. Based on our initial feedback, there isn’t much difference between the two groups; while ICAS members are, not surprisingly, more technical in outlook, both agree that client and societal interests must be at the heart of what we do. But let’s see what the finalised analysis reveals.
In December we funded two new pieces of research. One is on the impact of technology on professional judgment.
We’re looking at what we call the “augmented professional”. Is AI helping us exercise professional judgement and scepticism? Is it simplifying the job or is all the additional data making it more complicated – and if so, how? This is a vital question as professional judgement is a core skill of the accountant. We will collate and publish the results of that research early in 2026.
The second piece will look at the ICAS Foundation, examining the difference it’s making to the careers of its former students. Although this piece of research wasn’t created specifically for StP, it fits perfectly with the fourth priority – widening access to the profession and equipping people with the right skills, regardless of background.
Looking forward, we will be holding a webinar on the societal needs analysis on 17 June. We will also publish the findings and recommendations of a research project looking at the impact of menstruation, menopause and miscarriage on women’s careers in the profession. Also this year we’re going to start examining what regulation should look like if it’s to aid the professional in delivering for the public good.
Ultimately, to maximise impact, ICAS must work with different people and bodies, whether from within accountancy or elsewhere. So we are gearing up on partnerships and collaborations to ensure the StP programme delivers on its aims by changing the future of our profession for the better.
Register more resources visit the Shaping the Profession hub
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