Contribution to Society

Two of University of New England’s fantastic law students received awards at the CPA Awards and Networking Evening. Hayley Constantine is enrolled in a Bachelor of Business/Bachelor of Laws and received an award in AFM231: Corporate Finance. Jesse Martin is enrolled in a Bachelor of Laws and received awards in AFM101: Introduction to Financial Accounting and ECON101: Introductory Microeconomics.

A question sparked by the event is “what do professionals contribute to society”?

Members of the accounting profession provide bookkeeping services, advise on taxation, perform data analysis, help with estate planning, prepare financial statements, provide guidance on business activities, promote risk management, value businesses, and carry out market research. Accountants are essential for the efficient running of a market economy. However, their overarching responsibility is to contribute to a fairer society.

Members of the legal profession provide legal advice, draft legal documents, represent clients in courts of law, advocate for the reform of the legal system, and pursue their duties to their clients in faith and confidence.

In 2007 Justice Spigelman stated that lawyers ‘perform a critical role in the promotion of social order by the administration of the law in a manner which answers the fundamental requirements of justice namely, fair outcomes arrived at by fair procedures.

Accountants can save the Environment

Accountants saving the environment is not as far-fetched as it sounds.  Jane Gleeson-White in Six Capitals, or Can Accountants Save the Planet? stated that ‘accountants might be the one last hope for life on earth: because they have the potential to hold nations and corporations accountable for their impact on nature.

Unless the full cost of pursuing lawful profit-making activities is accounted for, the causal damage to the environment will largely be ignored. Accountants can reconceive environmental damage not as an externality but as an internality; as a component of national economies and business activities.

The global drive is towards integrated reporting. A practice that moves away from solely thinking  about the performance of a business in financial terms (profits, assets, cash flow) and places more emphasis on active governance, strategic performance, manufactured capital, intellectual capital, human capital, social and relationship capital, and natural capital (the environment in which the other capitals sit).

Professionals versus Robots

Dr Kip Werren, Solicitor and Certified Practising Accountant, stated that irrespective of the recent expansion in artificial intelligence and automation, there is a strong demand for creative professionals who apply judgement to deal with the complexities of accounting, economics, and law.

Legal technology is taking over many of the tasks traditionally conducted by humans such as the analysis and interpretation of legal rules, the management of contracts, and the review of documents. Even so, a robot does not build a relationship or create trust. Humans want to talk to other humans. We desire two-way interaction with beings that can pick up on body language, understand sarcasm, and empathise. We want someone who understands how we feel.

In the face of technological change, professionals will do as they have always done; they will grow and evolve. The automation of routine processes will allow professionals to provide services quicker, more efficiently, and more cost-effectively. They will be able to focus on services that add value to their clients. They will be freed from the mundane to pursue the creative.

 

Dual Thinkers

Acquiring discipline knowledge from different fields is beneficial to your career prospects. It opens up a number of career options and provides you with a well-rounded knowledge base. Accountants and lawyers come from a wide range of educational backgrounds. Hay’s 2018-19 Salary Guide notes a strong demand for individuals with data analysis skills, business analysis skills, and construction and property law knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Lyn Gollan & Kip Werren