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New research has found chartered accountants are considered among the most trusted professionals, catching up to doctors, engineers, nurses and teachers, and ahead of groups including the legal profession and politicians.
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Chartered accountants among most trusted professionals: report
05 November 2021
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9 minute read
According to the research, facilitated by Chartered Accountants Worldwide and Edelman Data & Intelligence (DxI), the COVID-19 pandemic has seen trust in chartered accountants rise.
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Among 1,450 business decision-makers surveyed, the majority consider chartered accountants to be the most trusted finance professionals. This puts them ahead of trust in bankers, financial advisers, economists and insurance brokers.
“Chartered accountants are the first port of call for many businesses and saved many livelihoods during the pandemic,” said Chartered Accountants Worldwide chairman Michael Izza, commenting off the back of the results.
“Over the next 10 years, chartered accountants will play a leading role in tackling critical problems including climate change, which is one of the biggest challenges humanity has faced.
“As problem solvers, chartered accountants can be counted on to find solutions to the world’s most complex economic and moral issues, including global warming and net zero.”
The research also found 84 per cent of respondents believe chartered accountants have the skills and expertise to make businesses thrive today. A further 81 per cent are confident in chartered accountants’ ability to navigate a new operating environment in the future.
Meanwhile, 70 per cent of respondents see chartered accountants as credible spokespeople on societal issues such as sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion. That being said, they also expect accountants to follow through by driving sustainable environmental practices within businesses, and doing more to foster diversity, equity and inclusion practices, the research found.
Commenting further on the results, Carolyn Colley, non-executive director at CA ANZ, said there will be a changed role for chartered accountants in many areas of business and society, such as tackling emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, all aspects of ESG (environmental, social and governance), and managing ever-growing volumes of information.
“I don’t think there’s anyone better positioned to manage and govern data because it’s what we have been doing since the dawn of time,” she said.
“We’re not going to be seen as the leader in any of those areas unless we have the underlying position of trust.”
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