The Accounting Profession and Addressing Sustainability Issues

Abstract

We currently live in a context where environmental, governmental, and social issues demand solutions. In line with these solutions, it is time for the accounting profession to address the issue of sustainability. The solutions involve moving from traditional accounting to integrated reporting and offering financial and non-financial services, which requires specific skills from the accounting profession. For this, national and international professional bodies play an essential role, in order to support accounting professionals, concrete measures through qualification programs for members, aware of the fact that they will be the main actors in the development of sustainability reports with a high degree of quality. The purpose of this study is to show that A new approach to the accounting profession is expected and there is an urgent need to understand that something new is happening and it needs our involvement in setting trends. This study also highlights that the transition stage from traditional accounting to reporting adapted to new trends requires time and resources

Keywords

• sustainability
• integrated reporting
• reporting standards
• specific competencies
• professional accountant