Challenges facing the accountancy profession

This article considers that the two most important current influences on the accounting profession are the development of new information technology and the elaboration of an ever more complex regulatory framework. The article examines the evolution of business reporting on the Internet and its likely consequences for accounting, accountants and assurance services provided by auditors. It then reviews the evolving regulatory framework, noting that this is reaching into new areas, including environmental reporting, social reporting and corporate governance. It concludes with an examination of the paradoxes of globalization in the context of accounting regulation.