After Covid-19, a new world emerged. Nothing has been the same since those surreal days of lockdown, fear and crisis – and it never will be again.
The overnight need to work more flexibly and remotely, and to accelerate our adoption of digital technology and superfast communications, transformed forever the way we work and live.
That’s as true for accountants as it is for everyone else, and it is why I write this just before speaking on a panel about the future of cities and central business districts.
When the invitation arrived to take part in the forum at EY’s London HQ, at first glance it didn’t seem like I’d have much to add. It looked like a job for an expert in industrial zoning or town planning. I am neither.
Vital perspective
But after a moment’s thought, it was clear that it had everything to do with accountants. It is our job to advise on financial risks that wait around the corner. Our perspective is shaped by the knowledge that sustainability is crucial for any company that wants to survive and thrive through to the middle of this century and beyond. It affects every aspect of business, including how our cities change in response to the shifting needs of the economy and society.
The traditional concept of how we work doesn’t make sense anymore
The pandemic reduced our footprint in cities. The rise of hybrid working meant the pressure on urban office space fell and organisations had to figure out new ways of working. I saw a great example while judging a Team of the Year competition. One nominee had established an accounts payable team in India, and what stood out was that it wasn’t viewed as an offshore operation; it was simply another department in the business that happened to be based overseas. They integrated the global team to observe differences in timezones and cultural practices. It worked perfectly.
New thinking
The traditional concept of how we work, which was something that happened in a fixed location in set business hours, doesn’t make sense anymore.
AI is another huge influence in eradicating the importance of an accountant’s location. What we do is infinitely more important than where we do it.
The meaning of success is vastly more complicated than it was a generation ago
It’s true that businesses might employ fewer professionals to carry out some routine, repetitive tasks. But we anticipate growing demand for experts equipped with an advanced sense of professional ethics – increasingly vital when so many decisions have the potential to be taken by AI. And our physical location is mostly irrelevant.
The sustainability agenda is changing how cities work, and even what our cities are for, and it was striking just how closely the panel’s agenda echoed our latest profession-leading ACCA Global Talent Trends report. They point to the same conclusion: sustainability is a competitiveness issue.
Cities increasingly compete on factors such as climate resilience, sustainable infrastructure, quality of life and the ability to attract talent. Similarly, our research shows that accountants increasingly choose employers whose values align with their own environmental and social priorities.
The future of cities is a fascinating issue for us, because accountants are intimately involved in shaping the strategies that influence how organisations use these spaces, and how we operate in a world where the meaning of success is vastly more complicated than it was a generation ago.
