“Professional accountants in business (PAIBs) are a very diverse constituency, and can be found working as employees or consultants in commerce, industry, financial services, education, and the public and not-for-profit sectors. Many are in a position of strategic or functional leadership, or are otherwise well-placed to collaborate with colleagues in other disciplines to help their organizations toward long-term sustainable success.”
The PAIB Committee provides leadership and guidance on relevant issues pertaining to professional accountants in business and the business environments in which they work. This guidance is helpful because “Professional accountants support their organizations in a wide range of job functions at various levels, including leadership and management; operational; management control; and accounting and stakeholder communications.”
The key roles and expected areas of competency of PAIBs are discussed in Competent and Versatile: How Professional Accountants in Business Drive Sustainable Organizational Success and an accompanying employer-focused brochure. This discussion explains how professional accountants can broadly be categorized as creators, enablers, preservers, and reporters of sustainable value for their organizations, and the wide scope of their activities in organizations can be better promoted by the profession. In addition, it highlights the importance of the professional accountant’s mindset that needs to embrace: professionalism and ethical behaviour; professional judgment; an investor and wider stakeholder focus; organizational and environmental awareness; and change, uncertainty, and complexity.
