ICAS call for literature review: The future of the profession
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ICAS is embarking on a project on the shape of the accountancy profession of the future, and calls for a literature review to inform this.
Focusing on the public good, we are considering how the accountants of the future may best serve the needs of society as well as all sectors of the economy, and how we and other accountancy and professional bodies can best guide and support them in doing so. This will consider both how the accountants of tomorrow will deliver services and activities, but also crucially what these services and activities ought to be to deliver value, usefulness and insight to the benefits of society. To serve the public interest effectively requires us to cultivate the confidence and trust of the public in the profession and to make sure that we deliver the services and activities that society expects.
The aim of this commissioned literature review is to identify, consider and evaluate the existing literature as evidence in informing the development of thought leadership on the role and responsibilities of the accountancy profession of the future. The findings will serve to inform subsequent activity on the topic at ICAS. The literature review will bring together relevant quality and contemporaneous academic and professional literature, with a particular interest in, but not limited to:
- What society needs from accountants.
- Ethical leadership / upholding ethics.
- Sustainability - in its widest sense to include environment, society and governance factors - and the role of the accountant.
- The meaning of ‘profession/professional’.
- Social mobility / access to the accountancy profession and its attractiveness.
- Future regulatory models.
- The skillset of accountants, such as technical/business, technology / AI, sustainability etc., and how to acquire it.
- The use of financial and non-financial information and reporting in decision-making, accountability to stakeholders and corporate responsibility.
Description and scope of the literature review
The review should be written as an accessible document that summarises the existing literature on current research and thinking on the future of the accountancy profession, highlight any gaps in the existing knowledge base and identify opportunities for further research.
To ensure a complete appreciation of developments affecting current or proposed practice, the review should cover high quality outputs and research from the major international markets and jurisdictions, in the last five years, engaging with both academic and practitioner literature such as thought leadership, guidance, consultations etc, and at a minimum include all of the themes of particular interest highlighted above. The review should also include sufficient diversity in both the academic and non-academic outputs. The successful applicant(s) will demonstrate how access to the relevant literature can be assured.
The review should distinguish between the different types of literature reviewed, academic vs. practitioner and, for example, that which is based on empirical versus theoretical approaches and thought leadership.
The results should reflect in-depth analysis across and within studies, the discussion/conclusions should reflect a synthesis of the included studies, and a clear indication of which studies are most methodologically robust should be included.
The ICAS Research Centre believes that scoping or systematic (meta-synthesis) literature reviews will be most appropriate for this funding opportunity but welcomes well-argued applications for other approaches.
October 2023 update
As a result of a rigorous selection process, following a well-subscribed call for research, this literature review is being conducted by Professor Atul K Shah and Dr Yasmine Chahed. Both have extensive backgrounds in relevant academic research, professional engagement and practical experience.