Why sustainability matters to accountants

Over the last few years, the issue of sustainability has become more prominent in our industry. Planning for the future is not just about ensuring financial stability – a business can’t grow when the resources it depends on are diminishing.

As professional accountants, we have a key role to play in helping organisations ensure their business is sustainable. We can do this by integrating key performance indicators into our standard systems and processes, and use our accounting skills to collate and analyse data to monitor, manage and maintain sustainable development.

This is just one of many reasons why AAT is involved in the Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project. Set up in 2004 by HRH Prince of Wales, the project aims to develop practical guidance and tools to embed sustainability into an organisation’s decision-making and reporting processes.

We are representing the voice of small business in developing this reporting process to ensure it is practical for all organisations regardless of size or turnover. In addition, we see our role as educating our membership and providing guidance to the wider SME community. We believe this process is so crucial and are fully committed to embedding sustainable development and integrated reporting into the qualification and educational process.

As an organisation, AAT is also playing its own part in the journey towards a sustainable business model. In 2010, AAT’s Council set up a working group to research the best way to achieve this and sustainable development is now a key part of our business plan. Over the last few years, more and more of our services have been moved online, resulting in not only a reduction in printing and postage, but also greater efficiencies for the membership. We also reduced our carbon footprint in late 2007 by moving from premises split over eight floors to one-and-a-half floors, decreasing our square footage by over 3,000ft.

Sustainable development is really about making the best use of what resources we have available, rather than wasting them now at the expense of future growth. Sustainable development should be at the heart of every organisation in order to secure its future.


Tom Kelman has been Director of Finance and Corporate Resources at AAT since July 2005. Tom has worked in finance for over twenty-eight years covering both accountancy practice and industry and commerce. He qualified as a CA with ICAS in 1986 and became an MAAT before joining the AAT. Tom is also a member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers and a professional Pension Scheme Trustee.

Britain’s accountants have got talent

The role of an accountant has, in the past, been predominately seen as a number cruncher. Despite their reputation as professional, trustworthy and ethical members of society, they were often considered to be backward thinkers. However, this role has evidently undergone an evolution over the last few decades. Providers of financial insight, technology and strategy, accountants now take a hands-on approach in guiding companies and preparing business strategies. As a result, the skills required by senior finance staff differ dramatically.

Finance managers, finance directors, chief financial officers (CFOs) – these are just some of the positions that many accountants have gone on to cherry pick. Although CFOs date back to the days of modern accountancy, their prominence has increased as governance and financial expertise have become a key demand of stakeholders. The launch of the big four accountancy firms – Deloitte Touche, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers – boosted the status of CFOs in the late 1980s, as did the establishment of regulatory bodies like the International Accounting Standards Board and Financial Services Authority. Today, any board without a Director of Finance would lack a crucial dimension to its decision-making process.

Finance tends to be part of almost every business decision and therefore accountants are more integrated within the organisation. Being able to look ahead strategically is an essential part of an accountant’s toolkit, especially in today’s climate. An absence of skill could lead to bad business decisions, such as ‘cutting the muscle and not the fat’, or failing to invest in the future when times seem very lean. Therefore, training in managerial skills and business awareness are more important then ever before. Those already at the top of the ladder must continuously reinvest in their own development through lifelong learning, and when gaps appear in their knowledge base, they must seek training and support.

Research undertaken by AAT, the leading professional body for accounting staff, showed that accountants already working in senior positions strive to improve their skills in order to deal with strategic issues as best they can. Managers and directors require different skills, knowledge and information, to those working at a non-manager level. Eager to respond to this need, AAT launched an online resource called FMAAT Plus, specifically tailored towards plugging this gap. The membership body’s fellow members can now benefit from podcasts, webinars and events designed to help them increase their skills and overcome workplace challenges.

Delving a little deeper, senior finance staff must possess a broad vision and be able to see things from a strategic viewpoint, rather than a narrow financial and historic perspective. Communication is vital or their message will never be understood and passion, commitment and honesty are a must. Core skills include a high level of intellect, an astute mind and good powers of interrogation. The ability to listen and discuss, as well as direct, is significant to the role – as is leadership. Last but by no means least, they must be able to empathise with the impact their decisions will have on other human beings and stakeholders.

As talented accountants continue to climb the career ladder and steer the reins of business operations, they must constantly be aware of the skills required of them. Striving to improve their own knowledge and expertise will ensure that finance professionals remain at the heart of every business.

For more information on FMAAT Plus visit www.aat.org.uk/fmaatplus


Tom Kelman has been Director of Finance and Corporate Resources at AAT since July 2005.

He is responsible for ensuring the AAT has robust financial controls, strategic reporting systems and assisting his executive management colleagues and the AAT's governing Council in ensuring resources are deployed appropriately to meet the AAT’s strategic business plan objectives.

Tom has worked in finance for over twenty eight years covering both accountancy practice and industry and commerce. He qualified as a CA with ICAS in 1986 and became an MAAT before joining the AAT. Tom is also a member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers and a professional Pension Scheme Trustee.