The accounting profession not only has to keep itself abreast with the technological changes, but also keep in step with the new disruptive business models of the 21st Century, G C Murmu, Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said on Saturday.

Addressing the 21st World Congress of Accountants, organised by the CA Institute in Mumbai, Murmu highlighted that the economy is going through massive transformation with evolution of new and innovative tools in doing business. 

“These will challenge the conventional accounting traditions and thinking. For example, there is this issue of new balance sheet where companies which hardly have any physical assets or employees have revenue streams of billions of dollars. Case in point is the cab and hotel room aggregators”, Murmu said.

He also said that there are many other challenges which impact the global value chain, especially international transactions—an example being the emergence of crypto currency and the challenges of capturing untraceable financial transactions which will be a huge challenge in financial audits.  

“Today we need to constantly search for credible tools to meet the challenges emanating from the development in trade and tariff systems and emergence of digital assets necessitating credibleaccounting environment. We need accountants who can contribute in creating sustainable businesses by taking advantage of emerging tools and innovations in public financial management to foster inclusive growth”, Murmu added.

Murmu also underscored the need for sustainable IT governance and prudent financial management to enact large public programmes transparently without running into cost and time delays. 

“Accounting and Audit professionals must take note of these developments to complement the government’s efforts. We have to ensure that we discharge our duties with high ethical, technical and professional standards. Digital assurance will allow auditors to validate for an entire population, which will improve efficient workflow and build trust in financial statements. 

It is time, therefore, for the accountancy profession to take steps towards building high-quality integrated reporting and performance statements”, Murmu added.

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