The accountant’s profile in the present: an exploratory study

Abstract

The current operational environment of companies, characterized by fierce competition, has required all its actors to rethink the validity of the strategies, postures and procedures so far adopted by management. Accountants have also had to extend their skills to efficiently meet the demands of this new environment. Personal skills, knowledge of the business and a more active participation in the management process began to be a part of the accountant’s new profile. Taking this reality into account, this article makes a diagnosis of the accountant’s profile in the present and identifies to what extent it is consistent with these new requirements. Using an exploratory and descriptive research methodology, an empirical inquiry was conducted with accountants from the 150 best companies to work at according to the magazine Você S.A, published by Editora Abril in 2004. For the data collection a questionnaire with closed questions was used. In the data classification the article applies descriptive statistics, which is the basis for the qualitative analysis. Its results show that the accountants’ training is still focused on the technical aspects, with little priority given to the improvement of other skills. They also show that the accountant’s participation in the decision making process of the organizations is still below of what is recommended by the literature.

Key words: accountant’s profile, skills, organizational management.