Impact case study database

4.1. Pathways to impact

Paisey’s research into the accountancy profession has enhanced our understanding of the role of the profession at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Through direct engagement with international organisations and standard-setting boards, it has contributed directly to the worldwide restoration of public trust in the profession by shaping international education and ethics policies and practice, as outlined below:

4.2. Impact on international education

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) comprises more than 170 accountancy bodies in over 130 countries, representing almost 3 million accountants worldwide. Its purpose is to serve the public interest by enhancing the relevance, reputation, and value of the global accountancy profession. Paisey’s work has informed the work of two IFAC standard-setting boards, the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA). The IAESB established a range of International Accounting Standards in professional accounting education, including the mandating of CPD for all members of accountancy bodies that are members of IFAC since International Education Standard 7 (IES7) Continuing Professional Development became effective in 2006. All IFAC member bodies are obliged to adopt and implement these standards.

Paisey’s research underpinned a significant shift in policy in IES7 to ensure that CPD continues to legitimise the profession’s claim to serve the public interest. In August 2017, evidence from the research was submitted to the IAESB [5A]. It proposed changes to two aspects of the IES7 exposure draft: First, Paisey’s submission argued that accountants whose role was no longer within accounting should nevertheless be required, on the basis of the research findings, to undertake CPD related to the field of accounting. Second, Paisey questioned the focus on planned CPD, proposing that unplanned but relevant activities should also be included.

Paisey’s formal comments were discussed at IAESB meetings in November 2017 and April 2018. The minutes of the April meeting [5B] record a debate on the exposure draft wording to accord with Paisey’s first point. In July 2018, an Issues Paper recorded that: “Based on respondent feedback […] it is critical that IES7 [revised] make clear that IFAC member body responsibilities for CPD relate to the role of the professional accountant”, rather than to non-accounting roles (p.7-9). This point was only made in the Paisey submission, thus the now finalised revised IES7 has been amended on the basis of Paisey’s evidence [5C]. Moreover, guidance to support the implementation of IES7 includes a discussion of the importance of unplanned as well as planned activities, a revision that aligns with Paisey’s second proposal [5D].

These changes are significant in both geographical reach and regulatory depth as they ensure that the mandatory CPD of almost 3 million accountants worldwide will be undertaken in a manner that is acceptable to both individual members and to the wider profession. The IAESB Director of Skills and Assessment confirmed that: “the new standard talks of the professional accountant, rather than the role in the accounting profession […] It’s very clear now—and the explanatory material really sets out—that CPD is relevant to you as a professional accountant, regardless of the sector in which you work, regardless of the size of the organisation.” She added: “Individuals within professional accounting bodies will be able to better see why they need to do CPD, and take better ownership and responsibility, and therefore, the relevance because it’s there, will lead to enhanced quality of CPD being chosen” [5E].

4.3. Impact on ICAS ethics policy and practice

Paisey is a member of the Council and Ethics Board of ICAS, and through this engagement seeks to keep her research relevant to current concerns within the profession. ICAS is a professional body of more than 23,000 members and 3,000 students who work in over 100 countries around the world. The reports of Paisey’s research on the ethical experiences of chartered accountants, the dilemmas they face, and the support they would like to receive, were launched at events held by ICAS in London and Edinburgh in October 2019. The research findings were further disseminated to all ICAS members via an article in the monthly magazine CA Today [5F], thus increasing member awareness of ethics dilemmas.

Paisey’s research is now underpinning the creation of new ICAS practitioner-focused documents for its members under the Power of One motif. ICAS is currently drafting plans to implement one of the research report’s key recommendations relating to the need for a system of ethics mentoring to support members with ethical dilemmas. The ICAS CEO confirmed, “the research has been extremely informative, insightful and useful to ICAS. It highlights the need for organisations to have appropriate mechanisms in place to encourage speak up and listen up procedures and the benefits that they can bring to organisational culture […] the research has assisted ICAS to identify areas where greater attention and focus is required in order to better meet the needs of members and also to serve its public interest mandate.” [5G]. As a direct result of the research and in order to assist its members, “ICAS decided to further the offering by facilitating access for its members to advice provided by Protect”. Other initiatives in progress in Autumn 2020, which directly stem from the research, include a focus on bullying via a webinar and associated guidance, and the establishment of an ethics mentoring facility to support members with ethical dilemmas [5G].

The research has also supported ICAS submissions to two reviews. First, ICAS included Paisey’s research findings in its submission to the UK Financial Reporting Council’s consultation on revisions to the Corporate Governance Code. Second, in its comments on the Exposure Draft on the Role and Mindset Expected of Professional Accountants, issued by IESBA (the international standard-setting ethics board), ICAS proposed that: “to ensure a successful organisational culture, employees need to feel they can speak up about concerns without retribution, that their concerns are listened to, and, most importantly, are followed up”. ICAS evidenced this by means of appending links to Paisey’s two monographs at the end of its submission [5H]. The need for this additional inclusion in the exposure draft was discussed at the December 2019 meeting [5I] and included in the marked-up copy of the proposed exposure draft [5J], which includes reference to protection for whistleblowers as part of the promotion of an ethical culture. The ICAS CEO confirmed: “This assisted in ensuring that the IESBA Task Force in charge of this project considered the need for inclusion of a specific reference to whistleblowing in relation to possible new content on organisational culture” [5G].

4.4. Impact on the wider international business community

The findings and recommendations from Paisey’s research are also relevant to the wider business community. ICAS has sent the reports to various international bodies; for example, the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants has uploaded links to the two reports on its website. The Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) also believe that the results contain important messages for their members, and hence participated in the research monograph launch events with ICAS. In addition, the Head of Professional Standards at CISI invited Paisey to deliver a presentation in Cyprus in November 2019, writing that: “while your research focused primarily on Chartered Accountants, I strongly feel that your findings […] are relevant for all professionals – including those CISI members working within securities, investment, wealth and financial planning” [5K].

Other international organisations have found the research useful in clarifying or supporting their thinking, informing policy evaluation (confirmed by collated evidence **[5L]**). For instance, PwC is the largest professional services firm in the UK with revenues of GBP4.2bn in 2019 and approximately 25,000 employees. PwC’s Ethics Partner commented that: “the information [in the research monographs] about the experience of the wider accounting profession was helpful in contextualising the reports we receive on our Speak Up facility”. He confirmed that PwC had been reviewing its own in-house Speak Up facility and wrote that the research findings were, “helpful in considering the specifications of the new arrangements” and added, ‘I particularly found the focus in the Report on “Listen Up” of interest and supportive of views emerging within PwC as to how best to handle whistleblowing in its widest sense’ [5L].

4.5. Beneficiaries

Taken together, Paisey’s education and ethics research has highlighted issues that need to be addressed by the accountancy profession, professional firms and other organisations (these practitioners are the primary beneficiaries of the research). This has led to changes to professional services in order to provide a culture in which accountants (and professionals in other sectors) effectively maintain professional competence and feel able to speak up where they have concerns, both of which are necessary conditions for public trust and the protection of the public interest (therefore, the public are secondary beneficiaries of this research).