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What's the definition of an accountant? Some may say they are people who solve a problem you didn't know you had in an way you don't understand. Along these lines, it is also said that "accounting will prove anything, even the truth". However, these somewhat negative comments belie the very real importance of accounting in general and performance management accounting in particular. The ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) believes value creation and business success are essential for the achievement of a sustainable economic recovery, but without the "language of business", these are impossible goals.

The ACCA is a global body for professional accountants whose principal aim is to provide business relevant, qualifications and professional development. These aim to give all the essential knowledge that underpins the function of management accountancy and also the skills with which to put it into practice. The principal qualification is made up of fourteen papers and examinations. Of these, the F5 paper on performance management accounting, with its own microsite, is perhaps most germane.

This examines the concepts which are fundamental to an innovative body of new and dynamic practices in business accountancy. For instance, throughput accounting, exemplifies this new direction. This approach casts light on how functions within an organisation are ever more interdependent and highlights what is a primary costing tool in performance management and decision making. The theory and application of behavioural budgeting is also studied. This modern way of budgeting is something of a departure from the traditional quantitative approach and provides an appreciation of how budgets can be used as objectives to motivate aspirational business performance.

The value of professional accountancy and its place at the head of the body corporate, is exemplified in research recently conducted by the ACCA and Mercer, a human resources consultancy, entitled " Generation Y:Realising the Potential". The research, aimed to look into the mindset of the youngest echelon of professional accountants and can be found on the ACCA website. Among other things, the research showed that this generation of dynamic and ambitious professionals “see(s) the accountancy qualification as a great step to a broader business career…. In addition, Chris Johnson, UK Head of Human Capital at Mercer remarks that "Value creation is key for organisations in the future. Increasingly human capital will be the primary source of competitive differentiation"

So after all then, accountancy really is no joke.

 

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