Gary Pflugrath  | 

At the recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Forum, Resilient Economies for Inclusive Societies, one of the three key themes was Trust. So what does trust mean for the accountancy profession?

In one of the concurrent sessions at the Forum, an eminent speaker suggested that one problem we have in the world today is that many of our institutional arrangements—including many pieces of regulation and legislation—are founded on the notion of “mistrust,” rather than “trust.”

And that raises an interesting question: does the accountancy profession benefit from, or is it disadvantaged by, the focus on mistrust?

The most obvious example for the accountancy profession is the mandated audit. That is, if society trusted companies to furnish appropriate and materially accurate financial information, there would be no need for mandated audits. Indeed, those companies that voluntarily complied would be signaling to the market that they have nothing to hide.

But the notion of trust for the profession brings to the fore the importance of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (the Code)—both its very existence and the obligation imposed on professional accountants to comply with it. What better way to signal to the rest of the world that the accountancy profession is serious about its responsibilities, and that professional accountants can be trusted, than through the Code.

The Code says to the world that professional accountants are competent to do what they say they will do, and that they will behave professionally, and with due care, integrity, and objectivity. Then, who other than professional accountants are as well placed to assess, review, report, and assure the critical information that provides the basis of important economic decision making? Indeed, they have a critical role to play in promoting the resilient economies and inclusive societies for which the OECD is striving.

If this is true, then the Code is fundamental to addressing some of the notions of mistrust in society.

But can more be done? What more do you think the profession should be doing to promote trust?

Gary Pflugrath

Dr. Gary Pflugrath was a member of IFAC's staff from 2011-2018. He joined IFAC in 2011 and commenced his current role as Senior Director, Public Policy and Governance, in March 2018. In this role, Dr. Pflugrath has responsibility for the public policy and regulation function of IFAC, which, as the global organization representing the accountancy profession, researches and represents the views of the profession and its stakeholders. IFAC takes a leadership position on public interest issues where the accountancy profession’s expertise is most relevant.

Since 2015 Dr. Pflugrath has been responsible for overseeing IFAC’s performance reporting and risk management activities and managing its Planning and Finance Committee as well as participating in IFAC leadership’s work with respect to international standard-setting boards’ governance arrangements. He also has responsibility for the organizational governance activities of IFAC, including overseeing IFAC Board and IFAC Council arrangements, meetings, and agendas.

Dr. Pflugrath’s positions prior to joining IFAC include nearly 20 years at the Reserve Bank of Australia, where in 2002 he was the senior manager responsible for the Bank’s accounting policy and reporting. He then moved to the University of New South Wales (UNSW), as a lecturer in accounting, to pursue his ambition to complete doctoral studies. Subsequently, he held the position of policy adviser (audit and assurance) at CPA Australia.

Dr. Pflugrath holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) Degree, (Chisholm Institute of Technology, now Monash University), and a Master of Business Administration Degree (University of Melbourne). He received his Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) from UNSW in 2008. He has published referred articles in several academic journals, including Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, the Journal of Business Ethics, and the International Journal of Auditing. Dr. Pflugrath has been a CPA in Australia for more than twenty years.