Mid-sized enterprises, compared with their small and large counterparts, face unique challenges in virtually all aspects of their businesses, including strategic management, organizational and financial structure, corporate governance, risk management and internal control, management accounting, and business reporting. Recognizing that professional accountants in business play an important role in each of these business areas, the Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released a new publication entitled The Crucial Roles of Professional Accountants in Business in Mid-Sized Enterprises.
This information paper features interviews conducted by Eric Krell, an experienced financial journalist, with 10 senior-level professional accountants in business on their experiences in mid-sized enterprises. The interviews illustrate the critical roles that professional accountants in business play in identifying and addressing the unique challenges that mid-sized enterprises face.
"While the professional accountants in business who were interviewed for this paper are from different enterprises all over the world, they confront similar challenges and their solutions point in the same direction," states Edward Chow, Chair of the PAIB Committee. "The experiences and the lessons that they share can help professional accountants in business and others in addressing similar issues, as well as in driving performance and creating value for their organizations."
This interview-based information paper is part of a larger PAIB Committee project on mid-sized enterprises. It will serve as the basis for the development of principles-based good practice guidance on the typical challenges that mid-sized enterprises confront and how professional accountants in business can help in responding to those issues.
The paper, along with a range of other publications on topics of interest to professional accountants in business, can be downloaded from the IFAC online bookstore.
IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC is comprised of 157 members and associates in 123 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry and commerce. Through its independent standard-setting boards, IFAC sets international standards on ethics, auditing and assurance, education, and public sector accounting. It also issues guidance to encourage high quality performance by professional accountants in business.
