Professional accountants will have to look beyond number crunching and the private sector for the development of society, according to representatives of the International Federation of Accountants.

Addressing a press conference to outline the agenda of an international conference on the role of accountants in modern times being inaugurated in Chennai on Thursday, Mr Fermin del Valle, President, International Federation of Accountants, said that it is not just the private sector but also the governments that are called up on to be increasingly accountable and transparent. The International Federation is looking at evolving international public sector accounting standards.

With technology playing a central role in industries, accountants must be prepared to provide services in the technology environment. They need to familiarise themselves with `non-financial information' such as in marketing, human resources and technology. All these impact the numbers, he said.

For SMEs

Accounting standards are also being developed for small and medium enterprises, he said.

Along with the international conference, the small and medium practices committee of the IFAC will also meet here. The committee representing the interests of the accountants dealing with small and medium enterprises provides inputs to the IFAC on evolving policies.

Mr Ian Ball, Chief Executive, International Federation of Accountants, said that transparency and accounting standards for local bodies and governments are an emerging issue.

While the private sector has been enhancing its standards and transparency, the public sector has lagged on this issue.

Role of CAs

Mr T.N. Manoharan, President, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, said that the role of chartered accountants is expanding. Now the firms can set up multidisciplinary partnership firms to provide legal and secretarial services apart from accounting.

The institute is in the process of identifying the areas in which such partnerships can be formed.

Over a 1,000 delegates including international participants are expected to participate in the 3-day international conference - Role of profession in new milieu.