Joining the Dots... Decision making for a new era

Now that accountants have been advised of the need to rely less on compliance revenue, there is a lot of talk around pushing into new areas to support their clients, with business consulting being one of the newly touted revenue streams.

At the same time, it’s worth looking at Management accounting, the oft overlooked relative.

The AICPA and CIMA have been involved in a joint venture since 2011 that created the CGMA, or Chartered Global Management Accountant credential. The CGMA certainly has some good resources, including the topic of this week’s blog.

In February 2016 CIMA released a report “Joining the dots” which is based on a survey commissioned by CIMA and the AICPA.

Interestingly, the new “Business as Usual” is based on an understanding that business are now in a continued state of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) of general conditions and situations.

Information overload and difficulties working with and interpreting data are hindering the effective decision making for many of the participants interviewed. If you consider this for your clients, how many clients are paralysed in their decision making by being sure if they’ve considered enough variables or even the correct variables. The Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) on jumping onto the carousel at the right time leaves many to stand on the side without making any decision. Or put to something we can all understand, how many people stress before they go on holiday whether they’ve put enough time into determining what they need to see or do at their destination, such that they are paralysed to the extent they hate their holiday before they’ve even gone on the holiday.

Certainly the senior decision makers in today’s environment have limitations in their skill sets, especially in today’s fast paced and uncertain decision environment. It’s likely that anyone over 40 probably didn’t have a personal computer in their schooling environment, versus the generation after them that had laptops virtually from day one at school, versus the upcoming generation that was swiping any screen they found literally from birth.

In today’s environment, integrated thinkers make better decisions in uncertain times, and with uncertain times being the new normal, this report is worth a read to identify areas in which your clients need assistance.

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