Have your say Are us

How green are we?

You (and I mean PQ here) seem to be convinced that accountants will save the planet, but I am not so sure. In fact, I think you are being a bit naive.

Why has it taken them so long to realise there is no Planet B? Or have they finally worked out they can make money from it? I am an accountant, so I do accept I have been part of the problem, but it’s 2021 and we have only just created the International Sustainability Standards Board.

It is being called a once-in-alifetime opportunity to help shape global reporting standards that include the planet, but everything needs to quicken up from here.

Last month, where you talked about creating standards to save the planet, another story showed that just a tiny number of firms have set net zero targets.

Then there is ‘greenwashing’, where accountants have enabled corporations to look respectable, while they help destroy the planet in the name of profit.

My fear is as time goes by and COP26 becomes a distant memory then sustainability will move down the agenda and other issues such as AI and cyber security will take centre stage.

Name and email address supplied The Editor says: It is true I have faith that the profession can be a leading catalyst for lasting change. But we all need to be in the game! There is no going back now, and I honestly do think that accountants will be at the forefront in making a greener world happen.

Our star letter writer wins a fantastic ‘I love PQ’ mug!

Keep your socks on

I do love PQ magazine, I hope it’s OK to say that! But can I say that I generally read you with my socks on (see PQ magazine, December, page 42). I had to laugh and then reassess what I thought when I read your story about students who would do anything to make their world and that of their family a better place. It means invigilators make students sit their exams without socks or shoes.

Sometimes we pretend to have ethical boundaries, but we never get them really tested. I am not a cheat, but if my family had invested all their savings in me I don’t know how I would react. Some times you have to be grateful about where you were born, And maybe you shouldn’t be surprised that other people want that same advantage. Name and address supplied

I will be there!

I’m lucky to have been at not one but two PQ magazine awards at the Café de Paris. Can I say they weren’t what I expected! I have been to posh hotels for award ceremonies – and yours were not like those! They were better… I felt part of a whole industry working to help people get qualified. I see the 2022 awards were launched last month and I would encourage everyone to get nominating. It’s a unique night for the profession – in a good way! Name and address supplied The Editor says: Thank you for the ‘big up’. But there is a serious side to our awards. They promote best practice and highlight the good things going on in the profession. Our awards are definitely shiny, but people want to win them because they mean so much!

Mask or no mask? That was the question being asked by many ACCA December sitters online. As one PQ said: “I’m used to them now, happy to as they also keep my face warm!” This got people reminiscing about sitting exams in halls so cold you could see your own breath. It is always just before the exams that the Facebook groups really come into their own. Many stressed PQs will be waiting until after the exams before they get into the Christmas spirit, and are worried by then it might have been cancelled!

The LSBU/ PQ magazine fifth annual conference ‘Tomorrow’s World – a brighter future for accountants?’ is up on YouTube now. Check it out at https://tinyurl. com/4bckrv9n. Gavin Brown gave a great session on Fintech and cryptocurrency (he’s the keynote in the afternoon session). He looks at the new words that are increasingly becoming part of the language in accountancy and finance, such as market contracts, decentralised finance and blockchain.

During the day we took a number of polls, and the results make interesting reading… • Which one of the following do you think will drive the role of accountants to change significantly in the future?

Technology – 75%

Sustainability - 24%

Profitability – 1%

Governance – 0% • Do you own cryptocurrency?

Yes – 12%

No – 76%

Looking to buy – 12% • Do you think that accountant will be replaced by AI within:

The next five years – 6%

The next 10 years – 9%

The next 20 years – 17%

Not going to happen – 68%

So accountants really don’t see themselves being replaced by AI any time soon, which is good news – and they are right, of course!

PQ Magazine PO Box 75983, London E11 9GS | Phone: 07765 386489 | Email: graham@pqmagazine.com Website: www.pqmagazine.com | Editor/publisher: Graham Hambly graham@pqmagazine.com | Associate editor: Adam Riches | Art editor: Tim Parker Contributors: Robert Bruce, Prem Sikka, Lisa Nelson, Anna Kate Phelan, Tony Kelly, Phil Gammon, Edward Netherton | Subscriptions: subscriptions@pqmagazine.com | Origination services by Classified Central Media If you have any problems with delivery, or if you want to change your delivery address, please email admin@pqmagazine.com Published by PQ Publishing Ltd © PQ Publishing 2021