Steve Player, CPA, is bilingual, and he feels the future of his profession depends on other CPAs’ learning to speak a new dialect as well. The language in question is not French, Spanish or even Japanese. Player is referring to the words and phrases spoken in boardrooms and offices around the world—the language of operations, sales and marketing.

Player is a partner in the Dallas office of Arthur Andersen, LLP, and firm-wide director of Cost Management. Without a dramatic, progressive shift in thinking, Player warns that CPAs will be competing for fewer and fewer jobs. "We must manage more effectively in both a mental and financial sense. CPAs have to be the ones able to help interpret information, or there's absolutely no need for us," Player says. With three books in three years, he is among those defining "the new future" with his insight and opinions.

Do CPAs Deserve a Seat at the Decision-Making Table?
While there’s been a great deal of buzz about transitioning the role of finance from transaction processing into business partnering, Player wonders if some CPAs—in their current mindsets—are prepared to make that switch. Do they really deserve a coveted seat at the management table? He ventures that more than a few CEOs would say, "not my accountant."

Player acknowledges that accountants have been guilty of pushing numbers without a concrete understanding of what was happening in the business operationally. This makes them an easy target for CEOs looking to trim the bottom line. Player says CPAs today must convert themselves into value-added, higher-performing people. They must generate savings and value, and make a persuasive case for protecting the bottom line and growing the top line.

"CEOs can see dollar savings very clearly. It's traceable. It's trackable. It's real. What they can't see is the value CPAs can add if we're allowed to partner, so we've got to work double duty," Player explains. "We've got to get ahead of the game and go out and show people the value we can add through growing the top line. CPAs have got to become the professionals who are pulled back to the table because we can add value.

Learning the New Language
So, how do accounting professionals effectively learn to use the new language? Player’s vision of the new finance melds classical thinking with state-of-the-art technology. Player believes some of the best writing we have in management accounting comes from the turn of the century. Although spoken more than 80 years ago, the eloquent philosophy of his firm’s founder still rings true—the way you understand a business is not by understanding the figures or the transaction; you have to understand what's behind them.

"What CPAs have today that we didn't have when the profession was founded is the power of technology. The thoughts were right. It was just too difficult and cumbersome to implement them to a great degree," Player explains. "Today we can present out work visually, graphically, quickly, on a laptop, and distribute information around the globe in seconds," he adds with excitement. As a resource for numerous publications, including Forbes, Financial World, Investor’s Business Daily, and Global Finance, Player understands the powerful impact technology has in today’s global marketplace.

While computers provide many benefits and opportunities, he acknowledges that technology presents a mixed bag for the profession. Much of what accountants historically have done is now automated, and the trend continues. For example, just-in-time production systems reduce inventories and the need to count those inventories, which also eliminates the need for accountants. The World Wide Web serves as another example of why traditional accounting could go the way of the dinosaur.

These types of examples might give cause for some to view computers as the enemy, but Player embraces technology as a strong ally. "That power is ours to mine and ours to harness, but we've got to invest in ourselves to understand how to use the tool to move forward.

The Changing Face of the Finance Function
Working with Fortune 500 companies and members of the INC 500 fastest growing companies gives Player reason to believe that technology alone is not the answer. Accountants must learn yet another skill. "The controller of the future will not gather and process transactions, but rather serve as facilitator and coach. Teams of workers will assemble and analyze information and develop action plans. The controller will coach these employees and help them demonstrate value-added worth to their organization," Player explains.

Player uses a baseball metaphor to describe the new CPA’s role. "They're not the person running the scoreboard. They're in the dugout helping to coach. We've got to be viewed as facilitators instead of just record keepers," he explains.

"If we don't transform our profession, then we need to work on getting our teaching certificates, because there will be far fewer of us needed in the profession and it will be far harder to find work," Player says.

But how does the profession set about on this kind of dramatic transformation? Player’s advice is straightforward. CPA, prepare thyself.

Player recommends utilizing AICPA’s Center for Financial Excellence in Financial Management, and programs such as the AICPA National Industry Conference. "Get yourself ready to take on that role, and to understand what performance management is about. Learn how to become a better coach and a facilitator, and how to talk in operational language instead of purely providing financial information," Player suggests. "When you've prepared yourself, then you've got to look for the opportunities to add value, and that often means doing more than you get asked to do," he adds.

His words ring true in any language.