Accountant of the 21st Century

Read an article in the Star. It is all about the implementation of the FRS 139.
Well when all the article is worried about the accounting treatment, here I am looking at the other side of the concerns.
Accountant of the 21st century facing lots of challenges. Now with the implementation of FRS 139, what else the accountants need to worry about?
First of all accountant need to understand further on “what is financial instrument”. Whatever stated in the text book or reference books are merely books. What happen in the real financial market is ever changing. Accountant need to keep them-selves updated with that. Malaysia might not be as advanced as other countries in the development of financial instruments (which to me is a blessing under the current economic crisis) however having more in-depth understanding will help the accountant to prepare for the future challenges. For examples, do you understand what Structural Products is? Something New?
Secondly, the off balance sheet instrument, this might also be a challenge for the accountant. The basic point is how to identified, or just ask a simple question: do you know what is the “off balance item about”. This is more of the qualitative consideration rather than the quantitative consideration. Sound easy but when you come to the real life
Then here come the third consideration where you need to look for embedded derivative in a contract or even some other contract which from the surface doesn’t seem to contain a derivative. Here is the problem, are our accountant equipped with such knowledge?
Potential and future accountants do not look at the accounting standards only, look beyond the standard and have more understanding of the fundamental of the financial instrument. This is the whole new world of challenges!
Stay tune for part 2