Skip to main content

Predictive Business Analytics: An Important Aspect of the Professional Accountants in Business' Toolkit

Nov 14, 2011 | New York, New York | English

The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has issued new International Good Practice Guidance, Predictive Business Analytics: Improving Business Performance with Forward-Looking Measures. The guidance is designed to help professional accountants in business working in commerce, industry, financial services, education, and the public and not-for-profit sectors, as well as their organizations, embrace predictive business analytics to help develop and execute strategy.

Professional accountants in business can use predictive business analytics to identify new opportunities for growth and improvement in their organizations, as well as to highlight areas for corrective actions and strategy adaptations. Predictive business analytics can help any organization select the appropriate actions and best decisions to improve performance and achieve sustainable organizational success.

“Predictive business analytics is a tool that professional accountants should use to help their organizations better understand likely future performance outcomes,” said Roger Tabor, chair of the PAIB Committee. “Professional accountants in business should be able to assist their organizations in making the most of predictive business analytics and forward-looking indicators of performance to improve strategy and performance management enterprise-wide.”

This International Good Practice Guidance assists professional accountants in business as they contend with rising expectations from their organizations. The quality of management information expected by internal business users is expanding, both in terms of the range of data to be considered and the level of required analysis. From strategic issues to routine tasks, executives, managers, and operational staff require higher-quality information from professional accountants to support strategic and operational decision making.

About the PAIB Committee
The PAIB Committee serves IFAC member bodies and professional accountants worldwide who work in commerce, industry, financial services, education, and the public and the not-for-profit sectors. Its aim is to promote and contribute to the value of professional accountants in business by increasing awareness of the important roles professional accountants play, supporting member bodies in enhancing the competence of their members, and facilitating the communication and sharing of good practices and ideas.

About IFAC
IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC is comprised of 164 members and associates in 125 countries and jurisdictions, representing approximately 2.5 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

#  #  #