In my view every company should have an economist in the boardroom. Someone who is able to assist in decision making looking at past economic trends and projecting the future. But is this possible? Budget constraints do come into play and few are able to engage a full time economist.
Only financial institutions have the luxury of employing them and for good reasons, most engage actuarial scientists. Do we find economists in the retail sector, mining sector, agriculture sectors?
Highly unlikely and in a few instances—they engage management firms on a consultancy basis especially during strategic planning and review sessions.
Therefore the role of economists is assumed by accountants. But do accountants have the depth required in a fast changing economic landscape?
How many accountants can unpack the De-dollarization Roadmap? How many can confidently say this is what is likely to happen creating a scenario analysis for decision making?
How many accountants are able to unpack the history of currencies in Zimbabwe and implications on business performance? For instance to say The Bond lasted for so many months—these were the implications, lessons learnt carried over to the ZIG and the likely scenario is this or that?
Truth is, accountants have a lot on their plate. Financial reporting, audits and compliance do take a lot of time leaving little space for analysis. Yes top companies do factor this and have well developed systems. But how about non listed firms, medium sized businesses and small ones?
How many accountants can predict the next Statutory Instrument and likely impact?
Who can confidently advise on economic impact during the run up to elections? Who has time to be following all draft bills tabled in parliament? Who has the luxury of economic indicators trekking, reading the mood and advise management?
What will management say when they see a senior employee sitting in office and browsing through newspapers and listening to business conversations? They will say—this position doesn’t add value!
Do accountants possess enough depth on economic matters?
· At college (Bacc|Bcom)—Economics briefly covered, micro and macro economics.
· At MBA—Economics also covered but still the depth not good enough.
· At Professional Level—Basically a repeat of Honours Degree level. It is worse for foreign qualifications which do not consider the local complexities. Yes they will master micro-economics basis, macro economics too. But will have scant application skills on local economies.
It is only experience that they will add depth to their skills. Solid Continuous Professional Development (CPDs) will help plug the gaps.
As you review your performance results particularly adverse variences, one of the questions you may need to ask yourselves is—What percentage could be attributed to lack of economics depth?
