The Dutch professional association NBA sees sustainability as a strategic topic for the future. To emphasize this fact the NBA shows their members a day in the life of the accountant of the future as described by the IFAC, for which they state: “We believe the accountancy profession is best positioned to lead sustainability reporting and assurance”. And about the skillset of the accountant IFAC says: “The skills of accountants will become increasingly in demand as the Sustainable Development Goals gain traction – whether to advance climate action, to provide quality education or to achieve gender equality”.

The Dutch AFM urges a long-term focus to realize stability in the financial markets. All these developments have an impact on the role of the chartered accountant working in small and medium-sized practices. Especially because the Corporate Sustainability Directive (CSRD) has an impact on SMPs, as stated by the NBA on its website. The CSRD requires accountants for their larger clients to assist them to be prepared for this new legislation. And to give their clients assurance as of fiscal year 2024. For the smaller clients’ accountants, it will be the fact that clients will ask for advice about how to report on sustainability data in their value chain. Or help is requested to apply for ‘green’ financing at the bank. These developments have an impact on the role of the accountant. It doesn’t only require new knowledge, but also for accountants to work together with different kinds of specialists. Sneller and Vergoossen indicate in the FD that:

"Either way, the new legislation will change the accounting profession. Indeed, the auditor's report is going to evolve from exclusively retrospective to retrospective and prospective, from an opinion on financial performance only to an opinion on performance in finance, sustainability, social functioning, and governance. The statement no longer relates only to a company in isolation, but to a company operating in a value chain. Through this broadening, the accounting profession can gain in relevance and accountants can fulfill their role as 'trusted representatives of society' more than ever."

Since the requirements of the CSRD have been known, both practical and scientific debates have taken off. For example, the Dutch magazine for accountancy and business economics, the MAB, devoted a theme issue to the role of the accountant in the context of the CSRD. Gold & Majoor (MAB, 2023) end their introduction of the theme issue with several questions which are relevant for the PhD research I want to conduct: “To what extent does the accountant have the necessary expertise to meet regulatory and societal expectations? How will the current role of the accountant change in the future, and what requirements does this place on accountancy education? How will the accountant remain the person of trust - and will the broader group of stakeholders continue to see him or her as such in that role?”

On top of these questions, I am curious about the answer to the following ones:

• What does the CSRD mean for the definition of value propositions of Dutch SMP’s?
• How do members of the management teams of Dutch SMP accountancy firms perceive the implementation of the CSRD in their sector?
• How do members of these management teams make sense of sustainability as an effect of the implementation of the CSRD?

Questions which are not only relevant for practice as stated above. They are also relevant from an academic perspective as I will show in the upcoming articles that I will share. And, in addition: what questions do you have?