A1: ECONOMY

1. Stability of the global economic infrastructure

2. The level of economic growth

3. Public attitudes to pure capitalism

4. Consideration of alternative economic perspectives

5. Total scale and distribution of global inequality and unmet needs

6. Globalisation v protectionism in times of economic uncertainty

7. Standing of the US dollar as the global reserve currency

8. Notions of value and currency

9. Broadening measurement of business value and progress

10. Impact of BRIC market development on global accountancy firms

11. Freedom of mobility for global labour

12. Extent of mergers of international stock exchanges

13. Proportion of knowledge-creation activities as a share of the economy at the national and global level

14. Stability of national revenue bases

15. Manageability of national and international debt

16. Level of investment required to maintain national physical infrastructure

17. Number and impact of micro-businesses on the overall health of the economy

A2: POLITICS AND LAW

18. Focus of global governance institutions

19. Rate of democratic transition

20. Level of international political volatility

21. Pace and extent of cultural globalisation

22. Governance and delivery of outsourced public services

23. Volume and complexity of legal regulation

A3: SOCIETY 67

24. Scale and distribution of global population growth

25. Spread of cultural diversity in society and the workplace

26. Workforce age structure

27. The workplace expectations of Generations Y, Z and beyond

28. Level of female participation in the workforce

29. Cost and ease of access to higher education

30. Uptake of online learning models in education

A4: BUSINESS

31. Capitalism next: future governing business and market paradigms

32. Business leader responsiveness to change and disruption

33. Quality and availability of the global talent pool

34. Influence of emerging financial centres

35. Choice of global business languages

36. Scale of global mergers and acquisitions (M&A)

37. Extent of foreign direct investment in developed and developing economies

38. Scale of reverse innovation flow from emerging economies to the industrialised world

39. Speed and duration of business cycles

40. Experimentation with and adoption of new business models

41. Crowdsourced funding for innovation: the consumer as investor

42. Level of complexity in business

43. Adoption of integrated systems thinking to manage business complexity

44. Living wills for businesses

45. Enterprise risk management capability

46. Evolution of corporate governance regulation and practice

47. Extent of social entrepreneurship in social and business sectors

48. Scope and diversity of expectations of external stakeholders

49. Pressure to manage corporate reputation as part of business strategy

50. Level of corporate commitment to social responsibility, investment, philanthropy and volunteer work

51. Use of cash for financial transactions

52. Management of accountability and compliance within the firm

53. The future role of intermediaries

54. Emergence of new industry sectors and professions

A5: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

55. The digitisation of work

56. The use of personal technology in business

57. Impact of the internet and personal technology upon attention spans,

learning, and knowledge retention

58. Business impact of social media

59. Ease of internet access

60. Adoption of cloud computing by business

61. Creation and valuation of digital assets

62. Cybersecurity challenges for business

63. The future of digital publishing

64. Big data: the development and exploitation of large organisational

databases

65. Data mining and predictive analytics

66. ‘Intelligent’ accounting systems

67. Scale of business opportunities associated with augmented and

virtual reality

68. New industries and production models

69. Advances in genetic science

70. The role of genetics in personalised health care

71. Advancements in brain science

72. Impact of nanotechnology advances across business sectors

73. Impact of advances in robotic science across business sectors

A6: ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND RESOURCES

74. Global climate change

75. Global competition for limited natural resources

76. Carbon tax and other environmental market mechanisms

77. Level of trade in environmental finance markets

78. Extent of eco-literacy, green practices, and ethical consumption

in business

79. Developing materiality of biodiversity impacts on business

80. Scale of take-up in alternative energy by business

A7: THE PRACTICE OF ACCOUNTING

81. Defining the scope of the accountant’s role

82. Size and complexity of the CFO’s remit

83. Non-financial information and integrated reporting

84. Clarity in financial reporting and defining the audit function

85. Balance between external financial accounting and internal

managerial accounting

86. Internal audit management

87. Changing structures and business models for accounting firms

88. Opportunities arising from adoption of global regulation

89. Evolution of the global accounting supply chain

90. Adoption of globally accepted accounting standards

91. Impact of size-specific business regulation upon accounting practices

92. Rate of adoption of XBRL as an accounting data standard

93. Importance of intangible assets in company valuation

A8: THE ACCOUNTANCY PROFESSION

94. Societal expectations and definitions of accounting

95. Flexibility, suitability and cost of accountancy training

96. Accounting skills capacity in transitional economies

97. Level of entrepreneurial skills in the accountancy profession

98. Public perception and attractiveness of the accountancy profession

99. Establishment and recognition of accountancy associations in

developing markets

100. Impact of competition from entrants outside the profession on the

provision of accounting services