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In an environment in which professional and corporate failures are regularly broadcast far and wide, recent research shows that one profession continues to attract high levels of trust – chartered accountants.

The Trust Survey, conducted by Edelman DXI for Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW), puts CAs behind only doctors and engineers. At the same time, accountants outside the CA certification have suffered a trust drop-off of a few percentage points. These results reinforce the concept that the CA designation signals integrity, reliability and fairness, as well as technical competence.

Ruth Hidalgo, director at CAW, says the results indicate the constant evolution of a profession.

“Trust in chartered accountants is at an all-time high,” she says. “Businesses increasingly recognise chartered accountants not only for their technical expertise but also as trusted guardians of financial data and ethical decision making.”

The business environment and perceptions around it, Hidalgo says, are increasingly shaped by AI and other rapid technological change. CAs, she says, are relied upon by others to help navigate potential misinformation and ensure integrity and reliable insights.

Feedback from the research suggests CAs are now widely seen by finance and business leaders as a benchmark for integrity and professional judgement.

What builds trust in CAs and business?

Philipp Kloeber CA, a director in the Forensics and Integrity Services team at EY Singapore, has spent much of his career witnessing the outcomes of a lack of trust. His work involves forensic investigations into suspected instances of fraud and other financial misconduct. That insight has led to deep knowledge about how organisations strengthen integrity frameworks to ensure such issues do not emerge.

“When I say trust, what I mean in a very practical sense is that people believe you will do what you say you will do, that you are competent, that you are fair and that you do the right thing, even when no-one is watching,” Kloeber says.

In describing organisational culture, he says trust is indicated by a level of confidence that decisions are not just being made appropriately and consistently, but that they can also be clearly explained, with evidence, if questioned later.

That level of confidence demands much more than formal policies. It requires investment in controls that operate in daily practice, as well as a properly resourced compliance and risk function. This offers staff both capability and authority.

“From my experience, under-resourcing compliance and risk is an absolute trust killer,” Kloeber says.

Regular risk assessments that are acted upon transparently are also powerfully positive because they translate values into action. An investment in training relating to competencies and behaviours that boost risk and compliance measures further aligns values with actions.

What erodes trust in business?

When an alignment exists between what leaders say and what they do, and when issues are visibly acted upon, the rest of the organisation is more confident to speak up, further strengthening levels of trust. On the flipside, trust erosion typically occurs gradually as controls fall away. Often distracted by more urgent business, leaders and workforces may begin to see compliance as a box-tick. They begin to act inconsistently and then bend rules.

Kloeber says this is often when the “say-do gap” – the distance between stated values and actual behaviours – has gradually widened. This leads to persistent and damaging problems and, eventually, to a business becoming unsustainable.

What makes CAs different?

The difference in trust levels between accountants and CAs is not surprising, Hidalgo believes.

While “accountant” is a broad label and encompasses numerous and varied roles and contexts, the CA designation, on the other hand, indicates standards, continued professional development, ethical decision making and professional accountability.

Such trust builders are consistent across countries and cultures. Core ingredients of trust, including competence, integrity, fairness, reliability, consistency and a willingness to hold the line – especially when nobody is watching – are all met with trust globally.

It means that CAs are not people who merely look at numbers. Instead, they protect the integrity of decisions made about those numbers.