Retrospective of the Accounting Profession Development: A Civilizational Approach

Over the last decade, several lists of professions that will disappear soon have been published. In this aspect, the rapid development and spread of innovation, and digitalization of management processes threaten the existence of the accounting profession in its current traditional form. The article aims to outline the patterns of further evolution of the accounting profession in terms of scientific and technological progress based on the analysis of the history of the emergence and formation of accounting as a professional activity. The role of the accountant in the socio-economic structure of the world's major civilizations was analyzed from the emergence of the profession to the present time. The key features of accounting formation in the context of formational and civilizational approaches to understanding the historical process were considered. The scientific idea about the development of the accountant profession was deepened by highlighting the civilizational approach. In contrast to the formational approach, this approach involves cyclical development of the profession, variability of its manifestation and development in different parts of the world, and dependence on factors (economic, social, political, cultural, religious). The study results show that the development of the accounting profession follows a civilizational approach. Therefore, the potential replacement of some of its functions by technological solutions is not a threat to the profession's existence but rather a new stage of its development. A retrospective analysis of the accounting profession through the prism of a civilizational approach allows us to outline new accounting patterns and use them as a basis for its transformation to achieve compliance with the profession's future needs and challenges.