Berita IAI

Expanding Access and Strengthening Competence: Indonesia’s Approach to Building a Sustainable Accounting Profession

25 Maret 2026 - Release


For the accounting profession, sustainability is not only about environmental or social reporting. It is also about ensuring that the profession itself remains relevant, accessible, and capable of responding to the evolving needs of society and the economy.

From Indonesia’s perspective, the IFAC Opening Doors Principles represent more than an initiative to broaden entry into the profession. They are part of a broader strategy to ensure the long-term sustainability of the accounting profession in an emerging economy undergoing rapid transformation.

Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, with strong demographic momentum and a dynamic economy increasingly integrated into global markets. As economic activities expand and regulatory frameworks continue to evolve, the demand for high-quality financial reporting and professional accountability grows accordingly. In this context, expanding access to the profession, while maintaining high standards of competence and integrity, is both an opportunity and a responsibility.

Through the Ikatan Akuntan Indonesia (IAI), the national professional accountancy organization, Indonesia has aligned the spirit of the Opening Doors Principles with its strategic roadmap, Renstra IAI Next 4 Success 2022–2026, which emphasizes relevance, inclusivity, global alignment, and commitment to the public interest.

Embedding the Opening Doors Principles in Professional Qualification

In practice, the six Opening Doors Principles are already reflected in many aspects of Indonesia’s professional qualification system, particularly through the Chartered Accountant (CA) Indonesia pathway.

  1. Diverse Educational Backgrounds
    Indonesia recognizes that future professional accountants may come from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds. Through structured competency recognition mechanisms introduced under IAI Organizational Regulation No. 1 of 2023, the CA qualification pathway allows candidates from non-traditional backgrounds to enter the profession through rigorous learning-outcome assessments.
    Rather than focusing solely on formal degrees in accounting, the system evaluates whether candidates possess the required competencies. This competency-based approach enables the profession to remain inclusive while safeguarding professional standards.
  2. Recognition of Prior Work Experience
    Another key principle is acknowledging prior learning and professional experience. Within the CA framework, exemptions may be granted at the Foundation, Professional, and Advanced levels based on prior education, professional certifications, and relevant work experience.
    All exemptions are assessed by the Professional Accountant Certification Board (DSAP), which reviews curriculum alignment, learning outcomes, accreditation status, and professional achievements. This structured process ensures that flexibility in access does not dilute the rigor or credibility of the qualification.
  3. Removing Barriers to Access
    Financial accessibility remains an important consideration in a country with significant socioeconomic diversity. The CA Scholarship Program provides examination access and membership support to high-performing students from various regions of Indonesia.
    By helping reduce financial constraints, the program broadens participation and creates opportunities for talented individuals who might otherwise face barriers in pursuing a professional accounting career.
  4. Flexible Qualification and Delivery
    Indonesia’s geography presents practical challenges, with thousands of islands spread across a vast territory. To address this, IAI has invested in digital infrastructure through the IAI Lounge Platform, a mobile-first ecosystem supporting e-learning, computer-based examinations, and remote administrative services.
    With 43 computer-based examination centers nationwide, candidates can take professional examinations from different regions while remaining part of a unified national qualification system. Technology plays a central role in ensuring that location does not determine opportunity.
  5. Career Step-Off Points
    The qualification pathway is designed with flexibility in mind. Intermediate credentials, such as the Business Finance Associate (BFA), provide step-off points along the professional journey.
    This modular structure allows individuals to progress in stages, pause when necessary, or transition between professional roles without exiting the pathway entirely. In this way, career development can adapt to life circumstances and evolving professional aspirations.
  6. Global Reciprocity and Mobility
    In an increasingly interconnected world, mobility is essential. IAI participates in mutual recognition frameworks with global professional accountancy organizations, including CPA Australia, ACCA, ICAEW, and AICPA-CIMA, as well as the ASEAN CPA arrangement.
    These agreements strengthen cross-border professional mobility while maintaining equivalency standards. Professionals from these bodies who obtain a letter of good standing from IAI are required only to complete examinations in Indonesian Taxation and Indonesian Business Law, ensuring alignment with national regulatory requirements.

Taken together, these initiatives demonstrate how the Opening Doors Principles can be translated into practical policies and systems—expanding access to the profession while preserving competence, integrity, and public trust.

Strengthening Competence Through the CA Competency Mastery Program

While expanding access to the profession is important, ensuring the continuous development of professional competence is equally essential.

Indonesia’s regulatory and economic environment has become increasingly complex. Financial reporting today is no longer viewed merely as an administrative requirement; it is a foundation for transparency, accountability, and sustainable governance.

Recent policy developments in Indonesia reinforce this perspective. Government regulations on financial reporting emphasize the importance of qualified professionals in preparing and presenting financial statements. Similarly, regulatory frameworks in the financial services sector and state-owned enterprises increasingly require organizations to ensure that individuals responsible for financial reporting and governance possess recognized professional certifications.

In response to these developments, IAI has introduced the CA Competency Mastery Program, a strategic initiative designed to strengthen the capabilities of professional accountants in Indonesia.

The program focuses on deepening participants’ ability to analyze financial statements, interpret accounting standards and regulatory frameworks, and apply professional judgment in complex situations. Rather than emphasizing theory alone, the program adopts a practice-oriented approach that reflects real challenges faced by professionals in corporate, government, and financial services environments.

Participants typically include Chartered Accountants working in a wide range of roles, such as financial reporting specialists, internal and external auditors, risk management professionals, and governance practitioners. By enhancing analytical capability and professional judgment, the program aims to strengthen the role of accountants as trusted contributors to organizational decision-making and oversight.

According to Ardan Adiperdana, President of IAI, the program reflects IAI’s commitment to maintaining the competence, integrity, and professionalism of Indonesian accountants. Strengthening professional capabilities is not only about meeting regulatory expectations, it is also about reinforcing the credibility of financial reporting and supporting sustainable organizational governance.

Looking Ahead

As economies evolve and expectations for transparency continue to grow, professional accountancy organizations around the world face a shared challenge: how to expand access to the profession while maintaining high standards of competence and public trust.
Indonesia’s experience suggests that these goals are not mutually exclusive. By combining inclusive qualification pathways with strong competency frameworks and continuous professional development, it is possible to broaden participation while safeguarding the integrity of the profession.

The Opening Doors Principles provide a useful framework for this effort. But their success ultimately depends on how they are translated into practical policies, qualification systems, and professional development programs within each jurisdiction.
This raises an important question for the global profession: How can professional accountancy organizations continue expanding access to the profession while ensuring that competence, integrity, and public trust remain at the core of professional qualification systems?