Interview with Lee Young-sook, President of the Korean Women Certified Public Accountants Association
An Era of 5,200 Women CPAs
Mandatory at Least One Female Director on the Board
"A Talent Pool of 2,000 with Over 10 Years of Experience"
"CPAs Well-Versed in Financial Affairs Play Their Role on the Board"
[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] "If a female accountant who is a financial expert serves as the audit committee chair, the board of directors will perform its role much better."
Since the amendment to the Capital Markets Act, which has been in effect since last August, prohibiting companies with assets exceeding 2 trillion won from composing their boards of directors with only one gender, companies are now required to appoint at least one female director on their boards. This is expected to further expand the role of female accountants.
Lee Young-sook, President of the Korean Women Certified Public Accountants Association, said in an interview with Asia Economy on the 13th, "All companies are represented by financial figures, and the profession that can grasp financial information the fastest on the board is accountants." She emphasized, "Recently, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) has become important in corporate boards, and the way to faithfully fulfill the government's policy on 'G' is to appoint female accountants as outside directors."
In the past, boards of directors were criticized as 'rubber stamps' for management, but recently, as the legal responsibilities of outside directors have increased, if accountants who have a precise understanding of financial information participate on the board, trust in the company can be significantly strengthened. Lee said, "The era when outside directors acted as rubber stamps is over," adding, "Companies that need rubber stamp roles might find accountants uncomfortable, but if a proper outside director is needed, a female accountant who can accurately review financial information is the right candidate."
When President Lee passed the CPA exam in 1993, there were only 11 women. She was the first female accountant among 50 accountants in the audit department of her first workplace, Angeon Accounting Firm. However, the number of female accountants who passed this year has increased dramatically to 435. The membership of the Korean Women Certified Public Accountants Association, which was 60 at its launch in 1996, has grown to 5,200 this year. More than 2,000 female accountants have been active for over 10 years after registering as CPAs.
President Lee has been leading the Korean Women Certified Public Accountants Association since June this year. She said, "As of the end of September, there are 24,760 registered CPAs, with women just over 20%, but in 10 to 20 years, this will exceed 30 to 40%. As the number of female accountants increases, the Korean Women Certified Public Accountants Association may no longer be necessary and women may remain as CPA members, so we are seeking the association's significance in public interest activities."
In fact, the Korean Women Certified Public Accountants Association established the "Public Interest Organization Transparency Support Center" in 2020 and has been providing accounting and tax consulting volunteer services to small nonprofit organizations. President Lee emphasized, "Small nonprofit organizations often omit accounting entries not out of intent but because they do not know how to handle them," adding, "I want to contribute to society through tax education for nonprofit organizations."
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