Accountants have been warned that the industry could suffer the same fate as coal mining unless they make radical changes to the way they work. The traditional role of the "bean-counter" may be under threat as firms plan to give them new improved customer friendly roles, according to a new report by KPMG Management Consultants. In a report entitled Finance of the Future - A Guide for Business Users, it warns that the role of finance departments within companies could radically change over the next 10 years.

Writing in the introduction to the report, executive vice president and chief financial officer of SmithKline Beecham, Mr Hugh Collum, warns that "accountants could go the way of coal miners".

"A mighty industry that once employed three quarters of a million and helped bring down a government today employs fewer employees than SmithKline Beecham," he states.

"I believe that accountants in industry could go the same way if they do not realise the fundamental changes they need to make."