Robert Louis Bunting

Robert Louis Bunting, born in Sacramento, California, in 1945, has based his entire professional career, following education at the University of Idaho, in the West, most prominently in the Seattle area. From this location, he has achieved both national and international recognition for leadership roles in challenging circumstances as Chairman of the Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and as Board Chair of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

In the Northwest of the United States, as chairman of Moss Adams, (1981-2004), he was the acknowledged leader of developing and thriving peer firms with growing national and international duties, a person viewed as a role model of a professional firm leader. He maintained his focus on the firm for the main part of his career, and thereafter offered his time and talent to the broader professional community.

True to the adage that challenges find leaders, he began service on the Board of the AICPA in 1986 and served nearly continuously through his term as AICPA Board Chair (2004-2005). When it became apparent that the post-Enron world challenges would continue to profoundly affect the manner in which the accountancy profession was evolving throughout the world, leadership from the USA was seen as needed internationally. Following unanticipated circumstances, he was asked to assume a major role in these episodes.  Bunting immediately agreed to extend his voluntary activities and made the needed commitment.

Thus, it was that IFAC, and the global profession became the beneficiaries of his leadership. 

Following the East Asia Financial Crisis, professional bodies and international securities regulators began a series of reforms creating international standard setting boards for auditing, ethics, and education, overseen by a Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB). These were challenging times, and the profession was concerned about regulatory overreach yet faced up to the importance of acting in the public interest and not self-interest. Bunting entered this series of events first as Deputy President (2005-2009) and then as President of IFAC (2009-2011), representing accountancy bodies from over 130 countries and some 25 of the largest international auditing networks. He navigated the nuanced geopolitical landscape advocating for the elements of a new model, in both the spirit and the letter of the reforms. He helped craft a pillar which has enabled the current generation of high-quality standards to fill a void.

These early steps created a foundation for the view of a global accounting profession which would begin a multi-generational effort to transcend the wariness of the profession, concerns of regulators, and advance the well-being of the public to bring about a better-informed investor community.

Since 2012 Bunting has chaired an AICPA Task Force on Sustainability Accounting and Assurance, adding a contemporary topic to his portfolio of leadership activities.

Robert Louis Bunting is the One Hundredth and Twelfth member of The Accounting Hall of Fame.