Accountants need to do more to educate the public about their role and their contribution to business, in order to rebuild trust in the profession, research from ACCA suggests.

The ACCA's latest report, Closing the Value Gap, found that 75% of accountants believe the public consider them to be trustworthy, but in reality just over half (55%) actually do.

The report, which surveyed 250 accountants and 1,500 business people, showed that the profession must 'work on its own image compared to other professions', particuarly as the accountancy profession is viewed less favourably than doctors, nurses, architects and engineers, although they were pereceived as more trustworthy than bankers, politicians, journalists and lawyers.

Nearly seven in ten of the accountants surveyed said their profession was partly to blame for the financial crisis, and a series of high-profile scandals such as Enron had left it with a "legacy of mistrust". Interestingly, the results from the public polling have changed little over the last five years, despite the fallout from the banking crisis.

Helen Brand, chief executive of ACCA, said: 'It is concerning that public opinion of the accountancy profession is low, and it is important that the general public recognises the integral role of the profession in economic growth and recovery.

Part of this recognition will come from an understanding of what accountancy today truly means, and the industry as a whole must work together to help this transformation of opinion. This research was designed to act as a starting point for a wider debate around how that can be achieved.'

Meanwhile, Richard Sexton, PwC's executive board member for reputation and policy echoed similar sentiments: 'As accountants, it is important that we come out of the shadows as a profession. Although there will be some challenging conversations, it is important that we get better at explaining what we do, how we do it and how we generate value.'

The report laid out a series of steps the profession must embrace in order to rebuild trust such as 'engaging with stakeholders and the public at large about what it means to be an accountant', addressing concerns about ethical issues and conflicts of interest, and explaining how accountants add value to the economy.

The full report can be downloaded from ACCA