About GAF
The gateway to
global accounting.
The Global Accounting Forum is an independent, AI-powered intelligence platform — the authoritative source for data, rankings and insight across the world's accounting networks and associations.
Our story
Bringing clarity to global accounting.
The global accounting profession — spanning hundreds of networks, associations and tens of thousands of firms — has lacked a single credible, structured source of intelligence. Data has been fragmented, self-reported and rarely verified.
GAF was founded to change that. Empowered by proprietary AI infrastructure, we gather, verify and publish the collective story of the accounting market — educating and connecting businesses and individuals to the accounting resources most relevant to them, wherever they are in the world.
What we stand for
Independence is
our foundation.
The Forum's credibility depends on being an independent, unbiased and trustworthy resource — not influenced by any one network or group of stakeholders. Our governance is overseen by an independent advisory board.
Accuracy
Verified data and rigorous research standards underpin every profile and ranking we publish.
Independence
Unbiased analysis without conflicts of interest. No network pays for its position.
Collaboration
We bring the industry together — networks, associations, firms, and the professionals who serve them.
Innovation
Modern AI infrastructure and continuous methodology development keep our data current and comprehensive.
The GAF platform
AI-powered.
Independently verified.
Our proprietary AI infrastructure continuously gathers and cross-references data from primary research, public records and direct participation by networks and associations. Every data point is subject to editorial review before publication.
Primary research
Interviews, surveys and direct engagement with network leaders and member firms.
Data verification
Cross-referenced against public records, filings and third-party sources.
Continuous updates
Rankings and profiles are updated on a rolling basis, not annually.
Methodology pillars
Collect
AI-assisted gathering from public filings, network websites, and primary outreach.
Verify
Editorial team cross-references every data point against independent sources.
Publish
Verified data appears in profiles, rankings and the GAF directory.
Update
Data is reviewed continuously — organisations can flag changes at any time.
Independence & Governance
Our credibility depends entirely on our commitment to independence.
Independence & GovernanceGAF does not accept payment for favourable rankings. Network executives do not influence editorial decisions. Our advisory board provides independent oversight of governance, methodology and editorial standards.
Independence statement
GAF operates as an editorially independent organisation. No ranking position is for sale, and no commercial relationship influences our data.
Governance structure
An independent advisory board, drawn from across the profession, oversees GAF's methodology, editorial standards and governance framework.
Editorial/commercial separation
A strict firewall separates commercial activities from editorial and rankings decisions. The two teams do not share data or influence each other's work.
Governance principles
Transparency, accountability and accessibility are the four principles that guide every decision GAF makes about how data is collected and published.
Independent Advisory Panel
Independent oversight from across the profession.
Our advisory board brings together senior leaders from networks, associations, technology and practice management — providing genuine independence and broad professional perspective.
James Hickey
Founder & CEO, Global Accounting Forum
James founded GAF with a mission to bring transparency and structure to the global accounting profession. He oversees editorial direction and strategic partnerships.
Jens Poll
Chair, Advisory Board
Jens brings decades of experience at the highest levels of the international accounting profession, having led one of the world's largest networks.
Stuart McLeod
Co-Founder & CEO, Archie
Stuart is a leading voice in accounting technology and practice management, and brings deep insight into the future of the profession.
Sabby Gill
CEO, Dext
Sabby leads one of the most widely used data capture platforms in accounting, with perspective across thousands of firms globally.
Tom Dunkerley
CEO, Sift
Tom brings a fintech and SaaS perspective, with experience scaling technology businesses that serve the accounting sector.
Explore the directory.
Browse every network and association in the GAF directory, compare rankings and access full organisation profiles.