The year 2009 will forever be remembered as a time when the global economy began a painful restructuring amid a cascade of systemic failures -- credit panic, stock market crash, and mortgage meltdown and business contraction. But some smart and able accounting firm decision-makers stand to benefit... if they can catch the right trends. In this research report, we examine five of the critical issues that are creating new opportunities for the accounting profession and nine key strategies for obtaining competitive advantage.