As soon as you start studying for a career in finance, you are nudging open the door to a world of opportunity – though many students may be surprised at how wide the variety of options can be, and how far the ACCA Qualification can take you.
When Nairobi-based Edmund Bernard Mndolwa was offered a scholarship by East African Railways & Harbours to study for ACCA exams, he wasn’t even sure what accounting was. ‘I perceived it as an extension of mathematics,’ he recalls, ‘and I believed that if I could solve any mathematics problem, I could be an accountant.’
On starting his studies, the reality came as something of a shock, but he ‘opened his mind and studied hard’ to pass his exams, then went on to build an impressive finance career. Edmund, now an FCCA, rose to become a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Tanzania, write a number of technical books, and hold a government post as commissioner of finance.
Natasha Winn’s finance career has also taken her to some places she did not anticipate. She trained with a small audit firm in Trinidad, and after qualifying, moved to another small venture, Trinidad Shell, where the skills she acquired enabled her to relocate to the US and work for much larger companies. ‘My US experience gave me a fantastic insight into all areas of operations,’ says Natasha. ‘It prepared me for my move to Shell Brunei, and my role as head of governance risk and assurance.’
Even so, Natasha believes she would not be where she is today without her ACCA Qualification. ‘It has really helped my career,’ she says, for a number of reasons. ‘There were so many benefits. Apart from the obvious academic knowledge and accreditation gained, I was approached for my Shell interview at the school where I was studying for my ACCA exams.’ Her contact with fellow members has also been important. ‘The social and business network you gain with ACCA can form lifetime bonds that continually grow,’ she adds.
An accountancy qualification will also give you a wide range of career options. ‘Finance professionals can work in any business sector, and there are lots of different specialist areas, so the possibilities are endless,’ says Beverly Cooper of Staffing Solutions. For example, Ilona Weiss FCCA is chief technology officer with the Polish software company Sage Symfonia; John Smith FCCA is chief executive of BBC Worldwide; Hassam Gaffar FCCA is chief operating officer with Botswana Life Insurance Ltd; and George Calinescu FCCA is deputy CFO at RBS Bank Romania.
Dare to dream
Your future career may be hard to imagine now, if you are struggling to pass your exams and survive on a tight budget, but if you work hard, one day you could be both professionally successful and financially secure. ‘From childhood I knew that I wanted to do something with numbers,’ recalls Angela Lee Loy FCCA. Although her parents could not afford to send her to university, she used her A-levels as a springboard into accounting.
‘The accessibility of the ACCA Qualification allowed me to start a successful career,’ she says, ‘and a qualification coupled with practical experience allows you to move up quickly.’ It was a combination that enabled her to become partner in a Big Four firm at just 33 years of age. ‘I’ve never looked back since,’ enthuses Angela, who now runs her own accounting outsourcing company, Aegis Business Solutions.
The ACCA members mentioned here have all followed many different career paths to get where they are today. But the variety of options they have each faced, and the choices they have made, only hint at the numerous possibilities that could be available to you. Cooper says: ‘Practice, the public sector, and industry and commerce are all open to ACCA qualified and part-qualified accountants who can demonstrate the right skills and experience.’ And these days, it’s increasingly easy to move between sectors.
Xia Xiao Yan started her finance career with a property management company, then moved into practice and worked in audit for a couple of years, before going back into industry as the finance and accounting manager for one of China’s largest computer producers. Vince Sloyan started in the public sector, at the UK National Health Service, but even after nine years there, he had no problem stepping sideways into business and a management accounting role with Reuters, the news service and financial market intermediary.
Who knows where you could be 10 or 20 years from now. As a student your brilliant career is only just beginning, but armed with the ACCA Qualification, there’s no limit to what you can achieve.
LOOK AND LEARN
As a student, it can be difficult to gain a broad view of the many career possibilities available to a qualified finance professional. But as long as you can get (even intermittent and occasional) access to the internet, there is a world of enlightenment at your fingertips. To find out about the possibilities in practice, visit the websites of the world’s largest firms:
Don’t forget to check the websites of small, medium and regional firms, too. To learn more about careers in business, commerce, or the public sector, visit the websites of leading recruitment agencies:
Looking through the advertisements for various finance roles, and reading about the skills and expertise they require, can broaden and deepen your understanding of the accountancy profession and the career opportunities it provides.
To get a greater insight into the experiences and achievements of ACCA members and students, visit the ACCA website, using the key words ‘member profiles’, you can read articles from the archives of ACCA’s magazines and publications. The more you know about the careers of others, the more you can do to shape your own future.
0 comments:
Post a Comment