Accountants agree: training to become a Chartered Accountant is a great asset in building a career, no matter where it leads. Here are some great reasons directly from business leaders who started out as Chartered Accountants.
One: Chartered Accountant is a great foundation for any leadership position, in business, culture or the charity sector, says Karen Hennessy, whose career has included roles as varied as consulting and entrepreneurship. “I’m fundamentally a chartered accountant… there is no other qualification that will give you the training like a chartered accountancy qualification will,” she says.
Integrity, discipline and skill
Joseph Ong, MD of 1-Group in Singapore, gives three more reasons to think about becoming a Chartered Accountant. The training fosters integrity, discipline and skill, he says. Dion Shango, of PwC, says that being a Chartered Accountant gives “the opportunity to solve important, complex problems”.
Nutan Wozencroft, CFO at UNESCO, says it’s satisfying to be able to present management information that enables an organisation to make good business decisions. Qualifying as a chartered accountant provides a person with a keen understanding of how organisations work through finance. It also equips them with the tools to make evidence-based decision-making, and it combines both management and technical skills, she adds.
Breadth of training
Another good reason to be a Chartered Accountant is the breadth of training it provides, according to Laila Giwa, head of finance at Skullcandy. “It opens up so many doors. You learn so much: you learn about audit, law, finance, finance reporting, tax, how to prepare a business case, good business skills, how to behave ethically or how to face ethical scenarios,” she says.
Career foundation
John Chiwele agrees. Chartered Accountant is a career foundation that helps to get participants more involved in running a business, says the CFO of Mopani Copper Mines in Zambia. “When you look at how a chartered accountant is trained, there is management, taxation, business law and company law… and that’s a very good foundation for you especially as you grow up in your career,” he says.
Confidence and credibility are further reasons. Max Loh, Managing Partner at EY Singapore. Being a Chartered Accountant “accords the fundamental confidence and credibility that enables me to work successfully with organisations not just in but beyond Singapore,” he states.
