A Career in Accounting and the Essential Skills for the 21-St Century Accounting Graduates
Our CEO, Kian Soon, was invited by the School of Business of Monash University Malaysia as a guest lecturer to share his knowledge and experience with the Bachelor of Business and Commerce Program undergraduates on 10 March. The subject of this talk is “A Career in Accounting and the Essential Skills for 21st-Century Accounting Graduates”.
Kian Soon started his talk by touching briefly some of the events during the Asia Financial Crisis in late 90s. He explained the evolution and importance of corporate governance until the recent days and how these brought about the new career option on Governance, Risk and Compliance (“GRC”) for accounting graduates.
In terms of skillsets, Kian Soon observed only a few changes in the market’s expectations concerning accountants’ skills in financial reporting and compliance, corporate finance, treasury, taxation and auditing. However, according to him, accountants should broaden their knowledge and keep pace with technology to assist their company in making sound decisions on investment, financing and shareholder reward.
Various questions were posted by the students and answered by Kian Soon. These questions touched on the prospects of an accounting major/degree, professional qualifications, internship, entrepreneurship, emerging issues, fintech, internal audit, working abroad, technology etc.
In responding to the question on the possibility of technology replacing the accountant’s job, Kian Soon believes this can happen. However, he assured the audience that this technology needs an accountant or someone who knows accounting to invent it. This answer brought laughter to Dr Lee Mei Yee, who hosted the event attended by one hundred forty undergraduates.
Besides technical skills, Kian Soon encouraged students to strengthen their interpersonal and communication skills before stepping into the job market. To him, this skill is essential for an accountant to play a leading role. Kian Soon ended his lecture, citing that the university is the best place to polish and sharpen these interpersonal and communication skills.
