Do you need an accounting degree to be an accountant?

The accounting career is well-known for being a highly specialised profession, where one needs to complete professional accounting exams and gain relevant experience to qualify as an accountant. Therefore, can someone without an accounting background enter this career and make good in it? Five employees - all with non-accounting degrees - at renowned accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, say that it can indeed be done!

Roslan Jaffar is the most senior of the five at 31, having been with the firm for more than eight years. He graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from London's Imperial College. Jason Tan Shu Hiong, Norsuzanna Nordin, Shanice Chow and Teh Yen Hong are all in their mid-20s, each having graduated only a few years ago. Jason has a degree in media communications, Suzanna is a neuroscience and statistics graduate, while Shanice and Yen Hong are graduates in business and financial engineering respectively. Roslan is a senior manager, Suzanna and Yen Hong are senior associates, while Shanice and Jason are associates - all attached with Assurance Services at PwC.

At university

Roslan said his late father did not encourage him to study accountancy at university, probably concerned that the theoretical aspects of the subject could turn Roslan off. 'The practice of accounting, however, can be quite exciting, especially the auditing bit,' he said. Also, while engineering has no relevant semblance to accounting, Roslan said engineering has in a big way prepared him for a career in PwC, because engineering requires discipline in thinking about 'processes and how one thing leads to another.' Roslan had no problems completing his professional accounting exams in his initial years at PwC.

Jason, the media communications graduate from Lincoln University in the UK, believes his course has helped him in his work at PwC, or in fact, anywhere he chooses to go to. He said communication skills are indispensable in the working world, especially for auditors, as they have to communicate well with colleagues, managers and clients to ensure a high quality of service.

Suzanna meanwhile, does have an accountant father, but she herself was never attracted to the field initially, preferring instead to study neuroscience and statistics. However, her parents still intended for her embark on a career in finance after her graduation.

'My dad's perseverance to strive for excellence throughout his career inspired me to join an audit firm,' she said.

Shanice, on the other hand, was more of an accountant than the others. She had studied electronics engineering for two years before 'making the biggest decision' of her life by switching to accounting after her engineering diploma. She said both courses have helped prepare her for her career at PwC.

Starting out

Yen Hong said her sister, who is an auditor, influenced her decision to join PwC. She said the on-the-job training and seniors' guidance were the main reasons she could face the challenges of her job.

Meanwhile, Jason said he was at home helping his dad organise his finances when he realised how little most people know about effectively managing their finances, especially when retirement comes.

'I decided that the best way that I could have an impact on the world was to understand how the world works through money,' he said.

The challenges

Of course, these people were relatively newbies to the accounting field when they started. Suzanna recalled some of the difficulties she had to face: 'Developing the accounting and auditing skills on the field, interacting with clients from all walks of life and juggling several ongoing assignments at the same time can be challenging and de-motivating.'

However, she said the experience has taught her to be independent and resourceful as well as to voice out opinions and concerns. Training on the job and studying for her professional papers at the same time proved to be the best antidote to building sound technical skills, she added.

Yen Hong was initially clueless when she heard about MASB (Malaysia Accounting Standard Board), IFRS, IAS and the like.

'I had no idea what they were referring to and most of the time I felt that they were talking in a completely strange language. However, things got better after I attended the training course at PwC and through some on-the-job training, I picked up the key elements of audit,' she remembered.

The company and job

Roslan described PwC as one the world's leading professional services firms, with three main lines of service - assurance, tax and advisory. He explained: 'I am in assurance, mainly doing statutory financial audits on client's financial statements. I have a variety of clients, both public and non-public, although I currently specialise in shipping and property development. I also double up as the group manager for my industry group. My main task is to allocate portfolios to the various managers in my group as well as handle other administrative requirements of the group.'

Suzanna chipped in: 'I believe I've joined a firm that enables me to continuously learn as I work. PwC has an excellent Learning & Education and Assurance Technical teams that supports continuous education. The firm has a positive coaching culture that nurtures personal development, embodies the spirit of knowledge sharing and striving for common goals. PwC maintains an abundance of knowledge platforms in its global shared databases.'

The best and worst bits

Jason told us that he loves the team spirit and friendliness that exist in audit teams. He also looks forward to the rapid career progression the company offers, setting his sights to becoming a senior associate in two years. The two things he terms as 'less desirable' are unpleasant clients and the sometimes 'ridiculous' working hours, usually during the early part of the year.

The working hours are also an issue with the other four. However, Roslan said the ability to meet different people and understand each client's challenges keep him motivated and interested. Yen Hong, meanwhile, enjoys the extracurricular activities held by the company such as Treasure Hunts, Kelab Sukan PwC Night, Community Outreach Programme and Small Networking Groups. She said these activities help her build good rapport with her colleagues. .

Biggest achievement

Shanice has this to share regarding her most memorable achievement: 'My biggest achievement was when I completed the audit field work independently in Langkawi within a tight deadline. It was a good and satisfying experience for me to complete the task with minimal supervision.'

For Suzanna, her most memorable engagement has been to be a key senior in charge of a public listed banking group, where as team leader, she had to create trust, communicate team objectives and inspire others to achieve them.

What about Roslan? 'Being made part of the firm's management team, that is getting recognised for my efforts. Also, being chosen to go for the firm's Genesis Park leadership development programme in Washington DC - a good career break that also gave me the opportunity to really bond with my daughter who was born there.

Landing the job

Shanice said the interview and selection process she went through was rather rigorous. She recalls that the interview day started early in the morning, and having to write essays as well as answer ability tests. She also had to do presentations in front of other candidates and senior managers, but believes that self confidence got her the position.

For Yen Hong, she thinks that the enthusiasm and positive attitude that she showed won her interviewer over and clinched her the job.

Professional qualifications

Becoming a chartered accountant and having the letters 'ACA' after his name is Jason's dream.

'The ICAEW course is regarded as one of the best in the world in terms of training and the calibre of accountants that it produces. Secondly, the programme demands that you undertake practical experience as part of the course. Thirdly, it is internationally recognised, thus giving me excellent prospects for expanding my career overseas in the future,' the 24-year-old said.

According to Suzanna, the professional examinations are wide-ranging and focus on professional values, ethics and corporate governance.

'There is a lot of attention now on applying professional scepticism and behaving ethically, in accordance with codes of conduct, rules and regulation. Therefore, one needs to continuously be kept up to date through continuous professional education,' she said.

Useful tips

Roslan the senior manager advised students against having 'tunnel vision'. He said: 'A university degree is nothing more than a piece of paper saying you've learned something. What matters is the effort, choices and decisions one makes in his or her career. There will always be choices to be made and alternatives to be had.'

He said learning is a continuous process and told students to choose a career that they are keen on.

The exposure gained from the 'tough' financial world would put anyone in good stead later on, said Suzanna. She agrees that people can always learn and relearn, while Jason said there is certainly a lot of hard work involved, but the experience gained and the professional accounting qualification will open many doors to whatever you want to do in life.

Final wise words

Jason said: 'Soft skills have become increasingly important in the working world and employers are now looking beyond academic achievements when looking for their future stars. Therefore, while paper qualifications are definitely important, your experiences are equally as important. Get active in school to build up your attitude and character.'

Roslan also had some choice words: 'Organisations don't hire people for their qualifications alone, but for what they are potentially capable of achieving. If you are smart enough to graduate from the degree you are pursuing at university, you are smart enough to learn accounting. If we can make it in this field, so can you.'

Suzanna added that a great desire to acquire the accounting and auditing knowledge is absolutely essential to succeed in the profession. This coupled with the strong self-commitment to work hard and make short-term sacrifices would enable one to scale further heights in life, she said.

© GTI Specialist Publishers. Reproduced with permission.