I started my career with an engineering consultancy in Bangladesh as the senior accountant. Prior to that, I finished my ACCA in London and worked as an accounts assistant in a real estate company. I’d always wanted to do something different. When I started ACCA it was not the norm at all in Bangladesh. That accountants make all kinds of financial decisions that affect companies has always excited me.
I am the head of finance, HR and internal control in a Manila-based company. The experience has been so different. My job allows me to make decisions that affect the company, a position I’ve always wanted to be in. There is an adrenaline rush working in a company that is going through tremendous change, from a traditional to a digitised and more fluid structure.
The world has become much smaller thanks to technology, and everything is interconnected. The ease of doing business has become easier. Emerging markets are making an impact as much as developed ones, all because of the fourth industrial revolution.
Technology has made my life easier. I can work from anywhere, connect with anyone anywhere in the world, whenever I want. We are seeing a vast shift in terms of technology, such as AI and blockchain, which will be our future. The banking system, capital markets – all will be accessible from anywhere and within reach of everyone.
The most noticeable change to business in the Philippines is digitisation. If all sectors embrace digitisation, it will be easier to do business and productivity can be maximised. It will take time for the digital ecosystem and infrastructure to bed in and positively impact the economy and everyday life. People and politicians continue to have a very conservative, passive way of dealing with things. They are missing the opportunity the Covid-19 crisis offers to modernise.
My biggest professional achievement to date is establishing HR, accounts and finance departments for a startup. Jack Ma in one of his interviews encouraged young people to begin their careers at a startup where you can learn hands on and wear different hats, which contribute significantly to climbing the corporate ladder later on, not to mention when you start your own business. I saw how some ventures failed while others flourished in a startup engineering company.
I am working towards starting my own company. I would like to work in the field of microfinance to help poor women in Bangladesh to become entrepreneurs.
ACCA member stories
