Accountancy was one of the choices I was considering after I got my Master’s degree in Economics from the Central European University in Budapest and returned to my home country Azerbaijan. At the time, I applied for several positions in different companies based on my interests, including accounting, reporting and audit.
Luckily, the first company that got back to me was Deloitte. I believe that starting my career in Deloitte’s audit team gave me an edge in terms of technical accounting experience and taught me the rules of professional corporate ethics.
The priorities of NFPs are very similar to those of profit-orientated corporations, with a lot of focus on efficiency and optimisation
Although I was learning broadly about different industries through auditing, at some point I felt it was only a bird’s eye view and I wanted to get closer to the operational side of things. So after two years at Deloitte, I dedicated my career to getting deeper industry experience and gaining a better business understanding. This has led me to spending the majority of my career in telecommunications, although I’ve also worked in fast-moving consumer goods, hospitality and agriculture, among other sectors.
I’m currently group accounting manager at Uniting, a large non-profit organisation operating in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. This is my first experience at a not-for-profit (NFP), and what I truly enjoy is the working environment, which is much more people-focused, both internally and externally.
I expected a very different environment when I first joined. However, I was surprised to find that the priorities of NFPs are very similar to those of profit-orientated corporations, with a lot of focus on efficiency and optimisation.
I feel lucky to have the freedom and ability to choose my own path, be it in my career or personal interests. I feel blessed for having parents who gave me the support to become who I am today and for having a wife who supports me to become even better.
I am extremely proud of the teams that I’ve managed or have been a part of, and I cherish the good memories we share. I think my biggest achievement is being able to stay true to myself and my beliefs, regardless of my environment.
I think that a person can only be truly happy if they are engaged in something they love doing. So far in my career, I’ve tried my best to pursue the things that I enjoy doing and abandon the things I don’t. I aim to make sure I stay on this course.
If I weren’t an accountant, I would probably be in data analytics or programming, as I've always been interested in these areas. When possible, I even try to combine these interests with accounting, in areas such as analysis and improvement.
