I grew up in Kuching, a small town in the state of Sarawak. My mother was a housewife and a manager of a small beauty academy. It may sound odd, but from very early on I was taught to track my budget and daily spending. We had a reimbursement policy that everyone in the house had to adhere to – whenever we bought books, for example, we could then claim back the money from my mother, but only if we had the receipt. It was an important lesson, but I wished I could have outsourced it to a finance person, someone to take on the hassle and provide advice on how to invest my savings.
I tried several roles after graduating to explore what I really wanted to do, which was probably not conventional accountancy. I spent two years doing financial accounting in the finance department of a university in Kuala Lumpur, monitoring transactions, managing budgets and cost cutting. I then spent five years in IT audit at KPMG before moving to my current role in advisory.
I enjoy making an impact and contributing to a client’s transformation
I’m interested in how financial accounting IT systems and security controls enable financial management and operation. I manage large and complex financial accounting system transformation projects across various industries. I enjoy making an impact and contributing to a client’s transformation. Each client environment is unique and it’s so rewarding to know your contributions are being rolled out and adopted by an organisation.
In 2012, I took a one-year career break to travel, spend more time with my family, volunteer and learn new skills. This was and is still one of the best investments I’ve made in myself. I went to classes to learn about investing in real estate and the stock market via technology platforms. To my surprise, I picked it up quite easily, mainly because of my ACCA background. I invested in real estate and still maintain some blue-chip stocks – which is good for my retirement.
I love to see the ‘before and after’ of a transformation
At secondary school, a female principal from Cadas Business School gave a talk about being an accountant. She’s a real inspiration to all the women in my hometown, as well as being an ACCA member. I started to read more about accounting in finance-related magazines in my school library and found one with many professionals with the letters ACCA after their names who were important C-levels in big corporations. I wanted to be part of that circle when I grew up. It’s funny to think of it again and how ACCA has brought me so many opportunities. It’s a tough qualification to pass, but it’s so worthwhile.
If I weren’t an accountant, I’d probably continue my mother’s beauty academy. I’d provide training to future beauticians and transform people’s images. I love to see the ‘before and after’ of a transformation, which is perhaps why I landed in digital transformation advisory. A successful transformation provides a healing sensation – there’s a joy in making people happy.
