I believe that accountancy goes way beyond being just a desk job. It is actually a lifestyle that changes the way you think. There is a stereotype of the profession being boring, but I found accountancy interesting from a young age, so I studied commerce at high school and then accounting for my business studies degree.
I have always strived to challenge myself. While I began my career in audit – with Bahraini firm HLB Elyaa – I have always been eager to gain knowledge and develop new skills and abilities. So I moved next into internal audit with the Bahrain National Holding, one of the biggest insurers in Bahrain. I then decided to pursue a new challenge, in compliance and anti-money laundering, at Tazur Takaful Insurance. It’s a specialism I enjoy – currently I am compliance manager and money laundering reporting officer for Arabia Insurance, based in Manama.
The corporate world provides stability and direction, as it allows you to focus on a particular field
The insurance industry shapes its employees to reach their fullest potential. Being a part of a regulated financial institution also gives your work more credibility and importance, and there is never a day where there is nothing new to learn.
Corporate and audit roles each have their pros and cons. Working for an audit firm provides the opportunity to meet people and be involved in many different projects. However, I feel that the corporate world provides more stability and direction, as it allows you to focus on a particular field, maximising the value you add over time. That appeals to me more.
The insurance industry will thrive only by raising public awareness rather than the bottom line
What I love most about my job is that I genuinely get to learn something new every day from the different challenges I come across. With new challenges come new solutions and better processes, which in turn improve results and workplaces.
The main issue that insurance companies face in our region is a lack of public awareness of the value of insurance. I believe the industry will thrive only if more companies focus on raising awareness rather than the bottom line.
One of my biggest career achievements is reaching a managerial position before the age of 30. I am proud that the years of hard work paid off, and also of my ambition to accumulate multiple qualifications during my career. These have helped me get where I am today, but ACCA is the most valuable, personally and professionally.
If I wasn’t an accountant I would be working in information technology, in data science or programming. These sorts of roles are the steering wheel of our time and they fascinate me.
The future will revolve around individuals who can do more, give more and have more than just work
If I had law-making powers, I would revolutionise the educational system. We need to ensure we lay the groundwork so the next generation can add value to the world. Globally we are starting to see the fruits of having work-ready graduates, but the future will revolve around individuals who can do more, give more and have more than just work in their lives.
In my spare time I enjoy reading books about self-development and business, and autobiographies of successful people. I also like running challenges. I have taken part in more than 20 local running events, including three half marathons. I aim to run my first full marathon soon.
