Initially, my career in accounting was all about taking up the challenge of facing the toughest exams around. However, what drove me to continue as an accountant was the instant gratification you get when everything just ties together. There is no shortage of inspiration in the accounting industry.
I studied and worked in the UK for over five years before returning to Nepal where I started my career as an intern with a local firm in 2012. I then took on a management job for an outdoor equipment company that made and marketed high-tech clothing and gear for trekking and climbing, while also teaching ACCA, but I was keen to work on my own account.
I started my firm, ME10, in 2013 and it has been a wonderful journey. We have grown together, providing services to UK accounting firms, learning a foreign work culture and encouraging more people to join our workforce.
We should never have regrets about doing the right thing
I stepped out of my comfort zone when taking a long trek to Rara lake in Mugu, a remote area in western Nepal. I lost all sense of direction and spent a night in a jungle famous for its bears. When morning came, I was finally able to find the way to the lake where I made a lot of memories. I agree with Gandalf: ‘The world is not in your books and maps, it’s out there.’ The experience helped me become more accepting of change and things that are beyond my control, which is important in dealing with professional ups and downs.
My biggest achievement has been being able to create many jobs over the years. In Nepal, where a working person doesn’t just earn for himself, but also tends to support the entire family, a job means more than it does in some other countries.
What I really enjoy in my role is meeting the constant demand for the firm to get things right and move things over the line. I love seeing young talent take up and complete this challenge every day to become better professionals and grow as people. l enjoy celebrating the small achievements too and learning so many things from the different personalities at work.
My favourite quote comes from Mark Twain: ‘When in doubt, do the right thing.’ We always know what’s right over what’s beneficial, so we should never have regrets about doing the right thing, whether in our professional or personal lives.
The biggest challenge facing Nepal is that there are too few businesses and, as a result, too few jobs. Developing a business culture has also been a slow process for the country, so we are not producing many business leaders. The manufacturing sector has taken a massive hit in recent decades and new industries are struggling to keep afloat. However, things are changing gradually. A lot of qualified accountants are now taking up CEO roles, and this is exactly where the accounting profession can help Nepal. If we are to grow as a nation, we need a more capable workforce to come together to develop dynamic businesses and increase overall employment.
I would have loved to have been a search-and-rescue dog trainer
If I had law-making powers, I would reform the laws around healthcare in Nepal. Having a reliable health sector would build trust between the state and its people; citizens would be more likely to stay in the country and keep working if the health service was guaranteed as a minimum. The reforms would include medical malpractice laws to ensure negligence is punished, a cap on hospital test costs, adequate funding of state-run hospitals and an increase in minimum wage of healthcare professionals. I would also have a cap on medical college fees.
If I wasn’t an accountant, I would have loved to have been a search-and-rescue dog trainer in the foothills of Annapurna. Working alongside a beagle or a bloodhound with the objective of finding a missing person would be a good day’s work.
In my spare time I love poetry and the spoken word. I enjoy all its forms – shayaris (couplets that convey a complete thought in just two lines), haiku, free verse and anything lyrical. I try to scribble a few words occasionally, but this only reminds me why I chose a different career.
