women in accountancy~~

Accounting’s flexibility and dynamism make it an ideal profession for women.

As more women are given the opportunity to have better qualifications (compared to 50 years ago), it is very common to see more of them holding prominent positions in corporations and organisations, be it in business, the public sector, or other industries. In fact, most of the time, the number of women in schools and universities is much higher than that of their male counterparts.

The accounting profession is also experiencing similar global trends. The news could not have come at a better time.

(a) Lady president
As the immediate past president of ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), Gillian Ball will go down in ACCA’s history as the third woman president in the organisation’s 100-year existence. "This is definitely an interesting trend for us, and good news for the profession," Ball says.

Asked if she would do anything mind-blowing once she resumes the post, Ball smiles and says: "It is an honour and I am excited, but I won’t be doing anything that others have not seen me do as Vice President. ACCA has everything put in place. I would like to continue that by creating more awareness of the organisation. ACCA Malaysia’s statistics are very encouraging. Even more so now that our numbers reveal that 50% of our members globally are women. It goes to show that accounting as a profession has certainly changed in landscape."

(b) Numbers don’t lie
These recent results indicate a positive shift in women’s attitudes towards the profession, which was once often thought of as being very male-dominated.

The Georgia State University School of Accountancy, for instance, reported that the number of women in the accounting major has jumped from 50% five years ago to 65% in 2005. In addition, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants revealed that 57% of new accounting graduates in 2006 are women, and women account for roughly 59% of accountants, up from about 39% in 1983.

In Canada, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants reported that 27% of its current membership is female, and that number is growing; the gender breakdown is 50/50 among accounting students leaning towards this designation.

(c) Why more women are in accounting
In explaining the rise in female accounting students’ numbers, Ball offers: "I believe that women who do accounting, do so because they understand the prestige and importance of having such a qualification. The rewards of earning the qualification are tremendous. I think women are finally seeing the many career responsibilities that can spring out from an accounting qualification."

"accounting is not just about balance sheets and numbers: it is also about strategy, organisational skills, management and problem solving. And now, more so than before, accounting requires strong social skills as you interact more with clients nowadays. And that is one skill that a woman is naturally good at," Ball continues.

Ball also notes that women students generally do better in the course than their male counterparts. Female students study harder, score higher and often graduate at the top of their class.

(d) Of business, self-confidence and work-life balance
As it is now, more and more females are holding prominent positions in accounting and finance. There are many things one can do with an accounting qualification. It does not necessarily mean you need to work in the accounting department all your life. The qualification is also an interesting way for you to get into business and progress further in the organisation.

"But a strong sense of self – the confidence to know that they can do the job – is also important," Ball advises. She continues to say that "there is no reason for a female graduate to doubt herself. These are the additional skills you need and once you have that, you can achieve many things."

With many accounting firms and other companies pushing for a more work-life balance in recent years, this will only give rise to more lady CFOs and CEOs in future.

This is not discrimination of gender but it just want to share how women nowadays can stand as a men. (^_^)