Profile - Boonlert Kamolchanokkul

As a result of studying in the UK, new ACCA member Boonlert Kamolchanokkul has long recognised the value of the ACCA Qualification, even though it is still yet to be formally recognised in his native Thailand.

Boonlert started both his career and his ACCA studies in the early 1990s, and has travelled widely in pursuit of both. ‘In 1993, I graduated from De Montfort University, in the UK, with a degree in accounting and finance; I started my ACCA studies at the same time. As soon as I gained my degree, I began my career with PwC Thailand (now PwC Mekong) as an audit assistant. However, as ACCA was not taught in Thailand, I had to suspend my studies and I qualified instead with the national Thai accountancy body in 1997, before being seconded to PwC in Sydney, Australia, for 18 months. When I returned to Thailand, I was appointed audit senior manager, and at the same time started a distance learning MBA with Heriot-Watt University, again in the UK. I was appointed partner at PwC in 2004.’

Boonlert is currently audit partner within the financial services group, and a managing partner for risk and quality, responsible for risk management and compliance, independence, ethics, and business conduct. He is also a member of the assurance leadership team and is part of the PwC Mekong management board.

Boonlert gained partner status without having achieved his ACCA Qualification - yet he still decided to return to his ACCA studies, more than a decade after he started them. ‘My career strategy had been to focus first on the local CPA exams and to gain as much relevant practical experience as possible. However, with the expansion of PwC into Indochina, I recognised the importance of the ACCA Qualification and especially its international relevance, and so I started to study again.’

On becoming PwC Mekong, the firm expanded its operations into Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. ‘I realised that an internationally‑recognised qualification would be particularly valuable in this context,’ he explains. ‘I could also see that becoming an ACCA member would provide a number of benefits, such as an enhanced CV, the chance to network with other ACCA members, and the opportunity to take part in a CPD programme.’

Although PwC could not formally support Boonlert’s ACCA studies in Thailand, the firm gave him every opportunity to practise the skills he needed to pass the exams and to gain the practical experience required for ACCA membership. ‘I recently completed the performance objectives and fulfilled the practical experience requirement. My fellow partners, especially the territory senior partner and line of service leader, have personally coached me and given me the opportunity to develop my technical and managerial skills. Given the fact that I have worked for PwC for 15 years and have so much relevant experience under my belt, I applied for membership as soon as I passed my exams,’ he says.

Although it may sound isolated for an ACCA in Thailand, the wider network of PwC accountants has helped Boonlert find other colleagues in similar situations, and he is also helping to establish local support for new ACCA students in the region. ‘I have come to know other PwC partners who were also the first ACCA members in their countries, such as David Wu in China and Kuy Lim in Cambodia. In addition, I am joining a group of around 15 ACCA members and students currently working and living in Thailand, with the aim of promoting the ACCA Qualification and helping each other with training. Above all, I am very proud to be the only Thai PwC partner who has passed the ACCA exams, and probably the first Thai ACCA student to pass all his exams in Thailand.’