Dreams of leaving

When you decided to begin your accounting career by studying towards an ACCA qualification, you opened the door to a world of opportunity. In addition to helping you to progress your finance career in your home country, it can also open doors in many other countries. ‘I studied ACCA in my home country of Zambia,’ says Astro Chella, who trained and qualified with Deloitte, and then spent two years in audit before looking further afield for his next challenge.

‘The Zambian economy was in decline,’ says Chella, ‘and I wanted to experience a bigger economy where business was booming.’ So he moved to KPMG in Botswana. ‘The country has one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies,’ says Chella, and although he remained in audit and continued to work predominantly in the banking sector, the move gave him the chance to broaden his experience in the financial services industry.

Some people are so keen to develop their careers internationally, that they leave their home country before they qualify. ‘I studied and worked in London for 13 years,’ says Suzianna Wong-Svrcula FCCA. After gaining her ACCA qualification, Wong-Svrcula worked in the UK for a number of large international companies, before returning to Malaysia. There she worked for a number of public listed companies, before going into business for herself. ‘My first venture in the food and beverages business was the London-based Chicago Pizza Pie Factory,’ she says, ‘which I brought to Malaysia and subsequently listed under the Thai Thong Group.’

Using her ACCA qualification to gain international business experience seems to have paid off. Wong-Svrcula established Piccolo Mondo Gastro Sdn Bhd in 1998, and now owns a chain of restaurants and a shopping centre. ‘My dream to be a major player in the Malaysian hospitality industry is slowly taking shape,’ she explains, adding: ‘I hope that by the end of 2007 I will also own a hotel, a pasta production factory and a chain of pizza kiosks.’

Global reach
Chella is also keen to use his ACCA qualification to gain as much international experience as he can. ‘Even when I was at university, studying for my degree in accountancy, I knew that I wanted to be globally marketable,’ he explains, ‘and I was aware that once I gained ACCA membership I could move as and when it suited me.’ After three years in Botswana, he decided the time had come to move again, and began to consider the possibility of working in the UK.

‘There was a time when it was more difficult for overseas finance professionals to come to the UK to work,’ says Kate Parry, a recruitment consultant with the global operations team at Michael Page, ‘but the UK Government’s Highly Skilled Migrant Programme has made the process simpler.’ This works on a points system, based on age, salary and qualifications, so even finance professionals who are not being sponsored or supported by an employer have the chance to work in the UK. ‘Those who are successful are initially given a one-year visa,’ says Parry. ‘This has to be renewed annually, then after four years you can apply for residency,’ she adds.

Similar systems operate in Australia and the US. ‘You usually have to apply locally in the country where you are currently resident,’ says Parry, but a lot of the process is now handled online, so it’s not too onerous. ‘Some individuals use immigration lawyers,’ she adds, but this can be quite expensive. In many cases, however, people prefer to have a specific job offer before they venture too far from home. In the case of Chella, for example, all of the necessary immigration procedures were handled by his UK employer and the recruitment firm they were advertising through.

‘I simply contacted Think Global Recruitment to find out what the possibilities were,’ says Chella. Then, once the selection process was complete and he had his job offer from Deloitte in London, the accountancy firm organised a five-year work permit for him. ‘In many ways, working for a big firm makes it easy to move around internationally,’ observes Chella, but some aspects of the transition from Botswana to the UK were less straightforward. ‘KPMG in Botswana employed just under 100 people, but I am one of almost 2,000 working at Deloitte’s London office,’ he explains. His employer isn’t the only thing that’s bigger: ‘the clients are bigger too,’ he adds.

Big is beautiful
Large companies are definitely one of the best ways for finance professionals to move around internationally, whether they are employed in practice or industry. ‘There are lots of possibilities for qualified accountants,’ states Paul McCann, a senior manager with Think Global Recruitment. ‘There is a huge demand,’ he says, ‘particularly for those with skills in areas such as audit, financial services, and IFRS.

‘We are currently seeing quite a lot of movement from qualified accountants in Africa as well as India and Pakistan,’ he adds, in part because of the worldwide need for IFRS skills. ACCA was one of the first accountancy bodies to examine International Accounting Standards, so its members are better trained and prepared than those of other bodies. The early uptake of IFRS in Africa for example, has helped to boost the international employability of many of its accountants. Chella comments: ‘My IFRS experience has been very useful in the UK. It was a big plus for Deloitte, because the firm needed resources in that area.’

But this isn’t the only area where ACCAs can use their qualifications and experience as a passport to international travel. Take the financial services industry. ‘There’s huge demand in Barbados, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, for example,’ explains McCann. ‘I recently spoke to an HR officer of a large organisation in the Caymans and they were in the process of recruiting accountants from Kenya, Nigeria, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, India, China, and Hong Kong.’

Careering forward
How long you stay abroad appears to be up to you. ‘The typical contract lasts for two years,’ says McCann, and people generally have the option of renewing it and staying put, or moving on. ‘There’s a certain amount of movement between the big accountancy firms,’ says McCann, ‘but once you’ve landed the job of your dreams with a company such as Coca Cola, Ford, Procter & Gamble, TNT or Vodafone, you’re probably going to want to develop your career with them.’

So, if you are hoping to make a move internationally after you have qualified, now may be the time to think about the skills sets you can most usefully develop. ‘Think about the sorts of employers you might want to work for and what they are likely to need,’ suggests Chella, and try to avoid anything too local, such as national taxation.

Equipped with your qualification and the necessary experience you could well find yourself spoiled for choice. ‘ACCA is a widely renowned qualification,’ says McCann, ‘and once you’ve got it, your worldwide options are far greater than without it.’ As he adds: ‘There has never been a better time to move as an ACCA. It’s a great qualification.’

Lesley Meall is a writer on business and technology issues