"What happens when you cross a transatlantic aircraft with an accountant? A Boring 747," goes one joke. Another: "His an extrovert accountant: he'll look at your shoes while talking, rather than his own."
"[The view] of accountants as boring bean counters is a stereotype," counters Mohammad Zamani, a finance and economics graduate of the American University of Sharjah. He is currently pursuing Associate Chartered Account (ACA) qualification from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). "There are a lot of colourful accountants doing very exciting jobs. While you have to be good with numbers, there are also a lot of other important, softer skills required, such as understanding business and leadership."
Accountants are also crucial to preparing financial reports, analysing financial information and providing recommendations that have lasting impact on the growth of the company.
Still in a field largely dominated by expatriates, Zamani is one of the few Emiratis who has decided to enter the profession.
"Few [Emiratis] are attracted to this profession due to the challenging nature of accountancy where one should be fully dedicated to the profession in terms of having to work for long hours compensating [at some expense to their] social life," he says. "Another reason is the higher compensation that we can get in other sectors."
One of the ways to create awareness of such a career is to get the community involved, says Zamani. "Parents should encourage their children to learn more about business and finance. Universities should also increase awareness on the importance of accountancy and its role in the economy." He added that more UAE nationals have joined the sector in recent years.
Amanda Line, regional director of ICAEW, agrees. She is seeing a change, albeit slow, taking place as governments across the Middle East work to increase the proportion of nationals in the private sector.
Relevant experience
Also, "accountancy is still a relatively young profession in the UAE, as the financial markets here have only been established for a few decades," Line says. "A lot of the relevant experience in business, finance and accounting therefore has to be imported. Businesses, organisations such as ICAEW and the government must work together to ensure there are enough people with the right skills to take up the private sector jobs."
According to Yacoub Nuseibeh, president of CFA Emirates Society two things can be done at the university level to encourage Emirati nationals to get into the accounting profession.
"The first one is to get the universities to adopt similar curriculums to the best internationally recognised professional qualifications to prepare students for the exams. Second, is to connect with business and to understand what they look for when hiring newly graduated accountants."
The ICAEW Middle East office works closely with universities and colleges and regularly gives presentations to students about a career as a chartered accountant. ICAEW has launched the ICAEW Emiratisation Scholarship Scheme to attract more Emiratis. CFA Emirates also runs a National Investment Research Challenge in which all UAE universities are invited to take part.
Line pointed out that fresh UAE national graduates who are starting on the scholarship scheme could expect to begin on a competitive salary range which varies depending on which industry. Having completed their training to become an ICAEW Chartered Accountant they can, after a three-year period, typically expect to have at least doubled their salary, Line says.
"Our new ICAEW salary survey shows that amongst ICAEW qualified professionals in business it is those in the Middle East who are earning the highest in the world," she adds.
Khalid Maniar, founder and managing partner of auditing and business advising firm Horwath Mak, told Gulf News that though they don't have any, he would be happy to hire suitably qualified Emirati accountants.
Diversity
"It's not just a matter of diversity, but also, in terms of bringing the local culture in the organisation, an Emirati would be an asset," says Maniar. "No matter how much you boast that you know the local culture, it comes from within. In learning from him or her, we would benefit and they would help us in dealing with various local businesses."
A professional qualification can also provide flexibility, allowing somebody to develop their career in other areas, says Nuseibeh. "So becoming an accountant doesn't necessarily restrict your career path to traditional accountancy roles," he says. "It is a stepping stone to other careers such as investment and finance. Likewise many graduates may become accountants having originally trained as something else."
Zamani is quite sure about his goals. "In the short term, I would like to get some international experience to add more value to my learning experience. In the long term, I would like to hold a key position in the banking or economy sector in Dubai where I can fully utilise my knowledge to serve my country."
(The jokes were sourced from online sites).
