What are your current role and responsibilities? How is the work going so far?
As a Regional Finance Manager at Bausch and Lomb, I am responsible for the financial reporting and internal control functions of the Asia-Pacific region. As part of my routine duties, I usually coordinate communications between the corporate office in the United States and various local finance teams across the region, acting as a bridge to allow us to work together. I also partner with different operating units, such as sales and marketing, supply chain, IT, quality assurance, compliance, and human resources, and provide financial support to the business. I enjoy being part of a caring work environment. I also find the company’s commitment to eye care inspiring, and I am glad to play a role in an organization that is helping others to see better and live better.
What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of your role, and why?
People management has been the most challenging so far as it involves working with people of different cultures and backgrounds. When I first joined the company taking up the regional position, I spent a considerable amount of time building up relationships with respective local teams from 12 different markets, including Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mainland China, Thailand, etc., to understand their working styles. Every team has their own practices, ideas and unique knowledge about the local markets which is crucial to the business. My job is to ensure everyone is working towards the same goal and delivering the end products with a consistent and high quality standard. Taking the example of collecting data for analysis, I would usually tailor the communications for different teams, particularly those without accounting knowledge. Throughout the process, I find that it is beneficial to me to strengthen my interpersonal skills and enhance my business and accounting knowledge in relation to different markets.
What inspired you to become an accountant?
It was my mother who suggested that I should pursue an accounting career in my first year of university, in view of the stable career path it could offer me. I started majoring in accounting in my second year and interned at a local firm and the Big Four. These internship experiences reinforced my determination to go for accounting as my future career. I was impressed by the training, the mentoring scheme, and most importantly the supportive working environment in the audit firms. They provided me valuable insights into the profession. I am truly grateful to the people who offered me guidance and coaching in these practical and hands-on learning experiences. After graduating from university, I rejoined the audit firm to attain my professional qualification.
Where do you see yourself in the next five to 10 years in your career?
I would like to continue working in financial reporting, as it’s one of fundamental elements of the finance and accounting function, and further develop my skill set. Nowadays, with the help of technology advancements, more transactional work are automated, and data integrity has improved. Finance and accounting functions have therefore become more analytical and process efficiency-focused. I hope to leverage my knowledge obtained from financial reporting to further provide more insight to data analysis as well as review the process efficiencies that add value to the business.
What are the biggest lessons you have learnt so far from work experience or managers?
Through my time working and collaborating with different people, a key takeaway for me is that effective communication is important all the time for exchanging experience, knowledge and needs. Even when we have different views and perspectives, agreements can be worked out through good communication. From my managers, I observed that hard work, critical thinking and emotional intelligence are the common characteristics of a successful accounting professional. We need to keep ourselves up-to-date with industry trends and knowledge to respond rapidly to the dynamic industry needs. Having critical thinking is essential in problem resolving. Managing our emotions and maintaining a positive attitude can motivate us to work better, even under pressure. Finally, being passionate about what we are doing leads to a sense of self-fulfillment.
How do you think the Qualification Programme has helped you in your career so far?
Working in-house in the finance department, I continue to apply the knowledge I gained through the modules in reviewing the financial information and evaluating internal controls. The knowledge from module B and D specially equipped me with a certain sense and understanding of corporate financing and taxation. This enables me to work efficiently with other departments on different business projects, such as merger and acquisition, spin-off, working capital management etc.
