ACCOUNTING JOBS
The Accountant Crunch
Ahead looms a shortage of number crunchers to keep the
books balanced.
By Supriya Shrinate
The map is not the sea, say sailors. The accounts are
not the business, say CEOs. The beans are not the buzz, say
marketers. But the world cannot do without maps, accounts and
beancounters. So if it's part of your work routine to
precision-check, double-check and reference-code-check every
little entry in the books that come under your magnifying
lens, spare yourself a few relaxed seconds of renewed
reassurance. Your skills, as certified by The Institute of
Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), are in demand.
Worldwide. You're in for some big money.
Ink Wanted: Red Or Alive
Good old chartered accountancy (ca), in particular, has
rarely been so promising as a profession. Ask employees of the
world's 'Big Four' firms: namely, Deloitte & Touche, Ernst
& Young (E&Y), KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Amarendra Mehendale, 31, for one, is still getting
over his good fortune. Walking along Oxford Street on a Sunday
afternoon, this manager with KPMG India's Advisory Practice,
recalls how he was whisked off from Delhi to the London office
at a moment's notice, a couple of months ago, to plug an
accountancy gap for a project there. In all, KPMG has packed
100 young CAS off to London, and it's not alone. Its rival
E&Y has relocated some 150. It started as a trickle a year
ago, and now has the makings of a barrage. "From being an
old-fashioned chap in a staid industry, the perception of my
job has changed," muses Mehendale, over the phone. "It is far
more 'happening' now."
The trend has been picked up at the ICAI too, which is
watching the 8,000-odd accountants it annually bestows its ca
qualification on, get snapped up like never before. A
spokesperson calls it the twin upshot of "a booming economy
and the need to put compliance- oriented mechanism in place".
The 2002-03 downsizing undertaken by some accounting
firms has not only been reversed, accountancy is also gaining
from a secular upswing of the long-term trend. What's more,
cooked-book-phobia is becoming a global phenomenon, post-Enron
and Sarbanes-Oxley, and if there's a huge skill export
opportunity for India, it's here. Number watching, globally,
is now a matter of wilful corporate governance as much as
mandatory requirement. Indians, says Denis Reynolds, Partner,
KPMG, UK, have proven their competence. "Strong education,
powerful work ethic and cultural values of Indians make them a
preferred choice when it comes to recruiting for global
assignments," he affirms.
The role has expanded, too. "There is a high degree of
work that accounting firms are expected to do now, a detailed
look at the financial statement being just one of them," says
Rajiv Memani, CEO, E&Y India. Udit Aggarwal, a senior
consultant with E&Y now at the New York office, is all too
excited with the global exposure he is getting. "The challenge
of simultaneously handling clients in different countries,
cutting across work environments, cultures and time zones is
an all-new experience," he beams.
Crunching Numbers
But does India have enough qualified CAS to meet global
needs? India has an estimated 130,000 practicing CAS, while
the UK alone has about 280,000. Most firms blame the ICAI for
this strictured supply. The institute's regulations are so
tight that a candidate is eligible for final examination only
after a three-year 'articleship' training period. Of all those
who take the test, barely 3 per cent make it, and the total
numbers have not been rising despite the demand growth.
Naturally, people accuse the ICAI of running an exclusive club
more than a skill-supply system.
Employment opportunities, meanwhile, are multiplying in
new ways. A vast field that has just opened up is that of
business process outsourcing (BPO) where the process is
accounting. This fledgling industry has started to attract CAS
too. Does this bother the Big Four? No, says Ian Gomes,
Country Managing Director, KPMG India. "The big firms are into
high-end accounting jobs," he says. "We leverage our brand
name through advisory role and command premiere pricing."
Reckons Memani, "Unlike BPOs, with very focussed jobs, we
review processes and technology, besides internal audits and
due diligence." In fact, suggests Roopen Roy, MD,
PricewaterhouseCoopers, "BPOs do not always require
fully-qualified accountants, so nasscom and ICAI can together
certify and train people who have cleared their intermediate
exams, and are fit for this industry."
That's not something that Pankaj Vaish, Head, Accenture
BPO, agrees with. According to him, BPO units do important
work and are stealing young CAS away from the old firms on the
lure of "the opportunity to work as a global player, address
global needs and challenges, and also acquire people
management skills".
Well, enhanced competition for scarce talent can only
mean one thing: rising remuneration. Globalisation is playing
a catalyst. According to the ICAI, free trade in
services-starting April 2005-should blast open new
opportunities. The institute, on its part, is updating the
curriculum to global demand. By the current count, over
250,000 students are registered with ICAI for a shot at
gaining the prized qualification. Some of them are headed big.
SPOTLIGHT
Company Secretaries
If you want to draw a fat packet and still be hailed as
a 'corporate conscience keeper', try becoming a company
secretary (CS). Any firm with a paid-up capital of Rs 2 crore
or more must have a CS, qualified by the Institute of Company
Secretaries of India (ICSI), which trains you in corporate law
and much else. There are just 19,000 of this tribe in the
country. "That's because not many qualify," says Sunil K.
Goel, VP (Finance) & CS, Samsung India Electronics,
adding, "A standalone CS is not enough; a law and a chartered
accountant degree is an asset." Your job: seeing that the
company adheres to all the rules. Pay: starts at around Rs
30,000 per month, rising to six digits. The CEO may not like
your looking over his shoulder all the time, and you could
find yourself a ping-pong ball between the board and
shareholders. But you could get the CEO's job some day, too.
-Payal Sethi
COUNSELLING
Help, Tarun!
I have been self-employed as an independent marketing
consultant for the last 10 years. For 15 years prior to that,
I held senior marketing positions with multinational firms and
spearheaded campaigns for many well-known brands. While
self-employment does have its charms, I am now craving to go
back to a work environment with lots of people around. My
accomplishments as a consultant are significant, but
recruiters won't touch me, and headhunters say that I am
overqualified. I have tried to communicate that I am a serious
candidate who wants to make a long-term commitment. Please
help.
It is difficult to make a reverse change in the
consulting business, and even more so if you have been out on
your own and not worked with a big name. Given your experience
in marketing, you could consider advertising as an option. If
your consultation work involved market research, advertising
could provide you with good opportunities. For other jobs in
marketing, sales or the like, target medium- or small-sized
companies. As you have been into consulting for a considerable
while, this is the time to leverage any clout that you may
have had with your clients. It could be that one of them gets
interested in employing you.
I am a 36-year-old MBA working as a manager with a
leading player in the tourism industry. The problem is that
despite all the hard work that my team and I put in, the
management refuses to recognise our efforts. Ergo, I feel it's
time for me to move on. With 10 years of experience in the
travel trade and three years in the media, and an additional
diploma in sales and marketing, what are the options open to
me except hardcore sales and marketing?
You need to introspect a bit before you start looking
for a job. Do you want a cushy job, something offbeat to do or
do you want to be in the services sector? If you do not want
to get into sales, look at the travel trade, hospitality or
event management sectors. You have the qualifications and the
experience. However, wherever you go, you will have to start
afresh. Recognition doesn't come easy and it is not necessary
that your efforts will be immediately lauded in the new
company. You will have to work to prove yourself in terms of
skill and value.
I hold a BE (computer science) degree and am working
with a UK-based mobile phone company. Before this, I worked
for two years as a software engineer (embedded systems) with
an MNC in Noida. I recently got an offer from a US-based
company in the same field. However, I am apprehensive of
accepting it despite having been offered excellent
remuneration since I am in the dark about work ethics in the
US. Also, I do not know whether a stint in the US would be
more fruitful in the long run compared to my present job in
the UK. Please advise.
It is natural to be apprehensive about relocating to
another country. However, that should not prevent you from
taking up an offer if it enhances your career. A stint in the
US will definitely add value, especially if the assignment you
are going for is comparable or better than the present one.
Since you already work with a UK-based firm, a stint at an
American company would surely give your resume a boost. As far
as compensation is concerned, look at it in the context of the
cost of living there. Depending on the location in the US, the
cost of living can vary drastically. As for work ethics, there
are probably fewer holidays in the US than there are in the
UK.
I am a 26-year-old mechanical engineering diploma
holder working with a BPO in its technical support team for
the past two years. Right from the beginning, I felt that I
was overqualified for the job. So I applied to a few
engineering concerns. But the ones that responded clearly
considered me a fresher, giving little importance to my
experience in the BPO. How do I convey the worth of my
experience to them or to potential employers, or conversely,
get a better deal in the BPO?
Do remember that you have a diploma and not a degree in
engineering, which might be the bigger reason for your not
being considered for engineering jobs. Apply to medium-sized
companies and go in for additional qualifications in
management or in software. You could then look at a completely
different set of jobs. In your current organisation, you could
try getting transferred to a division where you know there is
growth and opportunity. That might take you away from your
engineering background, but it might not be a bad thing.
Answers to your career concerns are contributed by
Tarun Sheth (Senior Consultant) and Shilpa Sheth (Managing
Partner, US practice) of HR firm, Shilputsi Consultants. Write
to Help,Tarun! c/o Business Today, Videocon Tower, Fifth
Floor, E-1, Jhandewalan Extn., New Delhi-110055.
Remote Refinement
Education outsourcing approaches critical mass.
Remote testing has been around for years, but now
education is getting serious about actual two-way
learning-done across oceans. A teacher in Okhla or Gurgaon
could actually engage students in the United States or the
United Kingdom in more than just a superficial manner. Light
e-interactivity has been around, but this is about linking the
most thoughtful parts of the mind. Possible?
Yes, says Career Launcher, which began with it in March
2004, and has some 100 teachers in India working on students
in the US and the UAE. Technology has enabled a high degree of
personalised interactivity. Flexibility, too. "A particular
teacher could be teaching the same thing to students from
different grades at one time," explains Anirudh Phadke, who
teaches us students (this job requires special voice training
too). The UAE students are used to 'classroom' addressals
rather than individual attention. "The business is nascent in
India," says Satya Naraynan, Chairman, Career Launcher, "but
there is tremendous potential, especially in India itself at
the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and MBA
levels."
-Amanpreet Singh
Domestic Domicile
Why firms are letting people work right at home.
Don't tsk-tsk Rekha Menon, head, geographic Services,
Accenture, for having to work till about 10 at night every now
and then. She is responsible for strategic planning, hr and
recruitment across all of Accenture India's local businesses,
and, as she says, "I am going to be working from home." It's
part of the firm's flexiwork initiative designed to maximise
utility all around, be it the business or people's own lives.
Secure telecom technologies are enabling the remote
execution even of high-end jobs that involve sensitive data.
And with information so well-digitised, Menon just has to log
on and get cracking. Of course, some parts require 'face time'
with colleagues, clients and so on, for which she has to check
into office once in a while.
While employee satisfaction is the idea at Accenture, a
similar initiative at Hyderabad-based HyperSoft Technologies
is looking at crushing costs. "Making people work from home
saves the trouble of transport, food and other
infrastructure," says Dadi Bhote, Executive Director,
HyperSoft. In an efficiently-mature firm, people are paid for
generating value, not warming seats.
-Supriya Shrinate
