Diana’s early passion for accountancy led to her studying the ACA qualification as she knew it would help her career internationally. Her role as an Audit Manager is diverse and having the ACA has meant Diana was able to progress further in the career and take on more responsibilities such as training junior staff and leading audits.
ICAEW route: Non-finance degree
Industry: Audit and assurance
Location: Kenya
I developed a passion for accounting having previously completed the CPA, the local accountancy course here in Kenya. I knew pursuing the ACA would open doors internationally for one and most of all enhance my accounting knowledge in a more practical way.
As an Audit Manager, every day is quite different. I am mostly tasked with planning, leading and managing execution of external audit engagements - proper staff allocation to engagements, coaching junior staff, attending client meetings, reviewing working papers, planning for training, establishing client relationships, job costing and time budgeting.
For public interest clients, I am involved heavily in planning and risk assessment as well as financial reporting.
Completing the ACA has meant I am not confined to audit engagements alone, I can now do a lot of advisory and consulting work on areas such as valuations, due diligence, financial analysis, review engagements etc.
It has also greatly improved how I approach audits nowadays, I am more open minded, analytical and thorough.
The ACA enabled me to progress from an audit senior to managerial level mainly because I could now handle a wide range of assignments and I could properly guide/train my junior staff members.
Being able to handle complex engagements with minimal assistance and doing well in them has also been a highlight.
Having to face one of our country regulators for a client I worked on was definitely challenging for me.
My audit, financial reporting and financial analysis skills have definitely improved.
I have also enhanced my communication and presentation skills as the ACA has enabled me handle complex assignments and present to our clients on the same.
Getting to learn something new every day makes my job very enjoyable.
Anyone who is considering the ACA should not waste one more minute thinking about it. Go ahead, DO IT!
It is very challenging I must say, but the benefits one reaps from it are immeasurable.
I am so glad I chose to do the ACA. It has definitely catapulted my career growth in accountancy and most of all my future career prospects, and I am now more confident and knowledgeable in terms of accountancy.
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