So, you might have your eyes firmly set on a career in Accountancy, Finance or even Business (or at least, you’ve been considering the possibility).Do you wish to stand out among your peers as an eagle-eyed Financial Controller advising top executives? Or do you see yourself transforming into a successful Financial Analyst, who helps clients make sound investments?
No matter what your dream career is (even if you’ve no idea just yet), you will need a strong foundation in Business principles and financial literacy to get there. The most straightforward way to do so is to start a Degree in, well, Accounting, Finance or perhaps even Banking. Before you make your decision and lock down on what you choose to study, however, here are some things we want you to know:
1) The Arrival of the Future Economy
If you’re Singaporean or have lived in Singapore for a good while, the Future Economy is a hot topic that probably isn’t entirely unfamiliar to you. It’s often in the news and government plans – a Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) has even been formed. The rapid and never-ending advancements in technology today, coupled with unpredictable and upcoming global events (China’s One Belt One Road initiative, for example), are ushering in a global economy that is both exciting but uncertain.
Some jobs are already disappearing or have had their scopes undergo huge changes. You need only take a look around you during your trips to supermarkets or restaurants – cash kiosks and mobile devices have started to take over the cash-collecting and order-taking duties of cashiers and servers respectively. In fact, a study done by the University of Oxford in 2013 has predicted that a whopping 47% of all jobs could become automated by 2023. That certainly is no small number!
How will this affect you, specifically, as someone venturing into his dream career?
Accounting roles, for example, are going beyond keeping a company’s books and preparing financial reports. Future Accountants need to shoulder greater responsibilities, by contributing to better business decision-making through the analysis of numbers and other timely information. Therefore, simply studying accounting will no longer be enough.
2) How can you prepare yourself adequately?
A recent survey, done by Ernst & Young (EY) and CPA Australia, found that 79% of finance and accounting professionals do not feel adequately prepared for the demands their jobs will bring in 10 years’ time. They expressed a felt need to grow skills in key critical areas such as business acumen and strategic thinking. Future skilled professionals should be industry agile with deep skillsets, and you will definitely have an edge when entering the corporate world if you make the right preparations.
One way to achieve this goal is to go for a Degree with Double Specialisations.To prepare for the working world, earning a Double Specialisation qualification clearly has more benefits. It is beneficial for you to pick up skill combinations such as Accounting & Finance, or Banking & Finance, to tailor your specialised career path as a future Financial Controller or Investment Portfolio Manager.
Another benefit from studying two different disciplines is that it helps you explore different perspectives and viewpoints; this encourages critical thinking, creativity and innovative thinking that you can apply to work with challenges or tasks. It also increases your competencies in many related areas of businesses, helping you to value-add to the work you do and be more prepared to tackle the changes that await you.
Keen to go for it? Consider the Double Specialisation Degrees (with Honours) offered at Kaplan, the most awarded private education provider in JobsCentral Learning Training & Education Development (T.E.D.) Awards 2017! Awarded by the University of Essex, one of UK’s Top 30 universities (The Times and Complete University Guide Ranking 2018) and a member of the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS), the Degrees offered include:
- Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Accounting and Finance (Top-up)
- Accredited by ACCA and CIMA, offers module exemptions
- Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Banking and Finance (Top-up)
- Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Management and Marketing (Top-up)
You can be assured of the reputation of the university– the University of Essex was awarded the Gold rating for Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) by Times Higher Education recently in 2017! Packed with modules such as Financial Modelling (Accounting & Finance), Digital Marketing and Social Media (Management & Marketing), and Options and Futures (for Banking & Finance), you will be made industry-ready and graduate with certified soft and hard skills that you need to start future-proofing your business career.
If any of these Degrees (and their subject combinations) catch your interest, do check them out and see if they’ll be the right fit for you. We wish you all the best on your journey towards your dream career; may it be a fulfilling and rewarding one, where you’ll arm yourself for the challenges ahead of you.
