Personal Development Plan
According to Osgerby et al., (2018, p.570),
“Personal Development Planning (PDP) has been introduced into many undergraduate programmes … leading students to reflect upon their own learning, performance, achievements and shortcomings.”
Having enjoyed working with numbers all throughout school and being thoroughly excited and intrigued by the world of business, I can’t ever recall really having any other career path in mind, other than Accounting, to combine the two. Fast forward, and I have almost finished my first semester at university, finally studying Accounting. Even with less than 12 weeks ‘under my belt’, I feel as though I have already learned so much about where I want to end up, mostly thanks to all the information overload moments throughout the semester.
In setting out my shorter-term goals, I want to achieve more from my sports and my part-time job. As stated in 1920 by Plato, “the moral value of exercise and sports far out-weigh the physical value.” Thus, highlighting the continued recognition, for almost a century, of sport as a driver for personal development. I have been cheerleading competitively for 8 years, having now joined the Ulster Elks cheer team upon starting university in September. Cheerleading has provided me with a plethora of skills, far beyond the physical skills required. Being a team sport, it has shown me the importance of being able to work with others and put them before yourself, when necessary. It has also made me aware of the importance of commitment and drive, both things which are needed in cheerleading otherwise everything will fall apart before your eyes. These skills already stated, and the leadership qualities I’ve gained from years of experience, having now become a junior coach to much younger children, are all skills which I feel will be transferable to any professional job I enter.
Furthermore, in my part-time job I have also obtained skills which can be directly related to a career in accounting. Working in a fast-food restaurant, I have dealt with countless numbers of customers, all with different needs and attitudes – all of which I have learned to adapt how to deal with. I deal with cash in my job on a daily basis, from serving customers and counting out correct change, to cashing up tills that can have up to £2,000 in them at the end of a shift. Any cash errors that happen with my till I must be able to take responsibility for them and ensure that the same thing doesn’t happen again. Working towards being promoted to a ‘crew trainer’ position, I have now taken on more responsibilities – from counting stock and ensuring all areas are effectively stocked for the day ahead, to being entrusted to train new hire’s, and being their first real point of contact, and friend, in their new job. Dealing with cash and replenishing stock are valuable skills that will be useful to me in an accounting career. Atkins (2009, p.276) describes the many ways in which students can develop personal and professional skills,
“while living away from home, travelling, doing voluntary or community work, and participating in clubs and societies, that impact upon their confidence and consequently increase their employability.”
While I need to develop a lot of new skills to be successful in my career path, I also already have skills that will benefit me greatly. Becoming a chartered accountant involves sitting a lot of exams, between doing university exams to work towards my degree, but also after getting my degree when I plan to join a professional accounting body, which requires sitting exams to achieve those qualifications. Having done mostly exam-based subjects throughout my GCSE’s and A-Levels, I feel I have a solid grasp of how I best learn and what works for me, which is necessary when I have years of exams ahead of me.
Before starting my third year of studies, I hope to have spent some time in a professional setting gaining valuable work experience. I intend to spend a year on placement, to gain as much experience as possible before leaving university and to really know whether accounting is something I could do for the rest of my life. However, I do recognise that a year may be too long, especially considering I could end up in a firm I don’t particularly like, possibly ruining my outlook on the entire industry. In this case, I would consider possibly doing a shorter placement, of a few weeks or months just to get a feel for things.
Upon completing my undergraduate degree, my intention is to do a masters in Accounting here at Ulster. This is due to the benefits provided from it, especially exemptions from some professional examinations. Given that the Big Four accounting firms are situated here in Ireland, it makes sense to me to stay here in Belfast where there is a multitude of possibilities, as well as still having my family around me. I want to be able to work my way upwards in whatever company I end up in, however as a woman I know I may have to put in a lot more work than my male counterparts. For over thirty years, women have made up 50% of all accounting graduates (Single, L. et al.,), however these statistics don’t align with the proportion of women making their way to the top of organisations and public accounting firms. Wechsler (2015) highlights this, “In 2015, women accounted for just 11.6% of CFO’s in the Fortune 500.”
Through all the talks from different accounting firms this semester, it has opened my eyes to the fact that there is more out there than just the Big Four. In some bigger firms it may feel like each employee is no more than a number, so it could be more comfortable in a smaller firm, where you feel more valued. One thing that stuck out with the majority of the firms was the use of mentors or ‘buddies’. Research shows that mentoring is becoming increasingly common in public accounting. Studies show that around 90% of (public) accounting professionals reported having been mentored/having a mentor (Viator, 1999). It is also evident that mentoring is associated with a greater satisfaction in your job. (Almer and Kaplan, 2002).
When applying for university last year, I was worried that pursuing straight accounting degree might close doors in terms of career prospects. However, I now know this is far from the case. Accountants are, obviously, well respected in their own industry and others and this reflects in the job prospects open to them. 18% of bosses at the UK’s biggest companies have accountancy qualifications, with 51% of the CEOs at the 100 biggest UK companies have a background in finance – according to the Global Accounting Network (Fino, 2018).
While completing my masters and obtaining a graduate accounting job is the goal, then starts another journey to achieve membership of a professional accounting body. The choice of which one, whether it be ACCA, CIMA, CAI or ICAEW (etc.), depends mostly on where I plan to work and what the company requires of me. However, of course the ‘personal development’ doesn’t end there. Continuing Professional Development (CPD), according to Paisey et al., (2007, p.379), refers to,
“the educational and developmental work and learning that professionals undertake after they have qualified as members of their professional bodies.”
As of 2005, The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) have made it compulsory for all professional bodies to,
“implement continuing personal development (CPD) as an integral part of a professional accountant’s continuing membership of said bodies” (Paisey et al., 2007).
Therefore, meaning what was previously regarded as an ethical responsibility of accountants internationally, is now a compulsory activity.
Upon reflection, it is hard to see my career and where I want to end up further down the line, having just finished se
mester one of year one. Despite that, the time for applying for work placements will come around quicker than we all think, and that point is a great opportunity to try and get yourself a ‘tap on the shoulder’ for a secure graduate job. Taking this into account, having a plan as a guideline helps to ease some stresses and get ideals clear in your head. To conclude, the importance and usefulness of such personal development planning is highlighted by Osgerby et al., (2018, p.570),
“Given that the professional accounting bodies have introduced personal development planning in various forms…it seems sensible to provide accounting students with an opportunity to start to develop the necessary skills through an early experience of PDP.”
References
Almer, E.D. and Kaplan, S.E. (2002). The effects of flexible work arrangements on stressors, burnout and, behavioural job outcomes in public accounting. Behaviour-al Research in Accounting, 14 (1), 1-34.
Atkins, M.J. (1999). Oven-ready and self-basting: Taking stock of employability skills. Teaching in Higher Education, 4 (2), 267-278.
Fino, J. (2018). Fifth of FTSE 100 CEOs are accountants. Economia. Available from: https://economia.icaew.com/news/february-2018/fifth-of-ftse-100-ceos-are-accountants [Accessed 09 December 2018]
Osgerby, J., Marriott, P. and Gee, M. (2018) Accounting students’ perceptions of using visual metaphor as part of personal development planning: an exploratory case study. Accounting Education, 27 (6), 570-589.
Paisey, C., Paisey, N.J. and Tarbert, H. (2007). Continuing Professional Develop-ment Activities of UK Accountants in Public Practice. Accounting Education: an in-ternational journal, 16 (4), 379-403.
Plato. (1920). Protagoras. In: A. Cubberly, ed. Readings in the history of education. New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 46.
Single, L., Donald, S. and Almer, E. (2018). The relationship of advocacy and mentorship with female accountants’ career success. Advances in Accounting, 42, 12-21.
Viator, R.E. (1999). An Analysis of Formal Mentoring Programs and Perceived Bar-riers to Obtaining a Mentor at large Public Accounting Firms. Accounting Horizons, 13 (1), 37-53.
Wechsler, P. (2015). 58 women CFOs in the Fortune 500: Is this progress? Fortune. Available from: http://fortune.com/2015/02/24/58-women-cfos-in-the-fortune-500-is-this-progress/ [Accessed 09 December 2018]