I passed my CA Final exams way back in 2004. Those were the times when there were very few career options for a qualified CA. One either had to get into roles such as corporate finance, investment banking, commercial banking or set up one’s own practice. Since then, times have changed and the range of opportunities available for a CA has increased tremendously. Personally, for me it was a journey from being an internal auditor in a commercial bank to working as a credit/risk analyst,and now to working on technology-related areas as a product leader in the financial service sector.
In this article, for the benefit of CA aspirants and fellow CAs. I have briefly tried to cover some of the key options available for a Chartered Accountant in technology-related domains.
Product Management/Subject Matter Experts
Innovating, designing,and rolling out technology solutions for companies in the financial sector such as banking and insurance companies requires deep domain-related expertise. As an example, for developing an accounting-related solution such as for IFRS, the subject matter expertise of CAs is unparalleled. CAs should leverage this expertise to get into product management-related areas and ultimately become product leaders.
Sales Consulting
Enterprise sales often need a consulting process for the sale to happen. This is because, in many cases, the customer needs to be advised/educated on various aspects such as on the related domain and solution architecting (converting business requirements can be converted into a technology solution). Again, CA with his structured thought process and subject matter expertise is the best suited to perform this role.
Data Science
Data Science involves heavy-duty number crunching and spotting trends and patterns. A Chartered Accountant, with his natural flair for numbers, can do the analyzes adeptly and give deep insights, especially when it comes to matters pertaining to the world of finance.
In short, CAs should leverage their respective domain-related strengths and strive to operate at the intersection of domain and technology which will give them the edge over other disciplines such as MBA.
To conclude, here are a few learnings, which life has taught me:
- Be open & willing to explore new terrains. Do not let your experience be a limiting factor in exploring unchartered territories
- Talking to people in industry could open new vistas. Of course, one needs to pick and choose the right people from whom to take any advice
- Being flexible with options: A career, just like life, need not follow a linear path. When we are flexible with the options in front of us, there is a possibility that a whole new world which we did not imagine can become a reality.
The author is B2B Fintech Product leader with 15+ years of diverse techno-functional exposure spread across roles in commercial banking,lending, digital transformation, risk management, technology& B2B product management. He can also be reached at krangan.ca@gmail.com
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