Accounts Payable & Treasury Team Lead, APCO Worldwide FZ LLC
Inspiration: My inspiration for ACCA came from my father, he was a banker in a well-known bank in Saudi Arabia, at the time when I was an adolescent. Many of his colleagues from the bank were Qualified Accountants and I had this image in my mind of a Qualified Accountant, a guy in a black suit and a tie with a briefcase! I wanted to be that guy. So, after school, I got admission in CAT qualification at a local college called CFE in Lahore, Pakistan, and my journey began back in 2008.
Journey: I have recently got my ACCA Membership after clearing my last exam, APM, in Sep 2020. I am positive my journey as a Member will be as exciting as my journey as a student had been. I am looking forward to growing in my profession because of this huge achievement of becoming a member of ACCA. I truly believe that it will make a huge difference in my career moving forward.
Highs and Lows: There are a few things worth mentioning here. Firstly, I am proud to say that I haven’t failed a single ACCA exam, I see it as one of the biggest achievements of my career. Secondly, I am happy to say that I have topped in my last exam APM in UAE in Sep 2020 sitting. This news was a total surprise to me, completing your qualification with a country-wide top is a dream come true, and I will always remember the moment when I read that email! Finally, I am proud to be an ACCA Member, my decision to peruse ACCA as opposed to any other accountancy qualification was right and I am glad that I made that decision.
One of the things that I wish I would have done differently was the time it took to qualify for ACCA. It took me around 10 years to become a member. It is because I stepped into professional life quite early when I was still a teenager. Moreover, I moved countries and came to the UAE in 2015. I had responsibilities and I had to skip many exam sittings in between. However, I think everything happens for a reason and I am glad that I finally qualified.
ACCA Community: I have been able to network with many fellow members on LinkedIn through ACCA Members Community Group, I have met a lot of Senior ACCA Members and I am glad that ACCA Members are very approachable and open to offer help. I am proud to say that I have been giving back to ACCA Community by providing advice to my junior ACCA fellows, especially those who are interested to settle in UAE. I have experience in job searching and job interviews in UAE so I share my experience with others, I have published articles on my LinkedIn to help ACCA job seekers with their job searching journey, and I have received a lot of respect and support for guiding my fellows.
Appreciation: I would like to especially thank my parents, my wife, and my family for their support and prayers. I would also like to thank my department colleagues at APCO Worldwide, especially, Zaid Aboobaker & Fayaz Aboobaker (My Workplace Mentor for my PER), who are leading the Finance department for APCO Worldwide MENA. I have learned a lot as a finance professional under their leadership, I am glad to be working with such a great team at APCO.