THE ACCOUNTANT_AUTUMN_2018_VER-7-L

FEATURE
The role of Education
in Professional
Services Firms (PSFs)
and the accounting
profession
CAROLINE CASSAR REYNAUD
CAROLINE CASSAR REYNAUD
IS TALENT LEADER WITHIN
DELOITTE MALTA AND
RECENTLY COMPLETED HER
MSC IN LEADERSHIP AND
ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
WITH DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY.
SHE ALSO FORMS PART OF THE
MIA EDUCATION COMMITTEE
With the visible shortage of dedicated qualified
talent in Malta’s labour supply, the importance
of ensuring an appropriate education journey
for the workforce of tomorrow is critical. In order to succeed,
a change in the skillset and competencies required today
is evident. It is necessary to shift from purely theoretical
frameworks and curriculum, to equipping tomorrow’s
workforce with the ability to be analytical, think critically,
and question and assess objectively, rather than accepting
the status quo. It is our duty to help the people who join the
profession to understand what their ultimate career goals
are and provide them with the right means, knowledge and
competencies to achieve them. It is only after providing
the required experience to develop these mandatory skills,
that we can effectively focus on building a resource pool
required to lead professional services firms into the future.
When graduates make the transition from the
classroom to the work place, they bring with them all they
have absorbed in their schooling and the readiness to apply
this knowledge to the real world. Yet, the reality that they
find is often far removed from what they have been taught.
The first years are actually the hardest for them to be able
to understand the dynamics of working in a professional
services firm, realise what they contribute and comprehend
how they can effectively grow.
Recent discussions and findings by the MIA Education
Committee, recognise that the current syllabus requires
adjusting to keep up with the realities of the profession
today. While it would be naïve to think that learning stops
the day somebody graduates from University or completes
their studies, it is clear that the present curriculum merits a
closer look. At a policy level it is necessary to ask whether
the curriculum is equipping our future workforce well
enough to be ready for the realities that we see emerging
in Malta.
Today we refer to lifelong learning and continuous
learning to encourage the workforce to remain agile and
adapt to the changing circumstances. I feel this begs the
question: at which point does education in the classroom
stop and what experience and skills must the profession
provide to allow this learning to continue? Essentially how
do the two work together to give the required all-round
experience needed to guarantee a successful outcome?
How do we equip our people to remain in charge of their
career and provide them with the right model for growth
in order to retain their skills and continue to build on them?
A career model that will retain the workforce of the
future must be one where continuous learning is ever
present. Those organisations that do not offer the ability
to be mentored or provide training programmes that allow
for personal development and growth are missing a key
component to help employees feel that they are growing
as individuals. It is imperative that in addition to learning on
the job, employees are able to develop personally through
rigorous training programmes and a clear journey designed
specifically for them.
In an age of innovation and automation, we see a
shift in the skillset required –methodical, repetitive tasks
are making way for the need for softer skills and a more
analytical mind-set. This is not something easily taught in
a classroom – nor is it something often inherent. Many
times, unless nurtured from an early age, such skills remain
undeveloped. How can the current education system
provide this skillset and how can professional services
firms compensate for this shortfall? How do we prepare
our people to deliver those difficult and challenging
presentations in a boardroom, to manage those demanding
clients, to challenge those ethical queries, to cope with the
ever-complex regulatory requirements and remain true to
the core values of the brand we represent?
There is no simple answer to these questions, but this
article is an opportunity to think about the future of work
and the role education plays. Organisations that are able
to provide this journey will ultimately succeed in engaging
and retaining their workforce within the realities of today’s
working world.
50 Autumn 2018