Demystifying the accounting profession: crushing stereotypes

Hello Ana, thank you for taking the time for this interview, your insights will be highly appreciated. Let’s start by offering our readers some information about you: what is your current role in Mazars and how did your journey in the company look like until now?

Hello everyone and thank you for the opportunity. I am happy to be a part of these discussions and interviews and I hope it will inspire the younger generation or anyone who can relate to my journey or is interested in getting a new perspective of the field or our company.

My journey in Mazars started in August 2015, being my first full time, young adult job. As a fun little side note, my first day in the company was the 25^th, and that translates to the last day for submitting tax returns, so you can imagine my job was dynamic from day one. I started in a junior position, and from the beginning I was fortunate to receive constant guidance and context for every task. My high school studies focused on economics, and I’m also the owner of a bachelor’s degree in Management, from the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. Even though my academic background was not solely focused on accounting, my attitude and open approach to learning made a difference in the end, allowing me to progress year after year. My growth was always organic, leading me up to this moment, occupying now a management position.

Mazars' recruitment process has kept this openness throughout the years, and even today we are searching for individuals with that right attitude. All the necessary skills can later be learned on the job. For this I can say that being easy to work with can be an underrated skill.

Seeking further development, I considered that I needed more exposure for my development and decided to obtain a professional certification from CECCAR. This process was represented by an admission exam, followed by a three-year intense internship and a final exam, all while having a full-time job in parallel. It goes without saying that during this time I received constant support from my team and my superiors, all the expenses related to my certification being covered by Mazars. To be perfectly transparent, the learning process never stops in our field and chances are, you will be learning something new every day. Yes, chances. 😊 I am currently exploring the next opportunities to pursue in terms of my professional development. Having in mind the fact that I have been a part of Mazars for over nine years now, I suppose it is easy to imagine my trajectory and how my journey was: challenging but fruitfully balanced, fulfilling, and rewarding. The previous aspects kept me on my toes and directed me on my current path, receiving here the much-needed encouragement for me to grow both personally and professionally.

During all these years I got the opportunity to go beyond accounting. I ran marathons, I trained my public speaking abilities at the 2019 Mazars Forum, where I spoke about sand mining and environmental issues. I cooked for the less fortunate at the canteen, taught financial classes to high school students, facilitated internal training sessions for my colleagues, as well as mentored students during their apprenticeships at Mazars. To these, I can add being a part of our company’s CSR campaigns, where I was both a Santa and an Easter Bunny for many children, helped with the renovation of two schools during the yearly Mazars Community Day and the list can go on. As mentioned previously, both professional and personal growth are equally important, and I had plenty of opportunities to cover both of them.

You’re an amazing accountant and a valuable part of our team, but how did it all start? What were the motivational factors that played a part in choosing this career?

It is important to note that I don’t believe in following only your passions in life because there might be a lot you would miss on when neglecting to see the bigger picture. Take my example, I wasn't always set on a career in accounting. As a child, I was an entertainer, singing and dancing for various types of audiences, whenever I got the chance.

At the same time, academically, I had an economic background. This got me searching for a company that would provide the best environment for me to have growth opportunities and long-term career perspectives, all while having a human touch. Gaining independence was a strong motivator when building my career, and this led me to invest extra time to improve my technical skills.

My journey at Mazars in Romania started with a hiring interview, being recommended by an acquaintance. During the discussion, I felt a strong connection with the partner, and I was given the opportunity to join the team. Nine years later, I am still here.

Technical excellence represents one of Mazars' values, influencing the work environment every day. This, alongside the fact that I was constantly working with such great professionals, inspired me and acted as a strong trigger to focus on my professional development. I became a qualified accountant with their constant support. To that, I added commitment, responsibility, and determination. Having a place where you are not just allowed to grow but encouraged to, receiving trust and encouragement is something we all should aim for. My colleagues are my cheerleaders, as I am for them, and we celebrate together every success or improvement.

We often see the daily life of an accountant being portrayed in a certain way. What does a day in your work life actually look like? Take us through your daily tasks and responsibilities.

I think that this depiction of accountants in mass media or even in public opinion faded over time, or I was simply not exposed to it. I did not have those stereotypes around me, and that is due to the young and agile team I have been a part of, always having access to various types of business activities and models, all while being in touch with the digital improvements. The use of technology and the developments it has produced made our activity more efficient and, dare I say, more appealing to the younger generation. Without getting into specifics, automated flows and robots are our assistants these days.

Besides the operational and technical parts of my job, I am a team player, being there for my team whenever I can help, for my clients as well, delivering high quality services tailored to their needs, all while being involved in the business development process.

How is it like to work directly with your clients and how do you manage this process? What are some of your best practices when it comes to the optimal relationship with them that you have learned along the way?

Behind every position is a person. We should connect with that person, and build a relationship based on trust, by being responsive and anticipating their needs. Continuous and effective communication also plays an important role in building the relationship and establishing trust.

Our goal is to always be a reliable partner for their compliance obligations and to provide the best quality services. Reaching the best mix for an optimal relationship can be a challenge, given that every company is different, but we must find the proper balance between the efforts of our team and the needs of all our clients.

What are some misconceptions that you often hear about your profession, and you would like to give your perspective on?

The most common misconception I hear is that accounting is boring and hard. The truth is you can run into new situations quite frequently. The current business and legal environments are both constantly changing, and our clients’ activity changes and grows accordingly. I have clients with whom I have collaborated since the beginning of my journey in Mazars, and it’s wonderful to see how their business evolved throughout the years.

I would also mention that, if you are comfortable with numbers and you have an interest in this area, working in accounting can often turn into a highly rewarding career for you. Nothing is too hard if you are open and willing to learn and receive help from a supporting team.

How did your job evolve alongside the development of new technologies? What are the tools that you are currently working with and how do they impact your work?

Looking back to the beginning of my career, I can’t help but notice how many things have changed over time. I remember my first years as a young professional, back then me and my colleagues used to take turns using the electronic signatures for the submission of tax returns. Over the years, we have adapted to the digital transformations and many aspects have improved. We are now focusing on performing activities with added value for our clients and we are no longer stuck in repetitive tasks. We use electronic archives, solutions for data extraction, automated download of files or various robots developed by our automation team. We have now colleagues working from other cities, while at the beginning of my career, this seemed to be a fantasy, since we were all glued to our client binders.

Work-life balance is a concept frequently mentioned in any conversation concerning one’s professional journey. How does this look like for you? How do you manage to maintain this equilibrium and what are some tips that you can give in order to achieve it?

I will address another misconception while answering your question, given that I place a great deal of importance on my personal life, and I do cherish my free time.

Accounting is not boring, and neither are accountants. I get to travel, fueling my passion for it, I go to the gym, even if on some days I have to force myself to, I cook and I make sure to allocate time for doing activities that I enjoy.

At the end of the day, it is up to each of us to prioritise the activities on our list and to find out what suits us best. For example, during my training that span over 3 years with CECCAR, completing extra hours was often a requirement, but I summed up my strength to visualize the achievements that will come after.

I strongly believe that self-discipline is the key to success. This applies to our jobs, routines, sleep schedules, eating habits, summing up everything we do in a day.

Start by setting a goal for yourself, consider its importance and benefits, and feed on those. The effort and compromise that certain goal requires will then make sense, I promise.

Lastly, what would be a piece of advice you could give to the next generation of professionals considering a career in accounting? What would you like for them to take as a lesson after reading about your experience and understand about the accounting profession?

I will always be cheering on the younger generation and supporting them in everything they want to achieve. I will always tell them to never run away from challenges, but towards them. There is nothing more gratifying than seeing your progress and improvement, reaching a new level of self-confidence that will be worth every effort.

Start small and grow your healthy habits day by day, take those opportunities, be them work-related or not, ask questions, absorb any knowledge you can from your colleagues, and always stay curious.

Thank you, Ana, for sharing a glimpse of your professional journey with us and for your transparency and openness. Your interview will serve for sure as inspiration for the younger generation of professionals, offering them more clarity on the accounting profession. To our lovely readers, remain curious and when in doubt, remember Ana's words, until next time!