Certifications and Family

CPA, CIA, MBA, LLB, CISA, CCSA, CFSA, CFC,CMA and a lot more certifications in the field of Accountancy alone. As the world becomes more and more modernized the competition becomes tougher. For one to get hired, you have to compete with a dozen or more applicants. While obtaining a license has almost become a requirement in the field of Accountancy rather than just a better option for its graduates, more Certified Public Accountants don’t stop after obtaining their first license.

I was having an afternoon chit chat with some friends, whom are fellow CPAs, over lunch. The afternoon’s topic was all about either pursuing law to have a good shot at two complicated yet most respected professions or pursuing an MBA for specialization to ace one’s career in climbing the corporate ladder. Obtaining an MBA has always been a part of my plan but then it will require two years at the very least, of going back to school while at the same time, working plus all the travels you have to let go in exchange of working on your thesis ’til the wee hours of the morning. So, I settled first on what I can obtain considering my schedule and resources, that is the CIA. It cost me time, money and effort as well and I’m really glad that it all paid off. Now, I can say that over some other applicants or some other employees, I don’t have just one, I’ve got two. But what struck me during our chit chat was when one of my friends suddenly blurted out in a joking manner, “I’m not anymore dreaming of additional titles or certifications, I’ve only got simple dreams, to marry someone who’s good looking, kind and at the same time rich, and of course to have kids of my own. Those titles and all other sorts of recognition can be easily achieved, all I need to do is study but to find the “guy” I just described is really difficult.” All of us burst into laughter and I think I’m speaking for all the other girls, that she really has a very good point. Studying may cost you time, effort and money ‘though of course you’ll gain something of value such as a sense of self-respect and personal achievement or more practically, money and power. But it can’t assure you that you’ll have a very good family life which as we all know, at the end of the day it’s your family that matters the most. Funny that some practical yet meaningful realizations spring out from a well timed intellectual joke.

I’m not saying that I’m crossing out MBA degree and additional certifications in my plan, I’m still sticking to it. But I just realized that there are a lot more important things than academic achievements, some of us spent a lifetime pursuit towards finding it, while others are blessed enough to spot it and have it early on. To those who are fulfilled in their career but has lost the chance of having a family of your own, don’t feel bad at least you still have something in your hands that others can’t take away. To those happily married with lovely kids may things remain that way, may your family stay intact. To those who have both, may you not forget to be humble and thank God everyday. To those who have neither, maybe it’s time for you to move.

Compared to having an almost perfect family life certifications are more achievable, so for now I’m choosing the more certain thing while hoping and praying to have the best of both worlds, after all having excellence in one’s profession and a blessed family life is not mutually exclusive.

Winds of Change

Winds of Change

Three years, one profession, two companies, two fields of practice, numerous reports, hundreds of issues, 100 officemates, hundreds of thousands of income but where am I now? I don’t know.

Just recently, my name got longer again by three letters, apart from being a Certified Public Accountant, I am now a Certified Internal Auditor. But, what has changed after gaining another certification? Not much, not a promotion, not even a pay raise, only a longer name. Don’t get me wrong for I am not complaining, I am just looking for something, a place where I can find happiness, fulfillment and prosperity all at the same time.

“The wind is always blowing on your direction”, a friend once told me. Well, life has been very good to me, and I’ve always been so thankful for it. I was able to enter one of the country’s most prestigious university, I got into the most sought after program, I graduated with good grades and passed the so-called most difficult board examination in just one take, so yes, life has been very good to me but I’m not saying that I have a perfect life, I know there are others out there who are more blessed than I am, and they might react on this article, but I digress. I too have my own fair share of difficulties and hardships but only a few or maybe no one among my fellows saw those things.

But as I entered the concrete jungle of the real world, life wasn’t that good anymore but again the people around me didn’t see that. How will they notice such, when I received a call from the country’s most respected auditing firm four hours after being enlisted as a professional, how? They didn’t know how hard it is to prove one’s self, to establish who you are in the business world when you are just at the beginning of your career and you are nothing but a mere dot at the bottom of the food chain. Other people will only see that you took an out of town trip, that your closet is full, that there’s a more than a dozen of shoe boxes kept under your bed but what you’ve gone through and what you’re going through? No, most people don’t know that, they don’t know the things you had to go through.

I never was a bum, I am gainfully employed before reaching 21 and that was also the time when I began experiencing the bittersweet taste of life in the real world. From being a high school Queen Bee, I am now an “Ass”ociate, working my ass up to wee hours in the morning to fix the financials of clients. I don’t give orders anymore, I take them and I am paid to follow them, whether I like it or not. I must surrender to the pointless demands of the boss. I must listen to whatever it is she has to say for after six months, I’ll be at her mercy, whether to be kicked out or remain as an “Ass”ociate, I remained as an “Ass”ociate. After, tremendous adjustments and numerous sacrifices, judgment day came, this time the wind didn’t blew my way, it was so against me that it almost break me, no one knew for I need to put a face, a strong face, a defense mechanism. So I left, companies left and right we’re calling but offers weren’t that lucrative ’til one company called up for an interview and before the day ended, I’m hired. I’ll begin in less than two weeks, I was also shocked. Is the wind blowing towards my direction once again? I thought so but no it’s not, for here I am writing this blog, ’cause I’m not doing anything. Maybe, I should be blamed for I work too fast? But why too fast? It is because this is a pencil pushing 8-hour job that is not putting my skills into its best use. It is insulting everyday, my name is too long for what I am doing, call me conceited but that is how I feel, I am too good for this.

Am I fighting destiny? Maybe, this is not where I am supposed to be that’s why the wind seems to be against me or there is a lesson I need to learn. I’m not saying that I hate bosses and taking orders, I know that’s how the cycle goes and we need to learn by under going such cycle neither am I biting the hand that is feeding me, it pays my bills and takes me to places but I need a purpose, something worthy of my time, something that could make me feel proud of myself that I was able to put into use those two certifications that I worked so hard to attain, is that too much to ask?

Maybe, tomorrow the wind will blow my way once again, I’m not losing hope. Maybe, tomorrow I’ll receive the call that can give me happiness, fulfillment and prosperity.

“Lord, help me keep the faith that one day the wind will once again blow my direction, that I’ll be able to find fulfillment in my career, happiness for myself and prosperity. Anyway, thank you for this job.”

Things to do after CIA

It was September last year when I attended the orientation for the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) review. It’s almost a year now and I still haven’t take the test. I applied last March for the examination permit, it got released last June. I am scheduled to take the exam late this year. I must admit that the efforts I am currently exerting is not as intense as compared to my efforts for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) board exam last October 2006. Maybe, because I’m more confident now or because there is lesser pressure now since only a few knows that I’ll be taking the exam. I am not really sure why but I really want to attain the designation, furthermore, it has costed me nearly 50,000 pesos and that amount for me is no joke, so from this day forward I’ll be exerting more effort. But for now let me list down the things I want to do after CIA:

1. Take a trip to Hong Kong and Macau (plus Shenzhen if my means will permit me to do so)
2. Read New Moon once again to refresh my memory for the movie which will be shown on November 25 here in the Philippines.
3. Watch Twilight movie, again.
4. Watch the movies I’ve copied from my friends. My Hard Disk is screaming now, it’s fully loaded.
5. Post in this blog more often.
6. Go to Quiapo, to search for the tagalized DVDs of Meteor Garden, Princess Hours, Boys over Flowers, Full House and watch them again.
7. Begin writing some short stories.
8. Join Singles for Christ (SFC).
9. Begin my scrapbook project.
10.Most importantly, look for the job that will give me hapiness, fulfillment and prosperity in my career.

Lord, please help me attain the CIA designation in just one take. Thank you.

Right Material

Apart from having the talent, an actress must also have a good material to gain her “Best Actress” award. Like actresses, we in our careers must also have a good material for us to make a significant contribution in our respective fields.

I’m not a board exam topnotcher neither am I a cum laude graduate, if transcript of records and board ratings are the only two things to be considered I am just an ordinary Certified Public Accountant but there is one thing that I am sure of, I am more than what my resume says about me and I know more than what my transcript reflects.

I am still at the early stage of my career, I still have a lot of things to learn and discover, I am a young professional in search for the right material to prove that as a CPA I can make a significant contribution in my field. I know that I have no right to complain with my present situation, including my job and maybe, I can agree with that. But I know and I have a strong feeling that I am not in the place where I want to be, I do not have the material to excel in my field. I don’t feel like I am a part of something or that I am in anyway significant, maybe I am wrong but I can also be right. I am not working solely for the money, but of course, it matters, I’ll be a hypocrite to say that it does not. I am working to practice whatever it is that I have learned, to transform my knowledge into meaningful outputs by means of making significant contribution. I want to work because I want to learn, there is so much to learn so why should we stop. But I think the most important reason why I want to work and why I want to have and fully utilize the right material once it gets into my hands is that, I don’t want to put into waste the knowledge, the talent, the abilities that God has given me. Remembering my Theology professor way back in college, “The university’s mission is to bring the church to every field of profession”. God has blessed me to become who I am, so I think I must use this not just for achieving personal excellence but to take part of my mission as a Christian.

‘Though I must admit that there are times when I am really down, that I keep on waiting for something that will never come but thank God for little reminders that things will soon be okay, that this is God’s way of preparing me to the place where He knows, I should belong and I know that in that place I will have the right material.

Apart from having a license, a CPA must also have the right material to make a significant contribution to her chosen field.

* A multi-national company which I’ve been aspiring to join called me up last monday and yesterday, the personnel is having troubles in assessing whether or not I am a fit for the position, I think she should’ve ask for my background and work experience first for her to assess. She didn’t call up today. I am on the brink of losing hope on whether or not I will be able to get a new job, my “right material”. I am on the edge of the cliff, I don’t know if He’ll catch me or He’ll give me wings.

My Life’s Ji Hoo – Boys Over Flowers Tidbits (Part 4)

I am obviously a Jun Pyo fan but I never hated Ji Hoo. In fact, I love the unselfishness of his heart, how good a friend he is to both Jan Di and Jun Pyo. How willing he is to sacrifice his own happiness for the sake of his friends.

I am not in distress as often as Jan Di is but upon watching Boys Over Flowers I remembered two incidents in my life when I felt like I’m so confused and messed up but there was someone who unexpectedly made his presence felt once again after a very long time and somehow saved me from whatever it is that I was going through those times.

I was hospitalized during the week of my first pre-board exam because of dengue hemorraghic fever. I was on my recovery stage from the illness but I was already studying to cover up for the time lost. I can feel all the pressure, it feels like everybody is expecting too much from me and it feels like being in bed for two weeks costed me a quarter of a year of study time. I was about to cry, I’m beginning to ask God if this is really for me. For a BS Accountancy graduate getting your diploma isn’t the end of the race it’s just a sign that you’re about to approach the final lap for many have accounting degrees but only a few are CPAs, as they say. But before my first teardrop fell, my phone rang, I received a message from a person whom I haven’t communicated with for such a long time, my life’s own version of Ji Hoo, you.

It seems like, you heard the emergency bell and immediately came to rescue me. Your words were comforting bringing back the strong faith that I had some days ago. I regained my faith, God won’t allow me to go this far only to tell me that this race is not for me when it’s about to end, He won’t take me this far just to break my heart. You were right, God really intended me to pass my precious board exam.

Some months ago, the emergency bell rang once again and surprisingly you again came on time. I know you have you’re own dilemmas and I feel bad that it seems like I can’t do anything to help you get through it, unlike Jan Di who brought back Ji Hoo’s grandfather to his life. You offered help but I refused, I ditched you, I know you felt bad ’cause you really exerted effort to help me out. Once in your life you were in the same situation so you know how it feels and now that you recovered from it, you might probably be the best person to help. Despite of me ditching you that day, I didn’t really abandon your help after all, I followed your advice in my own way as dictated by my faith and I have to thank you that right now ‘though things are still not that clear, I know that there is light to guide me.

I don’t know why you are always on time, I can’t find any explanation for that, maybe it’s destiny’s way of saying that ‘though I’ve let go of you as my first love, you’ll always be special. Yes, you are my first love, I believe, just like Jan Di towards Ji Hoo but unlike her I have yet to find my life’s version of Jun Pyo. But ‘though I haven’t find my Jun Pyo yet, I’ve let you go long time ago. I’m not sure if I am in any way even just once had a romantic place in your heart, maybe yes maybe no but I believe that once in our lives there is a special bond of love that we’re going to have and it doesn’t necessarily mean to be romantic love, it could be friendship and I’m glad that in my life it’s you, my own Ji Hoo.

* I know I shouldn’t include this in the BOF Tidbits series for it’s more of a personal matter rather than my fascination about the series, it’s just that I don’t think I’ll realize who he is in my life had I not watch BOF.