MSC ACCOUNTANCY

FROM NORWAY TO SINGAPORE FOR A SECOND MASTER’S DEGREE

Larysa Zalizniak already has a master’s degree in business and economics from her home country, Norway. But that did not stopping her from levelling up even more. Not only did she decide to embark on a second master’s degree, she also chose to pursue one on the other side of the world.

Nanyang Business School, where Larysa is currently enrolled in, hits a sweet spot for her. Larysa wanted to be part of a globally leading accountancy university in Asia that could also offer rich cross-cultural experiences. She says, “The MSc Accountancy programme provides the functional knowledge that I need. At the same time, I want to be based in a vibrant financial hub and multicultural city, and Singapore is perfect.”

In Norway, Larysa is a consulting manager in Accenture’s Finance and Enterprise department. This growing field combines finance technology with enterprise performance management to help companies improve efficiency and create value. Thus, keeping up to date on emerging technologies is essential in Larysa’s role.

However, technology is only half the story. “It’s equally important that consultants in my department understand the problem that a client is trying to solve,” she says. “When clients request that we help to automate an accounting or a finance process, it becomes crucial for us to have a strong theoretical and practical foundation of those processes in the first place.”

Larysa adds, “That is how the MSc Accountancy programme will benefit me: in-depth knowledge of finance and accounting can enable me to understand my clients’ everyday challenges better.”

So far, Larysa’s accounting knowledge has expanded by leaps and bounds with courses such as Financial Accounting, Accounting Recognition and Measurement and Accounting Information System. She especially enjoyed using the software, Tableau, to work on a business analysis project as part of the Accounting for Decision Making and Control course. “Learning such new software will come in very handy for my work, where we employ lots of business intelligence technology,” says Larysa.

She is also appreciative that the faculty complements hard skills with extensive real-world experiences in the subjects that they are teaching. “It’s a very exciting academic environment because the professors and lecturers expose us to many different learning techniques,” she says. “Couple that with my course mates, who are really bright and hardworking people, and I can say that the learning journey has been nothing short of inspiring.”

Larysa will graduate from the programme in 2020, and then return to her role in Accenture in Norway. She says, “I’m confident that by then, I would be well-equipped in accounting knowledge. I can’t wait to use this knowledge to bring greater value to clients and undertake projects of higher complexity.”

Quick tip: Learn and enjoy outside the classroom, too.
“It’s very enriching to be in a country that is so multicultural. Even in Nanyang Business School, the faculty and my course mates come from very different cultural backgrounds. I’ve been able to master my communication and cooperation skills simply by hanging out with them. Do also try out the diverse international cuisines in Singapore – the local laksa is super delicious!” 

For more information on the Nanyang MSc Accountancy programme, please visit our website.